Odd thing RE: Bodyweight Rows

Welcome to our Community
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Feel free to Sign Up today.
Sign up

vermonter

Active Member
May 15, 2015
186
220
Was trying to get data on how much weight I'm rowing when I do bodyweight rows and a strange thing happened. The resistance was higher at the top of the pull...

I've been gathering some exercise data for a project I'm working on, and I've been tracking my pushup resistance for years (incidentally, my average resistance in a pushup is 73.5% of my bodyweight), so I've continued to do that, but realized I've never done my row weight before. So I tested it today.

My average row resistance is higher than pushups (79.5%), which was cool info to learn, but the weird thing as noted above was that the resistance increased as my arms went from straight to bent. This is the same for a pushup of course, because the more acute the angle of your body is relative to the ground the more the resistance evens out from foot to head. Naturally, I suspected that the greater the angle of my incline in a row would have the same effect, meaning that I'd have less resistance at the top of the row, but the opposite was true. I.E. at the bottom of the row (arms straight) I was lifting 76.2% of my weight and at the top, when more of my weight should have been on my feet, I was actually lifting 82.8% of my weight.

Figured I'd share for anyone that was curious.
 

Leigh

Engineer
Pro Fighter
Jan 26, 2015
10,925
21,293
That's kinda strange. Cheers for the info - although I don't have a need for bodyweight rows ;)
 

vermonter

Active Member
May 15, 2015
186
220
[E="Leigh, post: 75760, member: 176"]That's kinda strange. Cheers for the info - although I don't have a need for bodyweight rows ;)[/QUOTE]

Well for me its enough resistance. Add a weight vest and its an alternative to a pullup.
 

vermonter

Active Member
May 15, 2015
186
220
[QUOTE"Pitbull3744, post: 75762, member: 181"]Do you do body weight rows on a smith machine or TRX?[/QUOTE]

Oops i actually meant to mention this. It was on a redcord, which is similar to a trx but easier to adjust.
 

Pitbull9

Daddy
Jan 28, 2015
9,832
14,130
[QUOTE"Pitbull3744, post: 75762, member: 181"]Do you do body weight rows on a smith machine or TRX?
Oops i actually meant to mention this. It was on a redcord, which is similar to a trx but easier to adjust.[/QUOTE]
Oh ok cool. Enjoy man. Interesting project. Too bad we don't live close I would def get in this with you.
 

vermonter

Active Member
May 15, 2015
186
220
I'm just trying to quantify things better for tracking progress. You could still do this too, of course and I'm always looking for more data if you track your own programs.

When I put down exercises in my spreadsheet and I get to the column with load, its easy when I'm moving a bar. But when its rows or pushups I just put BW and that's not good enough or precise enough for what I want. I don't see any point in exercise if I don't know that it isn't progressing me to where I want to go (in this case I want to be larger).
 

vermonter

Active Member
May 15, 2015
186
220
Ps , where do you live? As I recall you're pretty muscular. Do you train for anything in particular?
 

vermonter

Active Member
May 15, 2015
186
220
For pushups, just put your hands on a scale. For rows, put your feet on a scale and and subtract from your bodyweight.