Cable Upright Row
The cable upright row is a vertical pull where you lift a bar or rope from a low pulley up the front of your body toward your chest. It trains the side shoulders and upper traps, with the biceps assisting. Cables give smooth tension and let you pick a comfortable grip, which suits shoulders that dislike barbell versions.
Muscles worked
The cable upright row trains the shoulders and traps, with biceps helping.
Weekly sets for shoulders
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for shoulders, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the cable upright row
- 01Set the pulley at the lowest position and attach a straight bar or rope.
- 02Grab the attachment with a grip a little wider than shoulder width and stand close to the stack.
- 03Stand tall with the bar resting near your thighs and a light brace through your midsection.
- 04Lead with your elbows and pull the bar up close to your body until it reaches lower-chest height.
- 05Pause with elbows at about shoulder height, then lower the bar slowly to your thighs.
Coaching cues
- Elbows lead, hands follow
- Stop at mid-chest, not your chin
- Keep the bar close to your body
Common mistakes
- Pulling the bar up to your chin can pinch the shoulders, so stop when your elbows reach shoulder height.
- Using a very narrow grip increases shoulder strain, so take a grip at or slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Jerking the weight up with your hips and knees takes the delts out of it, so stand still and control both phases.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Cable Upright Row alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
- Barbell Upright RowBarbell, shoulders, traps
- Dumbbell Upright RowDumbbell, shoulders, traps
- EZ Bar Upright RowKettlebell, band and specialty bar, shoulders, traps
- Band Face PullKettlebell, band and specialty bar, shoulders
- Barbell Behind Neck PressBarbell, shoulders
- Barbell Military PressBarbell, shoulders
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your cable upright row free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.