EZ Bar Upright Row
The EZ bar upright row is a vertical pull where you lift an EZ bar from your thighs to about chest height. It works your side delts and traps, with biceps assisting. The angled grip and a shoulder-width hold let you build side delts and traps with less wrist strain than a straight bar.
Muscles worked
The ez bar 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 ez bar upright row
- 01Stand tall holding the EZ bar on the angled grips, hands about shoulder width apart.
- 02Let the bar hang against your thighs with arms straight and shoulders down.
- 03Pull the bar up close to your body, leading with your elbows.
- 04Stop when your elbows reach about shoulder height and your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
- 05Lower the bar slowly back to your thighs and repeat.
Coaching cues
- Lead with the elbows
- Bar close to your body
- Stop at shoulder height
Common mistakes
- Using a very narrow grip increases shoulder strain, so hold the bar at about shoulder width.
- Pulling the elbows far above shoulder height can pinch the shoulder, so stop once your upper arms are level.
- Swinging the bar with your hips takes load off the delts, so stand still and use a weight you can control.
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.
EZ Bar Upright Row alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your ez bar upright row free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.