The renegade row is a compound floor exercise performed in a high plank on two dumbbells, rowing one dumbbell to the hip at a time while the trunk keeps the hips from turning. It is the same movement this library files as thedumbbell plank row, under the name most gyms use; renegade row usually implies alternating sides every rep. Load is limited by how square your pelvis stays, not by lat strength, since one arm and both feet hold the plank while the other pulls. It works as a late-session back and trunk accessory.
What Muscles Does the Renegade Row Work?
- Primary: Latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, middle trapezius
- Secondary: Posterior deltoid, biceps brachii, brachialis
- Tertiary: Obliques, rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus
How Do You Set Up for the Renegade Row?
Set two hex dumbbells on the floor about shoulder width apart with the handles parallel to each other. Grip the handles and walk your feet back into a high plank, feet wider than your hips for a broader base. Stack your shoulders directly over the dumbbells, squeeze your glutes, and tuck your ribs so the hips sit level. Look at the floor a few inches ahead of your hands.
How Do You Perform the Renegade Row?
- Set the plank with straight arms, level hips and your weight even across both hands and both feet.
- Drive the left dumbbell into the floor and shift a little weight onto it without tilting the hips.
- Row the right dumbbell to your right hip, elbow travelling back along the ribs until it passes your torso.
- Pause for a count at the top with the shoulder blade pulled toward your spine and the pelvis still square.
- Lower the dumbbell under control until it touches the floor, then shift your weight to the right hand.
- Row the left side the same way and finish with both hands on the dumbbells in the starting plank.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Screw the support hand down: push the loaded floor dumbbell away from you so that shoulder stays packed while the other arm rows.
- Row the elbow to the hip: a low elbow path keeps the lat pulling, a high one turns the rep into a shrug.
- Keep both hip bones aimed at the floor; the set ends when one of them starts to turn up.
- Squeeze the glutes harder as the dumbbell rises so the low back does not dip.
- Spread the feet before the set so there is less for the trunk to fight.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Rowing a weight you can only lift by twisting: the hips rotate toward the ceiling and the obliques quit, so drop to a load you can pull with a square pelvis.
- Letting the hips sag as you pull: the lumbar spine extends under your body weight, so brace the abs and glutes before each row.
- Shrugging the dumbbell into the armpit: the upper trap takes over and the lat unloads, so drive the elbow back past the ribs.
- Stopping the pull short of the torso: the shoulder blade never fully retracts, so row until the elbow clears your side.
- Working on round dumbbells: the support weight rolls under your hand mid-row, so use hex dumbbells or a flat mat.
What Are the Best Renegade Row Variations?
- Kneeling renegade row: knees on the floor shorten the lever for lifters who cannot hold square hips yet.
- Renegade row with push-up: a push-up between rows adds a press to every rep.
- Feet-elevated renegade row: feet on a bench shifts weight onto the hands and raises the anti-rotation demand.
- Single-arm renegade row: one dumbbell only, free hand flat on the floor, so the working side rows heavier.
- Kettlebell renegade row: a taller handle and an offset load make the support side work harder.
How Do You Progress the Renegade Row?
- Add 5 pounds per dumbbell once every set finishes with the hips still square on the last rep.
- Work 6 to 10 reps per side, adding a rep a session until you reach 10, then add load and restart at 6.
- Start at 3 sets and add a fourth when the third matches the first.
- Hold each row at the top for two seconds before you add weight again.
How Should You Program the Renegade Row?
Program the renegade row as an accessory after your main pull, such as a barbell row, or as the anti-rotation piece of a trunk block. Train it once or twice a week for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps per side with 60 to 90 seconds of rest. Pair it with a push-up or a floor press so the shoulders press from the same plank you just rowed from.