The bent row is a basic but effective upper body pulling exercise that strengthens the upper back, shoulders and arms.
 
Hold the bar with a clean-width grip, brace your trunk in the same position you would when pulling from the floor, and hinge forward at the hips while bending the knees to bring your trunk just above horizontal, letting the bar hang at arms’ length close to the legs.
 
Pull the bar to the abdomen, squeezing your shoulder blades back together and forcefully extending the upper back at the top of each rep. Lower the bar to full elbow extension without losing your braced back position.
 
Notes
The bent row can be performed strictly with a controlled tempo, or with a little body English to put some speed on the bar and then reach the trunk into the bar at the top of the row. The angle of the trunk can also be varied depending on the desired effect, from horizontal to closer to 45-degrees—the higher the angle, the more heavily it can be loaded, but the smaller the range of motion.
 
Purpose
The bent row is a basic back strength exercise that helps develop the upper and middle back, and even the lower back through its role in holding the body in position throughout the movement. It will also strengthen the shoulders and arms. It can serve to help develop postural strength, shoulder stability, back arch strength, upper back arch strength in particular, and strength to keep the bar close to the body in the pulls of the snatch and clean. It also serves a basic protective function for the shoulders and elbows by helping to balance strength development around the joints.
 
Programming
Sets of 5-15 reps are usually appropriate to suit the desired loading in a given session.  
 
Variations
The bent row can be done with a snatch grip, with hands supinated (palms facing forward), and with different trunk angles. It can also be done as a Pendlay row, in which each rep starts with the bar on the floor and the upper back slightly rounded, and then the athlete extends the upper back during the rowing motion.