Renegade Rows are awesome. They target and attack the back, chest, shoulders and arms, all while working the core like crazy.
I’ve been doing these for years, but I used to absolutely butcher them. Hips twisting all over the place, lack of a true full row, saggy hips during the pushup. Looking back, it was horrible.
Perfect Your Pushup, Get the Most Out Your Rows
What do I wish I would have done back then instead? What do I do with clients now to make sure we progress to these correctly?
1. Work various pushup position reaches into warm ups. Shoulder Taps, Belly Button Taps, and Forward Reaches all are sweet. This prepares us to stabilize and lock down the renegade position. No twisting, turning, shifting, or leaning in the hips.
2. Work various rows into the program. TRX Rows (shown below), Cable Rows, Band Rows, DB Rows, KB Rows, etc. We want to know and understand the mechanics of retracting and rowing. No short stubby renegade rows.
3. Own pushups. What does this mean? A good pushup showcases all of the following: good depth, stable hips and core and elbows in good position (not too tucked, not flared out, that sweet spot right in the middle.)
When we have those three things locked down, it’s a safe bet our Renegade Rows will be perfect.
Here’s a sample Renegade Row routine:
Set up with your hands shoulder width apart on a set of medium weight dumbbells and feet just wider than shoulder width apart. Notice a few key things about form: hips never move, full range row, and great elbow angle during push-ups. Perform 1 perfect pushup followed by 1 sweet row on each arm. Hit 2-3 Sets Of 8-12 Reps.
To see Renegade Rows in action, check out the video below.