The pike row (sometimes called the pull-up row) is the tuck front lever row with the legs straightened out and pointing at the sky. You hang under a bar with your back parallel to the floor, your legs locked straight and held vertically toward the bar, so your body makes an L shape, like an L-sit rotated onto its back. From that position you row your body up to the bar while keeping the L.
Compared to the tuck version, the straight legs put a much bigger demand on your core and hip flexors to hold the shape, and your back stays under tension for the whole rep, even in the bottom hang. It primarily hits the middle and lower traps, with plenty of work for the lats, biceps and core, which makes it a great mass builder for the back and a solid strength step toward the front lever.
Get comfortable with 3×10 tuck front lever rows first. The rowing is the same, the difference is holding the pike.
How to do it
Think of it as a four step movement. First, grab the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip and pull up until your head is level with the bar. Second, with your arms still bent, brace your core and lift your straight legs up toward the bar. Third, as your legs get close to the bar, straighten your arms and lower your body until your back is parallel with the floor. Your legs stay pointing up. You are now hanging in the L position. Fourth, row: pull up as high as you can while keeping your legs straight, your back parallel to the ground and your core tight. Visualise pulling the bar to your hips rather than your chest. That is what gets you all the way up and gives the hardest contraction in your back.
To come back down. The straight-leg exit gives your core an extra challenge at the end of the rep.
Watch more here:
Video by Ashton Fitness
Of course, also possible with rings:
Source: Granosthenics
Key tips
- Pull the bar to your hips, not your chest. If you aim for the chest your hips will drop
- Keep your back parallel to the floor. If your hips sag toward the ground, the rep does not count
- Legs locked straight, squeezed together, toes pointed. Bent knees turn this back into a tuck row
- Your core stays braced the whole time, including in the bottom hang. Do not relax between reps
- If you cannot hold the L yet, hang in the pike position for time (3×10s) before adding the row
- If 5 clean reps is too hard, do as many as you can with straight legs, then finish the set as tuck rows