Inverted row

The ten levels

BYOH measures a discipline in ten cleared levels. Level 9 is a genuine feat; Level 10 is the standing world record, which is there to be looked at rather than reached.

Inverted row starts at Level 1 with 1 rep. Level 5 asks for 20 reps, and Level 9 - the last level a person can train towards - 75+ reps. The largest single jump is from Level 8 to Level 9, 55 reps to 75+ reps.

The record past Level 9

Inverted row — Provisional legend benchmark.

No governed body counts an inverted row. Height and body angle change the movement too much to compare attempts without a shared standard. This is a provisional benchmark rather than a governed record.

How it is done

1. Position a bar in a rack to about waist height. You can also use a smith machine.
2. Take a wider than shoulder width grip on the bar and position yourself hanging underneath the bar. Your body should be straight with your heels on the ground with your arms fully extended. This will be your starting position.
3. Begin by flexing the elbow, pulling your chest towards the bar. Retract your shoulder blades as you perform the movement.
4. Pause at the top of the motion, and return yourself to the start position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Movement guidance and imagery from the public-domain Free Exercise DB. BYOH adds the level thresholds.

How the attempt is judged

A level only means something if two heroes clearing it have done the same thing. These are the rules BYOH counts an attempt by — they are the rules of a game, not coaching.

What counts as one

One repetition is from straight arms to the chest touching the bar or the table edge, the body in one line from heel to head.

The set

One unbroken set. You may pause in the supported position for as long as you like; the set ends the moment you leave it.

What you need

A table that will not tip, or a bar at about hip height. The supported position is hanging at straight arms with the heels on the floor. Keep your heels on the floor for the standard attempt; raising them onto a chair is a harder variation and counts as the same discipline.

What ends it

Letting the hips sag or pike, or resting your back on the floor between repetitions, ends the set. A chest that does not reach does not count.

What it builds

Inverted row feeds Back and Arms in a hero’s record, working middle back, lats.

• Horizontal pull
• Posterior support
• Biceps
• Grip & forearms
• Anterior bracing

Inverted row is one of 32 strength disciplines. It shares its household requirement with 6 other strength disciplines. Back is also built by bent-over dumbbell row and superman hold, and a broad attribute needs several of them rather than one taken far.

Quests that ask for it

• No Gear RequiredPath · Level 3
• The Furnished GymDiscipline · Level 1
• Table, Chair and StairDiscipline · Level 3
• Every Room a GymDiscipline · Level 5
• Nothing But the HouseDiscipline · Level 7
• Straighten UpDiscipline · Level 1
• The Drawn BowDiscipline · Level 4
• Broad at the ShoulderDiscipline · Level 6
• A Back Like a DoorDiscipline · Level 9