Kroc Rows vs. Dumbbell Rows – Know Which One Builds a Stronger & Bigger Back
Athletes and bodybuilders often say, and even it’s true to an extent, that strong back muscles are the foundation of your upper body strength. It’s even like a secret weapon for lifters. When it’s about building a powerful and thick back, many exercises also come into mind, like bent-over barbell rowing and T-Bar rowing. Among back exercises, the two ones that look almost identical are Kroc Rows & Dumbbell Rows. However, both are different exercises and in this blog post, we’re going to explore the difference of both with a side-by-side table of Kroc Rows vs. Dumbbell Rows. Hence, continue reading to know more about it.
We’ll dive deeper into each of them, which will help you understand and decide which one you should go for according to your workout goals.
Kroc Rows vs. Dumbbell Rows – A Side-by-Side Table of Difference Between the Two
| Kroc Rows | Dumbbell Rows | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kroc rows are one of the dumbbell exercises that target your upper back, biceps & forearms. It’s a heavy & high-rep dumbbell rowing exercise that’s named after an American powerlifter & bodybuilder, Matt Kroczaleski. | A dumbbell row is a strength exercise that includes pulling a dumbbell in the upper side towards your hips while staying in a bent-over position. It’s a compound exercise that targets the largest back muscle called the latissimus dorsi. |
| Key Focus | Kroc rows is a hybrid of bodybuilding and powerlifting that aims for deadlift lockout performance, extreme grip strength, & thickness of upper back. | The main focus of dumbbell rows is on isolation and hypertrophy of the upper back muscles and lats for balanced development. |
| Advantage | Best for building huge upper back thickness and grip strength and helps increase strength for powerlifting, strongman, and even tasks like moving heavy objects. | Improves your posture, pulling strength, and aesthetics by developing your upper back and lats equally. |
| Weights Recommended | Go heavy while pushing your limits. | Recommended to use moderate to heavy weights while focusing on controlled reps. |
| Best Rep Range | 15 to 30 reps per set is recommended, but you can also go till failure. | 8 to 12 rep per set while focusing on controlled rep & hypertrophy. |
| Focus of Form | You can slightly lose your form to go for maximum weight & explosiveness. | Strict form is needed while emphasizing on muscle isolation & mind-muscle connection. |
| Grip Strengthening | Kroc Rows helps develop forearm strength & grip significantly. | Dumbbell row impact on grip strength is low compared to Kroc rows. |
| Intensity | High intensity, near maximal effort, in every set. | Moderate to high intensity, but staying equally focused on control. |
| Targeted Muscles | Upper back, traps, rear deltoids, biceps & forearms. | Lats, mid-back, rear deltoids & biceps. |
| Position of Body | Slight rotation of the torso might happen naturally at the time of performing exercise. | A stable & strict torso position needs to be maintained throughout the movement. |
| Commonly Used | Powerlifters, strongmen & bodybuilders use most of the time for building size and raw strength. | Mostly used for fitness and bodybuilding routines for building overall back muscles. |
| Injury Risk | Higher risk of injury, especially if you’re a beginner, as the form is loose & load is heavy. | Lower risk of injury due to strict form & controlled technique throughout the movement. |
| Best For | Advanced lifters who want to push their limits & improve overall strength & endurance. | Lifters of all levels are looking for hypertrophy and balanced development of back muscles. |
| Equipment Needed | Heavy dumbbells and straps work great when you go for heavy weights. | Dumbbells & bench for support. |
| Popularity | Specialized movements made popular by Matt Kroczaleski. | Most of the fitness programs widely use & recognize it. |
| Engagement of Core | Core is activated on a moderate level because of the heavy loads & lesser stability. | High core stability is needed for balancing & executing with strict form. |
| Explosiveness | Performed with explosiveness while staying focused on power. | Performed with controlled speed & deliberate motion. |
| Progressive Overload | Progression in Kroc rows usually means increasing weights aggressively. | In dumbbell rows, progression means increasing weights, reps, or controlled tempo. |
| Cardiovascular Level | It’s high because of the longer duration & high reps. | Moderate because the rep range & pace are controlled. |
| Time Efficiency | Kroc rows are time efficient when it comes to building strength & endurance at once. | Dumbbell rows might take longer if the focus is one tempo or isolation. |
| Carryover Advantage | Improves your performance in deadlift & pulling exercises. | Enhances your overall pulling mechanics & posture. |
| Ideal Exercise Phase | Best for offseason workouts & for those whose primary focus is strength. | Best for balanced workout routines & those who are focusing on hypertrophy. |
| Adjustments | Kroc rows are limited to heavy weights. They’re hard to adjust for lighter weights. | Easy to adjust for beginners and even advanced lifters by adjusting form and weight. |
| Recovery Phase | Very taxing on the body. May need longer periods for recovery. | Less taxing on the body, due to which recovery gets quicker. |
| Focus on Muscle Imbalances | Best when it comes to addressing issues related to muscle imbalances because of its unilateral nature. | Best for balancing strength between sides when it’s performed in a strict manner. |
| Skills Needed | Needs an advanced understanding of body mechanics & experience of lifting heavy weights. | Beginner-friendly, which makes it best for those who are in the starting phase of their fitness journey. |
| Warm-Up | Longer warm-up is required to prepare the body for explosive and heavy sets. | A standard warm-up is more than enough if the weights are light to moderate. |
| Alternatives | Usually focused on adding reps and weights, and there’s no better alternative exercise for Kroc rows. | Exercises like incline rowing, chest-supported rowing, and different grips are some of the best alternatives for dumbbell rowing exercise. |
| Best for Beginners | Due to load and complexity, it’s less suitable for beginners. | With proper guidance on the correct form, it’s best for beginners. |
Kroc Rows – What Is It?
Kroc rows is an exercise that takes a standard dumbbell row exercise to an extreme. Popular among experienced lifters like powerlifters, athletes, and strongman competitors, perform Kroc rows exercise using a heavy-weight dumbbell in an explosive movement for higher reps. It’s helpful to increase overall back thickness and grip strength.
Steps to Do Kroc Rows
- Go next to a dumbbell rack or any stable surface to take support.
- Bend forward slightly at an angle of 15 degrees while keeping your shoulders above the hips.
- Grab a heavy dumbbell and row explosively towards your lower ribcage.
- Keep slight momentum. However, maintain a full range of motion with a good stretch when you reach the bottom.
- Go for 20 to 30 reps, and you can even go to failure.
Note: Kroc rows aren’t about a perfect form but about moving the heaviest weight you can while keeping your back muscles engaged effectively.
Dumbbell Rows – What Is It?
Dumbbell rows are a standard bodybuilding and strength training exercise that lifters do by pulling a dumbbell. It’s done with a stable torso in a controlled way. Further, this exercise targets your rhomboids, lats, and traps while engaging your core for stability.
Steps to Do Dumbbell Rows
- For support, place your knee and hand on a flat bench.
- Keep your torso parallel to the ground and back in a straight position.
- With a free hand, handle a dumbbell and pull it towards the ribcage in a slow and controlled motion.
- When you reach the top towards your ribcage, squeeze your back muscles and then slowly lower the dumbbell.
Note: Dumbbell rows are excellent exercises to isolate muscle, back hypertrophy and controlled contraction. This exercise is commonly used within bodybuilding due to muscle focus and strict form.
Advantages of Kroc Rows
1) Upper Back Strength: Kroc rowing exercises are best to build the width and thickness of your upper back muscles.
2) Grip Strengthening: Kroc rows help improve your grip strength, particularly when you perform without using straps.
3) Stability of Core: Core engagement is needed for maintaining stability, which further helps to strengthen your abdominal muscles.
4) Arm Muscles Development: Kroc rows pulling motion activates your biceps & forearms muscles.
5) Core Strength & Lower Back: Secondary muscles that are activated by Kroc rows include your core and lower back in a better way compared to standard 1-arm dumbbell rowing exercise.
Advantages of Dumbbell Rows
1) Isolating Muscle: You can focus on fully contracting and isolating your back muscles by working your one arm at a time. Hence, it leads to more targeted muscle development.
2) Improvement of Posture: Strengthening your upper back muscles with rowing helps you maintain proper posture by preventing slouching and pulling your shoulders back.
3) Correction of Muscle Imbalances: As you train each side individually, you can go through and address any muscle imbalance between the right and left sides of the body.
4) Enhanced Stability of Core Muscle: For maintaining proper form at the time of performing one arm rowing, your core muscles get engaged for stabilizing your body. Therefore, it leads to improving your core strength.
5) Improvement of Functional Strength: Strengthening your muscles that are used for pulling motion like rowing, can benefit in other daily activities like lifting objects.
6) Better Range of Motion: Single-arm dumbbell rowing provides a better range of motion compared to barbell rowing, because of its independent movement of every arm.
7) Every Level of Lifter Can Do: You can adjust the weight of single-arm dumbbell rowing according to your fitness level, making it flexible for everyone, including beginners, to try.
Kroc Rows vs. Dumbbell Rows – Which One to Choose?
Choosing between the two exercises entirely depends upon your fitness level and overall training goal. For instance,
- Going for Kroc rows is best when you want to increase strength, grip strength, and deadlift carryover.
- Going for dumbbell row is best when you want to control overall back growth, isolation of muscles, and bodybuilding style workout.
Closing Thoughts
The Kroc rows vs. dumbbell rows debate isn’t about which exercise is better among the two. But it’s about using the right exercise according to your overall training goal. For instance, if you choose aesthetic muscle growth using strict control movement, one-arm dumbbell rows are what you should choose. However, if you want the thickness of the upper back, carryover for deadlift, or better grip strength, Kroc rows are good to go.
Nonetheless, whichever exercise you choose to go with, correct technique, consistency, and progressive overload are needed to see back size and strength reaching new levels.
