Every month the same movement tops our ranking of what coaches program, and every month its lead gets a little wider. In October 2026 a row of some kind reached 59.7% of clients on QuickCoach. The lat pulldown, in second, reached 38.2%. Nothing else is within 25 points of the row.
That's a striking amount of agreement among thousands of coaches who never consult each other. So we went below the headline figure to see which rows they program, how pulling stacks up against pushing, and what the row's dominance says about the way online coaching is written.
The short answer
The row leads because it does three jobs in one accessible movement: it trains the upper back and posture, balances the pressing most clients already do, and works with any kit from a band to a barbell. In October 2026 it reached 59.7% of clients on QuickCoach, and row entries were 4.0% of all assigned exercises.
What this is, in one paragraph
Coaches type exercise names as free text. Every month we group every spelling of the same movement together and count the share of clients assigned each one, the method behind our living what coaches program page. For this report we read every row entry in October 2026's 232,596 verified assigned exercises, split them by the implement in the name, and compared the pull and push patterns. The full method is at the foot of the page.
How many clients get a row?
Almost six in ten. The row reached 59.7% of clients in October 2026, up from 57.7% in September and 56.8% in August. It has led every monthly read we have published, and the point-in-time most-programmed exercises report found the same thing earlier in the year on a share-of-programs basis, where a row appeared in about 27% of active programs against 24% for the squat.
By volume the row is even further ahead. Row entries made up 4.0% of all assigned exercises in October, against 2.1% for the lat pulldown and 1.8% for the Romanian deadlift. One assigned exercise in 25 is a row of some kind.
Which row variations do coaches program?
Cable and machine rows first, then dumbbell rows, then everything else. When we sort October's row entries by the implement written into the name, 38% name a cable, seated or machine row and 31% a dumbbell or single-arm row. Bodyweight rows on a bar, rings or a suspension trainer are 9%, and barbell rows, including the Pendlay, T-bar and landmine versions, are 7%.
| Implement named in the row entry | Share of row entries |
|---|---|
| Cable, seated or machine row | 38% |
| Dumbbell, single-arm or kettlebell row | 31% |
| Inverted, ring, TRX or bodyweight row | 9% |
| Barbell, Pendlay, T-bar, landmine or Meadows row | 7% |
| Chest-supported or incline bench row | 3% |
| Band row | 2% |
| Bent-over row, implement not stated | 2% |
| Other or just "row" | 7% |
Share of October 2026 row entries by the implement in the exercise name, from a text match on raw names. Rowing machines and the upright row are excluded. A chest-supported dumbbell row counts once, under chest-supported.
The grouped figures tell the same story from the client's side. Among named variations, the inverted row reached 4.3% of clients, the seated row 3.0%, the gorilla row 2.6%, the chest-supported row 2.3%, the renegade row 1.9%, the three-point row 1.7% and the Pendlay row 1.6%. Each of these sits inside the 59.7% headline, so they can't be added together. A client who got a seated row on Monday and a dumbbell row on Thursday counts once.
The upright row, at 3.5% of clients, is kept out of all of this. It shares the word but not the movement: it's a shoulder exercise, and our isolation exercises report covers it alongside the lateral raise.
Why do coaches program the row more than anything else?
Three reasons stand out in the data, and they compound. The first is balance. Coaches assign a lot of pressing: the bench press reached 31.7% of clients in October, the shoulder press 22.7%, the push-up 21.1% and the chest press 20.5%. A horizontal pull is the natural counterweight, and coaches lean on it hard enough that pulling (18.3% of assigned exercises) edges pushing (17.3%) across the whole platform.
The second is the client. Most people spend their day rounded forward over a desk or a phone, and the upper back, rear shoulders and grip are what a row trains. The face pull, at 19.0% of clients, and the band pull-apart, at 5.6%, show the same intent in smaller doses. Coaches are programming posture, not just lats.
The third is access. A row can be done with a cable, a machine, a dumbbell, a barbell, a band, a suspension trainer or a table edge. That is why the implement split above is so even and why the row survives any change in a client's circumstances. A client who loses their gym keeps their row. Few other movements in the top ten can say that.
Why do coaches write "row" so many ways?
Because the row carries more variation than any other movement. More than 1,400 distinct exercise names in October contain the word "row", once rowing machines are set aside. Our naming report found the same thing with a different method in September, when the grouped row had 770 spellings, more than any other movement. The reason is useful detail written into the name: single-arm, chest-supported, neutral grip, paused, 3-point, left and right.
That detail is good coaching. It's also a tax if it's retyped. A name written fresh loses its demo video and its history, which is why exercise abbreviations and name variations recommends one clean library name per movement with the grip, tempo or side in the exercise note.
How should you program rows for online clients?
Put one horizontal row in most sessions and match it to the pressing in the same session. The row is the one movement where the data and the textbook agree, so the question isn't whether to program it but which version. This is general coaching guidance alongside our data, not a platform figure.
- Pick the row by the client's kit. Cable or machine rows for gym clients, a single-arm dumbbell row or band row at home, an inverted row under a table or bar for a client with nothing. Coaches already do this, which is why the implement split is so even.
- Pair it with the press. A bench press session gets a row, a push-up day gets a band row. Keeping pulls level with or slightly ahead of pushes is the balance the platform shows.
- Use a chest-supported version when the lower back is the limit. Only 3% of row entries are chest-supported, which is low given how often a tired lower back, not a tired upper back, ends a set of bent-over rows.
- Progress it like a main lift. The row is often written as an accessory, but at 59.7% of clients it's doing main-lift work. Track the load.
Rows also sit at the centre of the machine list. The seated row and lat pulldown are two of the gym movements coaches lean on most, which we cover in the gym machines coaches program most, and the row's climb in October is part of the wider pull-and-machine shift in what changed from September to October 2026.
Methodology and limitations
How we got these numbers
Source. October 2026 programming on QuickCoach, a platform used by more than 40,000 coaches and fitness businesses worldwide: 232,596 verified assigned exercises grouped into 4,721 canonical movements. September figures are from the September 2026 read published on what coaches program. No individual coach, client or plan is identifiable in anything published here.
Definitions. A movement's figure is the share of clients assigned it at least once in the month, every spelling grouped together. Named variations such as the inverted row are reported from the grouped data and sit inside the row total; they are not additive. The implement split is a text match on raw exercise names containing the word "row", excluding rowing machines, ergs and the upright row, and counts each entry once under the first implement matched. Pattern shares are of classified assigned exercises on a 90th-percentile trimmed set of 215,274 entries.
Limits. The implement split depends on coaches writing the implement into the name; about 7% of row entries don't. The count of names containing "row" is not comparable with the grouped spelling counts in earlier reports. Figures are rounded.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most-programmed exercise in online coaching?
The row. In October 2026 a row of some kind reached 59.7% of clients on QuickCoach, more than 20 points ahead of the lat pulldown (38.2%) and the Romanian deadlift (34.9%). Row entries were 4.0% of all assigned exercises, the largest share of any movement.
Which row variation do coaches program most?
Cable, seated and machine rows, which are 38% of row entries, followed by dumbbell and single-arm rows at 31%. Bodyweight rows on a bar, rings or suspension trainer are 9%, and barbell rows, including the Pendlay, T-bar and landmine versions, are 7%.
Do coaches program more pulling or pushing?
Slightly more pulling. Pulls were 18.3% of assigned exercises on QuickCoach in October 2026 against 17.3% for pushes, and the row, lat pulldown and face pull all gained client reach that month. The balance is deliberate: most clients spend their day rounded forward.
Is a dumbbell row as good as a cable row?
For most clients, yes. Both train the upper back and lats; the cable keeps tension even through the range, the dumbbell lets each side work alone and needs no machine. Coaches program both almost equally. This is general coaching guidance, not a QuickCoach data figure.
How many ways do coaches write the word row?
More than 1,400 distinct exercise names contained the word row in October 2026 on QuickCoach, excluding rowing machines. Most of the variety is detail written into the name, such as grip, side or tempo, which belongs in the exercise note rather than the name.
Published from October 2026 programming data. The full monthly ranking lives on what coaches program. Questions about the data? Reach us at support@quickcoach.fit.
