One-Arm Dumbbell Row: How to Do It (VIDEO)

Every exerciser wants to get the most out of each workout. The best exercises are all about efficiency — no rep performed in vain. If that’s the case, then why would you want to spend time doing a single-arm row? After all, you do the same amount of work in half the time by performing a two-armed row.

It’s because the one-arm dumbbell row actually lets you move more weight than you could by doing a two-arm dumbbell row. When you do a dumbbell row with one arm, you can stabilize yourself with the other hand, unlike when you do a dumbbell row with two arms. Oftentimes, when stability is increased you can lift more total weight when you tap each side individually.

“The single-arm row allows you to lift heavier, which recruits the bigger muscle fibers and gives you a greater potential for growth,” says Cody Braun, CSCS. “The free hand allows you to stabilize your bodyweight more efficiently and limit the amount of back extension. Plus, whenever you work the body unilaterally, you work core stability, which is a functional bonus.”

The ability to lift more weight and increase core strength? Count us in! Here’s how to do the single-arm row with proper form, and tips on how to add it into your workout routine.

Single-Arm Row: Step-by-Step Instructions

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Holding a dumbbell in your right hand, place your other hand on a bench or stability ball in front of you. Step your right leg back keeping it straight, and bend your left leg slightly. Lean your chest forward, keeping your back flat.
Drive your elbow up, bringing the dumbbell to your ribcage.
Release your arm down and repeat.
Do equal reps on both sides.

How to Make the Single-Arm Dumbbell Row Easier

Use a lighter weight.
Reduce the amount of stress on your core: Do this by placing the knee of your non-working side on a bench parallel to you, or performing a chest-supported row, in which you lay with your chest on a inclined bench and your legs supported behind you. Let your arms hang down to the sides of the bench holding a dumbbell in each hand, and row one side at a time.

How to Make the Single-Arm Dumbbell Row Harder

Pick a heavier weight (without sacrificing form).
Decrease stability: Instead of performing the one-arm dumbbell row with one hand on a bench, try keeping it to your side or folded behind your back. You can also step your feet next to each other to increase how hard your core musculature works.

Bonus Tips for Doing the Single-Arm Row

“It’s easy to use momentum to jerk the weight up, but if you lower the weight and control the entire movement, you will get more out of this exercise,” Braun says. And always prioritize proper form. If you find that you’re using momentum to get the weight up, or your twisting your body to complete the move, go down in weight.

Benefits of the Single-Arm Row

A strong back is crucial for good posture. We often sit in a slouched position over a keyboard which leads to shoulder and neck stiffness. Back exercises like the dumbbell row can help counteract that by increasing strength in those often weak muscles.

The single-arm row is great for shoring up muscle imbalances. When you do this move, you’ll probably immediately notice that one side is stronger than the other. Individually loading each arm allows you to help close the gap.

Muscles Targeted by the Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

The single-arm row is a stellar exercise for working your back muscles, including your latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and rhomboids.

Latissimus Dorsi

Commonly called “the lats,” this is a fan-shaped pair of muscles that spans both sides of your mid and lower back that inserts on the upper arm bone. The lats are your primary “pulling” muscles and are responsible for extending your upper arm, bringing the arms toward your body, and turning the front of your arms toward your chest. When you build up your lats, they give your torso a “V” shape when viewed from behind.

Trapezius

Your trapezius muscles, often shortened to “traps,” is a kite-shaped muscle that runs vertically along your upper spine and fans out toward your shoulders. It helps stabilize and articulate your shoulder blades, which move nearly any time your arms move. As a result, there aren’t many upper-body movements that don’t involve your traps.

Rhomboids

The rhomboids are group of muscles that form a diamond-shape on your upper back. The rhomboids major and minor run from the inner edge of your scapula to your spine, and together, their primary role is to retract the scapula and help prevent excess movement in the shoulder blades while you throw and push objects.

All of these muscle groups are strengthened by the one-arm dumbbell row, helping you become even more efficient at tasks that involve rowing, pulling, and more.

Posterior deltoid

Originating at the top of your shoulder blades, your rear delts, or posterior delts, insert at the back of your upper arm a few inches below your shoulder joint.

The job of your rear delt is to pull your upper arm from a shoulder-height position in front of your body to a point behind your upper body in the same plane.

Single-Arm Row Variations and Alternatives

Here are a few back exercises that’ll work muscles similar to the one-arm row.

1. Bent-over row

Stand with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with a firm grip. Brace your core, hinge at your hips, bend your knees slightly, and lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor.
Let the dumbbells hang at arms length with your palms facing back. Engage your shoulder blades to keep your shoulders pulled back (i.e., don’t hunch). This is the starting position.
Without moving your torso, and while keeping your elbows tucked and back flat, row the weights to your sides as you squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Pause, and then lower the weights back to the starting position.

2. Chest-supported dumbbell row

Lie chest-down on an adjustable bench set to a low incline, and let the dumbbells hang at arm’s length, palms facing each other.
Without moving your torso, and keeping your elbows tucked and back flat, row the weights to your sides as you squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Pause, and then lower the weights back to the starting position.

3. Renegade row

Assume a push-up position with your hands just outside shoulder-width, gripping two dumbbells. Your feet should be in line with your hands, and your body should be straight from head to heels.
Keeping your core braced and elbow tucked, bring the dumbbell in your right hand to your ribs. Resist rotating your body. The only parts of you that should be moving is your arm and shoulder.
Lower the right dumbbell to the floor and repeat with the left one. Continue alternating sides.