Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
Trains the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Place one knee and the same-side hand on a flat bench, with the other foot on the floor a comfortable distance back.
- Set your back flat and roughly parallel to the floor, and hold a dumbbell in your free hand with your arm hanging straight down.
- Let the shoulder of the working arm drop slightly at the bottom, so the shoulder blade travels forward.
- Pull the dumbbell up toward your hip by driving the elbow back, keeping it fairly close to your body.
- Finish by drawing the shoulder blade in toward your spine, then lower under control back to a full stretch.
- Complete the set, then swap sides and match the repetitions.
Common mistakes
- Twisting the torso to lift the dumbbell higher. Rotating the trunk adds range that comes from the spine rather than the shoulder blade, and it uses the obliques to move a weight the back should be moving. Keep the shoulders square to the floor.
- Pulling the dumbbell to the armpit rather than the hip. Toward the hip keeps the elbow travelling along a line the lat and lower traps can work through; toward the armpit turns it into an upright row lying down.
- Skipping the stretch at the bottom. Letting the shoulder blade travel forward at the bottom is what makes the top squeeze mean anything.
- Loading the supporting hand so heavily that the bench takes the work. The supporting arm is there for balance, not to press you upward.