Muscles Worked: Middle Back, great for adding thickness to the middle back muscles.
Spotter Required: No
Minimum Equipment required: Standard dumbbells and a bench press
The Best Equipment to Use: Olympic or fixed dumbbells and a bench press
Warming up: If one arm dumbbell rows are the first exercise in your back workout I strongly suggest warming up the back muscles with about 5 warm-up sets, gradually increasing the weight and lowering the reps as you go through the warm-up sets. For example:
Warm-up set 1: 20% of the weight you normally lift for 12 reps
Warm-up set 2: 60% of the weight you normally lift for 8 reps
Warm-up set 3: 75% of the weight you normally lift for 5 reps
Warm-up set 4: 85% of the weight you normally lift for 3 reps
Warm-up set 5: 95% of the weight you normally lift for 1 rep
How often should I perform this exercise: One arm dumbbell rows are great for adding thickness to the back and can be performed with every back workout. One arm dumbbell rows can be substituted for barbell bent over rows.
When should I perform this exercise: One arm dumbbell rows do not use a great deal of energy and can be performed near the end of your back workout.
How to do the exercise: Holding a dumbbell in your right arm (palms facing towards your body), put your left leg onto the bench and your right leg on the floor, bend over and put your left hand at the front of the bench press. Your back should be straight and parallel to the ceiling throughout the workout.
Now move your right leg slightly out so that when you lift the dumbbell it does not get in the way and also helps keep you balanced, keep your neck neutral with your spine throughout the workout.
Begin to lift the dumbbell making sure you keep your elbow tucked into your body as you lift, as you reach the top of the movement squeeze your shoulder blade for half a second then lower the weight back down in a controlled manner.
When you get to the bottom of the movement do not lock your elbows, always keep a slight bend in them, lastly do not drop your shoulders when the dumbbell reaches the bottom. Complete this movement until you have completed your reps then switch to the other arm. Remember one set means both the left and right arm have been worked out, so if you are going for 3 sets you have to work out the left arm 3 times and the right arm 3 times.
Common Mistakes
Lifting too heavy – I often see people in the gym lift far too heavy, in fact they lift so heavy that they just throw the weight up and allow gravity to bring it back down, with no strict control whatsoever. Unfortunately for these people they are only risking injury of the back and shoulders and also not working the correct muscles.
Looking in the mirror – I often see people keep their head forward and look in the mirror. Always keep your head neutral with your spine throughout the workout.
Dropping the shoulder – For some reason people drop their shoulder when the weight reaches the bottom, do not do this, always keep your shoulders tight throughout the workout, dropping the shoulder will cause unwanted strain on the front and mid deltoids and this is not the muscle we want to be working on this exercise.
Mentality: As you become tired it can become difficult to bring the dumbbell up to the top to contract your back muscles, if this happens take a 2-3 second pause when the dumbbell is at the bottom and try again.
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