One-Arm Dumbbell Row: How to Do It, Muscles Worked, and Variations

The one-arm dumbbell row is one of the simplest ways to train your back. You rest a hand and knee on a bench, let a dumbbell hang under your shoulder, and pull it up toward your hip.

All you need is one dumbbell and something sturdy to lean on, so it works in a commercial gym or a spare corner at home.

I used to skip it in favor of push-ups and barbell rows. When I started doing heavy one-arm rows regularly, my back got bigger. Below I’ll cover the muscles it works, how to do it step by step, three useful variations, the mistakes I see most, and how many sets and reps to start with.

I’ve also marked where the research is thin, because there isn’t much direct research on this exact exercise.

One-Arm Dumbbell Row at a Glance

Exercise type	Compound horizontal pull, one arm at a time
Main muscles	Latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, middle and lower trapezius, rear deltoid, teres major
Helpers	Biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis, forearm grip muscles
Stabilizers	Core, lower back, glutes and legs
Equipment	One dumbbell and a flat bench (a rack, chair or sturdy table also works)
Best for	Back thickness, pulling strength, training each side separately

Muscles Worked During the One-Arm Dumbbell Row

In a row, your upper arm moves back toward your torso and your shoulder blade pulls back and down while your elbow bends.

That splits the work between the big muscles of the back, the muscles around the shoulder blade, and the muscles that bend your elbow.

Main Muscles

• Latissimus dorsi (lats): They pull your upper arm down and back. This is the muscle most people are aiming for with this row.
• Rhomboids: They pull your shoulder blade toward your spine at the top of the rep.
• Middle and lower trapezius: They help pull the shoulder blade back and keep it down instead of shrugging up.
• Rear deltoid: It helps draw the upper arm back, especially when your elbow travels a little out from your side.
• Teres major: A small muscle under the armpit that works with the lat to pull the arm back. The infraspinatus and teres minor, which sit on the shoulder blade, are also highlighted in the diagram above.

Helpers and Stabilizers

• Biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis: They bend your elbow as you pull.
• Forearms: They hold on to the dumbbell for the whole set, so the row also trains your grip.
• Core, lower back and glutes: They hold your torso in position so you don’t twist or round as the dumbbell moves.

What the Research Does and Doesn’t Show

I could not find a published study that measured lat activity in the one-arm dumbbell row itself, so the lats being the main target comes from the movement pattern and basic anatomy, not from direct measurement. A few studies do help fill in the picture:

• Shoulder blade muscles: In a study of 17 women, the one-arm row activated the middle trapezius more than the upper trapezius, and the lower trapezius more than the serratus anterior (Andersen et al., 2012). That fits the cue of pulling your shoulder blade back and down instead of shrugging.
• Core: In 15 trained men, performing rows with one arm activated the external oblique more than performing them with both arms. The study tested a free-weight bent-over row, a seated cable row and a machine row, not a dumbbell row (Saeterbakken et al., 2015). It’s reasonable to expect a similar effect here, but it wasn’t tested.
• Biceps: After four hard sets, the dumbbell row raised biceps thickness by about 12%, versus about 19% for the dumbbell curl, in 16 trained men (Leitão et al., 2024). Over 8 weeks in 10 untrained men, elbow-flexor thickness grew 5.2% with the dumbbell row and 11.1% with the biceps curl (Mannarino et al., 2021). The row does train your biceps, but a curl does it better. If arm size is a goal, add a dumbbell curl.

Why Do One-Arm Rows?

• Easy to set up and scale. One dumbbell and a bench is enough, and you can raise the weight in small steps.
• Each side works on its own. Your stronger arm can’t take over the load, so you’ll notice if one side is weaker. Whether this builds more muscle than two-arm rows hasn’t been shown, so don’t treat it as a proven advantage.
• Your torso is supported. With a hand and knee on a bench, your lower back doesn’t have to hold the whole weight of your upper body the way it does in a free-standing barbell row. In one lab study, the standing bent-over row produced the highest lumbar spine load of the three rows tested and the inverted row the lowest (Fenwick et al., 2009). That study did not test the dumbbell row, so treat this as reasoning from the setup, not a measured result.
• It trains your core and grip too. You have to resist twisting while you pull, and you have to hold the dumbbell.

How to Do the One-Arm Dumbbell Row

These steps are for a right-arm row. Swap sides for the left.

1. Place a dumbbell on the floor beside a flat bench. Put your left knee and left hand on the bench. Your hand should be roughly under your shoulder and your knee under your hip.
2. Plant your right foot on the floor, a little out to the side, so you feel stable. Don’t let your hips twist toward the dumbbell.
3. Hinge forward at the hips until your torso is close to parallel with the floor. A little higher is fine. Keep your spine long and your head in line with it, looking at the floor just ahead of the bench.
4. Pick up the dumbbell with your right hand, palm facing in. Let it hang straight down with your arm extended, and let your shoulder blade reach forward slightly.
5. Start the pull by drawing your shoulder blade back and down. Then drive your elbow back toward your hip, close to your side. Keep your torso still.
6. Stop when your upper arm is about level with your torso and the dumbbell is near your lower ribs or hip. Pause for a moment and squeeze your back, without shrugging toward your ear.
7. Lower the dumbbell slowly until your arm is straight again and you feel a stretch in your lat. That’s one rep.
8. Finish all reps on one side, then switch.

Breathing: There’s no single right way. Many lifters exhale as they pull and inhale as they lower. Do what lets you stay braced and keep your position.

One-Arm Dumbbell Row Variations

All three keep the same pull. What changes is how you support yourself.

1. One-Arm Dumbbell Row With Rack Support

Instead of a bench, you lean on a power rack, a dumbbell rack or a sturdy bar. It’s handy when no bench is free, and it’s a good option if kneeling on a bench is uncomfortable. Because you’re standing, you can use a staggered stance for balance.

1. Set a sturdy bar or rack at about hip to waist height. Stand facing it with the dumbbell in your right hand.
2. Step your right foot back into a staggered stance and place your left hand on the rack.
3. Hinge forward with a flat back and let your right arm hang straight down.
4. Pull your shoulder blade back, then drive your elbow toward your hip.
5. Lower with control until your arm is straight, finish your reps, then switch sides.

Make sure the rack can’t tip or slide. Keep the movement strict. Don’t use the stand to bounce the weight up.

2. Standing (Split-Stance) One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Here the only support is your free hand resting on your front thigh. You don’t need a bench or rack, so it’s the easiest version to do at home. Your legs and core have to hold you steady, so start lighter than you would on a bench.

1. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Step your left foot forward into a split stance, with your knees slightly bent.
2. Hinge forward from your hips and rest your left hand on your left thigh.
3. Brace your core and keep your back flat. Let your right arm hang straight down.
4. Pull your shoulder blade back, then drive your elbow up and back toward your hip.
5. Lower slowly to a straight arm. Finish your reps, then switch arms and, if you like, switch which leg is forward.

I notice this version in my core and grip more than the bench row. Don’t push through your thigh to help the pull, and don’t let your torso swing.

3. One-Arm Incline Bench Row (Underhand Grip Option)

You lie face down on an incline bench, so the bench supports your chest and your lower back doesn’t have to work as hard to hold your position. It also makes it harder to use momentum from your legs and hips, so it’s a strict way to train your back. The underhand grip (palm facing forward) is optional.

In a study of pulldowns and seated rows, exercise type, including a reverse-grip pulldown, did not change biceps activity (Lehman et al., 2004). That study did not test one-arm rows, so choose whichever grip feels best on your shoulder and elbow.

1. Set an incline bench to a moderate angle. Put a dumbbell on the floor next to it.
2. Lie face down with your chest against the bench pad and your feet planted on the floor.
3. Pick up the dumbbell with your right hand, using a neutral or underhand grip, and let your arm hang straight down.
4. Pull your shoulder blade back, then bring your elbow up toward your hip.
5. Pause at the top, then lower slowly until your arm is straight. Finish your reps, then switch sides.

For me, this version gives a good stretch in the lats at the bottom and a hard squeeze at the top. For a two-arm version of the same idea, see our dumbbell chest-supported row.

Common Mistakes

• Using too much weight. If you have to jerk or swing the dumbbell, it’s too heavy. Pick a weight you can lift under control for every rep of every set.
• Twisting your torso. Opening your chest toward the ceiling lets momentum do the work. Keep your shoulders roughly square to the floor.
• Rounding or arching your back. Keep your spine long from your head to your hips for the whole set.
• Shrugging. If your shoulder rises toward your ear, you’re using your upper traps instead of your lats and mid-back. Start each rep by pulling the shoulder blade back and down.
• Pulling with your arm. Think of your hand as a hook and drive your elbow toward your hip.
• Flaring your elbow too far out. A small amount of angle is fine and shifts more work to the upper back and rear delts. If your elbow shoots out wide and your shoulder feels uncomfortable, bring it closer to your side.
• Cutting the range short. Let the dumbbell hang fully at the bottom and pull until your upper arm reaches your torso.
• Dropping the weight. Lower it slowly. The slow lowering is part of the exercise.

A useful cue: brace your abs as if you were about to take a light punch to the stomach, and keep that tension while you pull. It helps keep your torso from twisting or sagging.

Sets, Reps and How Often

There’s no single perfect prescription, so use these as starting points and adjust based on how you recover.

Goal	Starting point
Muscle size	3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps per arm, finishing each set with a rep or two left in reserve
Strength	3 to 4 sets of about 5 to 8 reps per arm with a heavier dumbbell
Weekly frequency	Once or twice a week for rows, as one of several back exercises. For strength, aim for at least 2 sessions a week overall

Here’s the evidence behind these numbers. The 2026 American College of Sports Medicine position stand reviewed 137 systematic reviews. It found that muscle growth was enhanced by higher weekly volumes (10 or more sets per week) and by eccentric overload, and that strength was enhanced by heavier loads (80% of your one-rep max or more), a full range of motion, and at least 2 sessions per week.

Many other variables, including training to failure and the type of equipment, did not consistently change results (Currier et al., 2026). A meta-analysis found that more weekly sets were associated with more muscle growth (Schoenfeld et al., 2017).

A later meta-analysis found that, when total weekly volume is matched, training a muscle more often did not meaningfully change growth, so you can split your sets across the week however suits you (Schoenfeld et al., 2019).

The 8 to 12 rep range is a practical choice, not a rule from the research. The “5 to 8 reps” range for strength is my rough translation of “80% of your one-rep max or more” into reps, so treat it as an approximation. The weekly set numbers count all the sets you do for your back, including pull-ups, pulldowns and other rows, not just this one.

One-Arm Dumbbell Row Alternatives

If you can’t do the one-arm row, or you want a change, these rows train the same pulling pattern:

• Dumbbell chest-supported row: the bench holds your torso, so you can focus on pulling.
• Cable row: the weight is quick to adjust, and you sit and brace.
• Landmine row: a barbell pivoting in a landmine gives a different pulling angle.
• Chest-supported T-bar row: a heavier two-hand option with chest support.
• Renegade row: a row from a plank position. It challenges your core and balance more.

For a complete routine, see our guides to the best dumbbell back exercises and the back and bicep dumbbell workout.

FAQs

How many sets and reps of one-arm dumbbell rows should I do?

A good starting point is 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps per arm, with a weight that leaves you with a rep or two in reserve and good form on the last rep. When you can do the top of the range for every set, add a little weight. The section above explains where these numbers come from.

What weight should I use for one-arm dumbbell rows?

Pick a weight you can lift for 8 to 12 clean reps, with no twisting and no swinging. If you reach 12 easily, go up. If your form breaks before 8, go down. Pick the weight your weaker side can handle with good form and use it on both arms.

How often should I do one-arm dumbbell rows?

Once or twice a week works for most people, as part of a back workout. If muscle growth is the goal, the research points to 10 or more sets per week for the muscle group, and when volume is matched it doesn’t matter much how you split them across the week. For strength, ACSM suggests at least 2 sessions per week. There’s no proven number of rest days between sessions, so if your back is still very sore or your performance is dropping, give it another day.

Can I do one-arm dumbbell rows at home without a gym?

Yes. You need one dumbbell, ideally an adjustable one, and a stable surface to lean on, such as a flat bench or a heavy, sturdy chair or table that won’t slide or tip. If you don’t have a dumbbell, a backpack packed with books or a water jug with a handle can work for lighter sets. Check that the handle or strap is secure before you lift. The split-stance version needs no support at all.

Do one-arm dumbbell rows work the biceps?

Yes, but not as much as a curl. In the studies above, the biceps curl raised biceps thickness more than the dumbbell row, both right after a workout and after 8 weeks of training. Rows are still useful for the back, so add curls if you want bigger arms.

Can I do this row with lower back pain?

It depends on what’s causing the pain, so check with a doctor or physical therapist first. If you get the go-ahead, a supported version such as the incline bench row or the chest-supported row means your lower back doesn’t have to work as hard to hold your position. Stop any set that causes sharp or worsening pain.

References

1. Andersen CH, Zebis MK, Saervoll C, Sundstrup E, Jakobsen MD, Sjøgaard G, Andersen LL. Scapular muscle activity from selected strengthening exercises performed at low and high intensities. J Strength Cond Res. 2012;26(9):2408-2416. PMID: 22076101.
2. Saeterbakken A, Andersen V, Brudeseth A, Lund H, Fimland MS. The effect of performing bi- and unilateral row exercises on core muscle activation. Int J Sports Med. 2015;36(11):900-905. PMID: 26134664.
3. Leitão BFM, Albarello JCS, Halmenschlager GH, de Salles BF, Matta TT. Exercise selection plays an important role in inducing non-uniform acute responses on elbow flexors muscle thickness. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2024;40:1097-1101. PMID: 39593419.
4. Mannarino P, Matta T, Lima J, Simão R, Freitas de Salles B. Single-joint exercise results in higher hypertrophy of elbow flexors than multijoint exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2021;35(10):2677-2681. PMID: 31268995.
5. Fenwick CM, Brown SH, McGill SM. Comparison of different rowing exercises: trunk muscle activation and lumbar spine motion, load, and stiffness. J Strength Cond Res. 2009;23(5):1408-1417. PMID: 19620925.
6. Lehman GJ, Buchan DD, Lundy A, Myers N, Nalborczyk A. Variations in muscle activation levels during traditional latissimus dorsi weight training exercises: an experimental study. Dyn Med. 2004;3:4. PMID: 15228624.
7. Currier BS, D’Souza AC, Singh MAF, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: resistance training prescription for muscle function, hypertrophy, and physical performance in healthy adults: an overview of reviews. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026;58(4):851-872. PMID: 41843416.
8. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073-1082. PMID: 27433992.
9. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Krieger J. How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency. J Sports Sci. 2019;37(11):1286-1295. PMID: 30558493.