One-Arm Cable Row
Also known as: Single-Arm Cable Row, Seated One-Arm Cable Row
Track this exercise in SmartWorkout
Log sets, weights and progress for free, with no workout limits.
Description
Sit on the floor facing a cable column with your legs straight and row a single handle from a long forward reach back to your lower ribs. Your lats do most of the pulling, helped by the muscles around the shoulder blade (teres major, infraspinatus, middle and lower traps) and, at the finish, the rear delt. One arm at a time lets you reach farther in front and drive the elbow deeper behind you than a bar allows, and a weaker side shows up fast. All you need is an adjustable cable column, no row station.
How to Perform
- Slide the pulley down to chest height for someone sitting on the floor (about knee height when you stand) and clip on a single D-handle.
- Sit on the floor facing the column, legs straight, feet together and heels down. Scoot back until your arm is straight and the plates still hang above the stack.
- Hold the handle with a neutral grip, thumb up and wrist straight. Sit tall on your sit bones and rest the free hand on the floor by your hip or on your thigh.
- Start from a long reach: the working shoulder travels toward the pulley, your torso leans forward about 15–20° and turns slightly away from that arm.
- You'll feel a stretch down the side of your back.
- Drive the elbow straight back along your ribs while your torso comes up to vertical. The cable should run roughly level.
- Stop with the handle beside your lower ribs and the elbow just behind your body. Pull the shoulder blade back and down and hold a second; your chest turns only slightly toward the working side.
- Let the arm travel forward over about 2 seconds until it's straight and the shoulder reaches again. The plates don't touch down between reps.
- Do every rep on one arm, then switch, starting with your weaker side. Never let go of the handle at full reach, or it snaps back to the column; pass it to your other hand.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Do 2–4 sets of 8–15 reps per arm; for strength, 6–8 is about as low as this floor-seated version goes. Add reps first: once both arms hit 15 on all sets with a full reach and a still torso, move the pin down one plate (usually 2.5–5 kg) and restart at 8.
- You should feel it along the side of your back up into the armpit and over the shoulder blade. If your biceps or lower back give out first, the hand is pulling instead of the elbow, or your torso is rocking.
- Before adding weight, slow the return to 3 seconds and pause 2 seconds at the ribs. The next step up is the One-Arm Cable Low Row, done standing, where your hips and legs also have to brace against the pull.
- Substitutes: Seated Cable Low Row Neutral Grip (both arms, feet on the foot plate, so the torso doesn't get pulled into a twist), One-Arm Low Cable Seated Row, and Dumbbell Bent Over Row when the cables are taken.
Common Mistakes
- Rocking the torso: folding far forward at the start and leaning back to finish. Keep the lean to a small reach and come back only to upright; if you can't, the weight is too heavy.
- Twisting your trunk to get the handle home. Let your chest open just a little, drive the elbow toward your back pocket and keep both hips flat on the floor.
- Lower back rounding because tight hamstrings tuck your pelvis under. Bend your knees slightly or sit on a low step or a weight plate so you can sit tall.
- Flaring the elbow out so the handle ends up at your chest. That turns it into a rear-delt pull; keep the elbow close to your ribs and finish beside the lower ribs.
Recommended Exercises
Explore exercises related to One-Arm Cable Row for back training and similar movement patterns.
Choose a workout plan or create your own for free
Ready-made plans for every goal, a free plan creator, hundreds of exercises and an advanced workout journal: all in SmartWorkout.
