EXECUTION
• Stand alongside an exercise bench in a wide stride stance. The leg closest to the bench should be in front and your outside leg behind.
• Bend over forward from the hips while maintaining normal spinal curvature until your back is almost parallel to the floor. Bend your knees as necessary to assume this position and for good balance.
• Grasp a dumbbell in your outside hand and place the hand closest to the exercise bench on the bench for support. Maintain a straight-arm position with the shoulder directly above the arm.
• Use a neutral grip with your palm facing toward your body. Your working arm should hang straight down and the shoulder should be relaxed, but not completely, so that the shoulders remain basically level with the floor.
• Inhale slightly more than usual and hold your breath as you pull the weight up by bending and raising your elbow as high as you can well above the level of your back. The arm should stay close to the body as you raise the dumbbell.
• After maximally raising your elbow, raise your shoulder as high as possible to get a strong contraction of the rhomboid, middle trapezius and upper latissimus dorsi. Do not rotate the trunk.
• After reaching the uppermost position, exhale and return to the start position.
PERFORMANCE
• Initiate the upward movement with a vigorous pull, especially when using heavy weights, to ensure a full range of motion.
• Keep the shoulders level to the floor at all times. Do not rotate the torso as you raise your shoulder; doing so defeats the major purpose of the exercise.
• Keep your back horizontal and maintain normal spinal curvature. In this position, the muscles will be working fully against gravity to give you the best development. If your trunk is at an angle to the bench, your muscular involvement will change.
• Do not use excessively heavy weights. If you do, not only will your range of motion be compromised, but you will have to jerk the weight to overcome its resting inertia which can cause injury. In addition, you will find it difficult if not impossible to get the elbow up above the level of the back. This is important for full development of the lats and mid-back muscles, which are important for women in holding the shoulders back.
• To emphasize the lower lats be sure to use a neutral grip and keep your arm (elbow) alongside the body during execution. If you use a pronated grip (palm facing toward the rear) it will change the emphasis to mid-back and upper lats. But, you can still involve these muscles if you raise the elbow above the level of the back when using the neutral grip.
• I do not recommend placing the knee closest to the bench, on the bench for support. When your inside knee and hand are on the bench the back muscles have a tendency to relax, making normal curvature of the spine more difficult to maintain. As a result, stability decreases and your chances of injury increase, especially if the weight is sufficiently great.
• For variety, do the bent-over row using both the neutral and pronated grips; this will give you more complete development of the lats and the mid-back muscles.
PRIMARY MUSCLES INVOLVED
The primary muscles in the shoulder joint are the latissimus dorsi, teres major, and lower pectoralis major. They are assisted by the posterior deltoid and long head of the triceps. The latissimus dorsi is a large muscle covering the sides of the middle and lower back. In this exercise it is mainly the lower portion that is involved with the upper portion coming into play at the end of the movement. The lower pectoralis major, the major muscle of the chest, is used in the early part of the movement but not when the elbow is level and moves above the level of the back. The teres major is a round muscle located alongside the upper portion of the latissimus dorsi. Its function is basically the same as the latissimus dorsi. The posterior deltoid is a key muscle involved when using the pronated grip and with a relaxed shoulder, the teres minor and infraspinatus also become involved. In the shoulder girdle the rhomboid, middle trapezius, and pectoralis minor are the primary muscles involved. The rhomboid is a deep muscle lying underneath the trapezius in the middle of the upper back. The middle trapezius is located in the middle of the muscle, which runs from the base of the skull through the twelfth thoracic vertebrae. MUSCLE AND JOINT ACTIONS In the one arm dumbbell row the main action is shoulder joint extension. In this movement the arm remains in a vertical plane and moves from a position below the body to a position above the trunk. The arm stays close to the side of the body throughout the movement. To allow the arm to rise above the level of the back, the scapula move in (via contraction of the rhomboids and middle trapezius) and rotate downward (via contraction of the rhomboid and pectoralis minor).
SPORTS USES
The muscles and actions involved in the one-arm dumbbell row are seen in all down and back movements of the arm. These actions are very important in gymnastics, especially in free exercise and on the uneven bars. In sports, the act of pulling the arms down and back can be seen in basketball rebounding, hand balancing, rowing, archery, swimming (especially the later phase of the pull), wrestling, judo, football, rope climbing and in tug of war. In rope climbing and rock climbing, this exercise is extremely valuable to help pull you up. By changing the grip to pronated the one-arm dumbbell row also becomes important in the racquet sports, as for example, in the tennis backhand. It is also important for posture in keeping the shoulders back, which in turn is needed for proper execution of various skills. In bodybuilding the one-arm dumbbell row is extremely important for development of the latissimus dorsi and the mid back muscles, especially when using both the neutral and pronated grips. Thus it is an extremely important exercise for bodybuilders and athletes.