Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rows

Also called one arm cable row, single arm seated row and seated one arm row.

Works

Upper back, plus biceps, lats and traps

Equipment

Cable

Level

Intermediate

Type

Compound, one side at a time

How to do it

Setup. To get into the starting position, first sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform or crossbar provided making sure that your knees are slightly bent and not locked.

1. Lean over as you keep the natural alignment of your back and grab the single handle attachment with your left arm using a palms-down grip.
2. With your arm extended pull back until your torso is at a 90-degree angle from your legs. Your back should be slightly arched and your chest should be sticking out. You should be feeling a nice stretch on your lat as you hold the bar in front of you. The right arm can be kept by the waist. This is the starting position of the exercise.
3. Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handles back towards your torso while keeping the arms close to it as you rotate the wrist, so that by the time your hand is by your abdominals it is in a neutral position (palms facing the torso). Breathe out as you perform that movement. At that point you should be squeezing your back muscles hard.
4. Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in. Tip: Remember to rotate the wrist as you go back to the starting position so that the palms are facing down again.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions and then perform the same movement with the right hand.

Cues

• Knees soft, back neutral.
• Reach forward to a full stretch.
• Drive the elbow back past the ribs.
• Torso stays tall, no rocking.

Common mistakes

• Rotating to finish the rep.
• Leaning way back.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

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