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Dumbbell row

Horizontal pull for the back with dumbbells.

How to do it

1 of 3

Knee and hand on the bench

  1. Starting position

    Place one knee and the same-side hand on a bench, keep the other foot on the floor, and hold a dumbbell in your free hand.

  2. The movement

    Pull the dumbbell toward your hip with your elbow close to your body, then lower it until your arm is straight again.

Most common mistake

Don't rotate your torso as you pull, keep your shoulders and hips facing the floor.

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Muscle group
Back
Equipment
Dumbbells
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The dumbbell row trains your lats and the muscles between your shoulder blades, helped by the back of your shoulder and your biceps, while your forearm holds the grip. Because you support yourself on the bench, your lower back is spared most of the work, and you can focus on one side at a time. The usual advice is that the direction of the pull sets the emphasis: pulling towards your hip with your elbow close puts more on your lats, while pulling towards your chest with your elbow out gives your upper back and the back of your shoulder more to do.

Common mistakes

  • Your back rounds or arches. Keep your back flat like a tabletop, from neck to tailbone. Brace your abs lightly and press your supporting hand into the bench.
  • Your shoulder creeps up towards your ear. Your neck then takes over the pull. Drive your elbow back towards your hip rather than up, and keep your shoulder low.
  • The dumbbell drops after every pull. Letting it fall loses half the exercise. Lower it over a couple of seconds, letting your shoulder blade glide forward slightly at the bottom.

Variations and alternatives

  • The barbell row when you want to train both sides at once with a heavier weight.
  • The single arm cable row gives even resistance through the whole pull and smaller weight steps.
  • The seal row, with your chest on a bench, to pull with both arms without loading your lower back.
  • The backpack row works at home with a packed rucksack instead of a dumbbell.

Sets and reps

For strength, 4 to 6 reps per side with a heavy dumbbell works. To build muscle, 8 to 12 reps per side over 3 to 4 sets is common, and for endurance 12 to 20. Start with your weaker side and match the reps on your stronger side. The guide to sets and reps has more.

Dumbbells often go up in steps of 2 to 2.5 kg, a big jump when the weight is light. Add reps first, and move to the next dumbbell when you reach the top of your range on every set, on both sides. That is progressive overload with dumbbells. If your grip gives out before your back, lifting straps can help on the heaviest sets, but train your grip in other ways too.

Also called

  • one arm row
  • db row

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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