Seated One-arm Cable Pulley RowsMuscles Worked
The seated one-arm cable row works your upper back, with your lats, biceps and traps assisting as you pull a single handle to your side. Turning your palm from facing down to facing in during the pull, one arm at a time, helps you match the effort on each side.
PrimaryUpper Back
- Equipment
- Cable
- Level
- Intermediate
- Type
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
How to do it
- Attach a single handle to the low pulley, sit facing the machine, and set your feet on the platform with your knees slightly bent.
- Lean forward with a flat back, take the handle in one hand with your palm facing down, then sit tall with that arm extended.
- Pull the handle toward your lower ribs, driving your elbow back close to your body and turning your palm to face in as you go.
- Squeeze your shoulder blade back at the end of the pull without rotating your torso.
- Let the handle travel forward slowly, turning your palm back down, then finish your reps and switch arms.
Form tips
- Keep your shoulders square to the machine rather than twisting to pull further.
- Let your shoulder blade reach forward at the end of each rep for a full stretch, but keep your torso upright.
- Start with your weaker arm and match its reps on the other side.
Why it made the list
No. 11 of 12
Best Upper Back Exercises
Unilateral cable row addresses left/right imbalances with constant cable tension.
More upper back exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rows sets in KasMaker and watch your upper back, biceps, lats, and traps fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
