Dumbbell Single-Arm Row
The dumbbell single-arm row is a standing, staggered-stance row with your free hand braced on a bench or rack. It works the back and lats, with the biceps assisting. Pick it over the knee-on-bench row when you want a longer arc toward the hip and more room to load heavy.
Muscles worked
The dumbbell single-arm row trains the back and lats, with biceps helping.
Weekly sets for back
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for back, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the dumbbell single-arm row
- 01Stand in a split stance beside a bench, free hand on the bench, and hinge until your torso is close to parallel with the floor.
- 02Let the dumbbell hang under your shoulder with a neutral grip and your shoulder blade allowed to drift forward.
- 03Pull the dumbbell back in an arc toward your hip, driving your elbow behind your torso.
- 04Hold the top briefly, then lower slowly until your arm is fully straight and your lat stretches.
- 05Complete your reps, then switch stance and arm.
Coaching cues
- Pull in an arc to the hip
- Long stretch at the bottom
- Hips stay square
Common mistakes
- Rotating your hips and chest to get the weight up wastes the effort, so keep both hips facing the floor.
- Pulling straight up to the chest makes it a trap row, so sweep the elbow back toward your hip for more lat.
- Letting the weight crash down skips the stretch, so lower it over two to three seconds.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Dumbbell Single-Arm Row alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your dumbbell single-arm row free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.