Exercise
Resistance Band One Arm Bent Over Row
How to Perform - Resistance Band One Arm Bent Over Row
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and secure the resistance band beneath one foot, ensuring it's flat and stable on the ground.
- Grab the other end of the band with the opposite hand, palm facing your body, and hinge at your hips to bring your torso forward until it's nearly parallel to the floor.
- Keep your back flat, core engaged, and knees slightly bent while maintaining a neutral spine throughout the movement.
- Allow your working arm to hang straight down from your shoulder, with the resistance band creating tension in your starting position.
- Exhale as you pull the band upward by driving your elbow toward the ceiling, keeping your upper arm close to your body.
- Squeeze your shoulder blade toward your spine at the top of the movement, pausing briefly to maximize back muscle engagement.
- Inhale as you slowly lower your arm back to the starting position with control, maintaining tension in the band throughout the movement.
- Complete all repetitions on one side before switching to the opposite arm and foot position.
Important information
- Keep your torso stable throughout the movement—avoid rotating or twisting as you pull the band.
- Maintain a neutral neck position by looking at a spot on the floor a few feet ahead of you rather than craning your neck up.
- Adjust band resistance appropriately—you should feel challenged but able to maintain proper form through all repetitions.
- If you experience lower back pain, reduce the forward hinge angle or choose a lighter resistance band.
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The Resistance Band One Arm Bent Over Row stands as a versatile back-building exercise that delivers impressive results with minimal equipment. This intermediate movement primarily targets the latissimus dorsi (lats) and trapezius (traps) muscles, making it an excellent addition to both bodybuilding routines and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) circuits when you're focusing on developing upper body strength. What makes this exercise particularly effective is how it isolates each side of the back independently, allowing you to address muscle imbalances that might go unnoticed in bilateral movements. The unilateral nature of this row creates greater core engagement as your midsection works to stabilize your body against the band's resistance, essentially giving you a supplementary core workout while you build your back.
The beauty of incorporating resistance bands lies in their unique resistance profile: they create increasing tension throughout the movement, particularly at the point of peak muscle contraction. This variable resistance pattern challenges your muscles differently than free weights, promoting new adaptations and growth.
For bodybuilders, this means more complete muscle development; for HIIT enthusiasts, it translates to efficient strength work that keeps the heart rate elevated. From a strength development perspective, the one-arm approach allows for greater mind-muscle connection with each side of your back. This heightened awareness can translate to improved recruitment of muscle fibers and, consequently, enhanced strength gains over time. The constant tension provided by the band also minimizes the rest periods at the bottom of the movement, keeping your muscles under stress throughout the entire set.
Resistance bands offer progressive overload options by simply adjusting your stance or selecting different band tensions, making this exercise scalable as your strength improves. Whether you're looking to add detail to your back musculature for physique purposes or develop functional pulling strength that transfers to daily activities, the Resistance Band One Arm Bent Over Row delivers impressive results while being gentle on the joints.
FAQ - Resistance Band One Arm Bent Over Row
This exercise primarily targets the latissimus dorsi (lats) and trapezius muscles, while also engaging the rhomboids, rear deltoids, and biceps as secondary movers. Your core muscles also work continuously throughout the movement to maintain proper posture and stability.
To make it easier, use a lighter resistance band or stand closer to the anchor point to reduce tension. For a greater challenge, choose a heavier band, stand further from the anchor point, or slow down the eccentric (lowering) phase to 3-4 seconds per repetition.
The most common mistakes include rounding your lower back, rotating your hips instead of keeping them square, rushing through the movement, and not hinging properly at the hips. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine, moving with control, and keeping your standing knee slightly soft rather than locked.
For optimal results, incorporate this exercise 1-2 times weekly as part of your push or arm-specific training days. Since it's an isolation movement, it works best when programmed after compound exercises, using 3-4 sets of 8-15 repetitions depending on your specific goals.
Yes, you can perform a similar movement using a dumbbell, kettlebell, or cable machine. The dumbbell single-arm row provides comparable benefits, though resistance bands offer the unique advantage of increasing tension at the point of peak contraction, which can enhance muscle activation patterns.
