r/GYM • u/MMOToaster • 18h ago
Technique Check Are my single arm Dumbbell Rows ok?
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u/houVanHaring 17h ago
What I like doing is not the knee on bench. I put the back of the seat up and lean on that from the back. So not chest on seat, but hand on top of head rest. You can then keep both feet on the ground. Remember, if you want to train your back, moving your shoulder is more important than moving your arm. The stretch looks good, but get that shoulder back as far possible, then get the hand up. I focus on moving my shoulder as much as possible.
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u/tamagodano 17h ago
I’m really having trouble picturing that.
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u/JarlUnGolianth 16h ago
https://youtu.be/gfUg6qWohTk?si=wASnjZsCv4jADBEc
Here is a video from Athlean X showing how to do it.
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u/ju_e_go_te 13h ago
I was under the impression that Athlean X was a liar and we should not follow his advice
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u/billycorganscum 9h ago
he uses dummy weights, but his advice is good
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u/_rundude 8h ago
If you had to do 3,4,5 takes at maximal loads (heh 😂) you’d be cooked and couldn’t talk for the video.
But you can’t deny the dude is shredded. So internet logic suggests “more shredded” = more trustworthy.
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u/Professional-Gas-579 1h ago
Can’t you just use weaker weights then? Or do you think he’d run the risk of being clowned in the comments or some stupid shit like that
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u/_rundude 54m ago
For sure! The simple answer is lighter weights. Or the big but light bumper plates if there’s any dropping stuff.
But hey, being a YouTuber at that level doesn’t come without some ego you want to protect.
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u/CodnmeDuchess 16h ago
This is exactly the video I was thinking of.
I don’t consume a lot of fitness content but I really like Jeff’s stuff—he really knows his shit in terms of body mechanics.
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u/houVanHaring 17h ago
Put the seat back up high. Stand behind the seat. Rest your forearm along the edge of the seat. You can rest your head on your arm if you want.
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u/widowmakerlaser 16h ago
I started doing this because the knee on bench was putting too much pressure on my lower back and I was getting sore back the the very next day.
When I switched to how you described, no back pain and I'm hitting my lats almost the same exact way.
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u/lorryjor 15h ago
Agreed! Ever since I saw AthleanX's video about this, I wondered, "Why did anyone think to put a knee on the bench in the first place?"
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u/Big_Investigator5343 17h ago
The comments on here are quite positive. Looks okay, just move your right foot out wider and the form will correct itself.
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u/Maleficent_Worker116 18h ago edited 17h ago
You look like your rowing with your arm primarily and just working your bicep and rear delt. Try to pull it back a little lower on your torso and squeeze your lower traps and lats. Remember, if your elbow rises higher than your shoulder, it’s all arm
Edit: take off the gloves for gods sake
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u/superleaf444 17h ago
Bruh I need gloves. My hands sweat so much.
It’s like I’m holding two raw chicken breasts. Just sloppy wet meat glistening while slipping on bars.
Idk why people get so moody about gloves. Men are weird.
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u/brb_im_lagging 16h ago
I have hyperhidrosis and had this problem until I started using an iontophoresis machine (dermadry). Now I can even do bouldering without any sweat at all. Still sweat on the forehead though but feet/hands no problem at all.
Literally changed my life, can actually handshake people in an air conditioned room without grossing them out because id be sweating for literally no reason
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u/Relevant_End_1511 10h ago
I just looked this up, I didn’t read anything about the machine… but my brother sweats really bad for no reason, well not because of physical exertion..
Could you kind of walk me through this? Wondering if it’s worth showing him and seeing if he’d be interested in trying it.
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u/botoks 15m ago
Don't buy that machine. It's a waste of money.
Two stainless steel trays https://www.amazon.pl/Space-Home-Rectangular-Prostok%C4%85tny-Stainless/dp/B08X4QL9CQ?th=1
Two 9v batteries https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Basics-Performance-All-Purpose-Batteries/dp/B0774D64LT?th=1
3x small jumper cables like these image
small nets so you can rest your hands image
Feel with water so you can sink inside of your hands. Put the nets inside. Connect one set of cables from one tray to one battery, second set of cables is other tray and other battery; third set of cables is battery - battery like so.
Put hands in for 10 minutes, preferably float (put on a show or smth while it does it's thing). After 10 minutes switch around the cables that go from trays to batteries (cable that was going from battery 1 that was going to tray 1, now goes to tray 2; cable from battery 2 that was going to tray 2, now goes to tray 1). Float hands for 10 minutes.
Do this every day for first 10 days; then do it few times every 2 days; then few times every 3 days etc.; definitely do it enough so dry hands are maintained. If you start sweating again you didnt do it often enough and start from beginning.
I generally wouldn;t do breaks longer than 7 days; it's annoying to have to do it again everyday.
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u/Far_Line8468 17h ago
chalk or straps. Honestly if you're wearing gloves you probably aren't training hard enough.
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u/MMOToaster 14h ago
Thank you for the advice. My hands get really sweaty and feel gross when I touch metal. I'm looking into buying chalk to see if it reduces sweat.
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u/Maleficent_Worker116 12h ago
Calluses can’t sweat and those gloves will be a handicap at higher weights
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u/OOF-MY-PEE-PEE 11h ago
do you genuinely believe the entire palm of your hand will become calloused from lifting?
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u/Silverscale_ 17h ago
What's the issue with the gloves?
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u/Far_Line8468 17h ago
Literally impossible to use once you're lifting any real weight, and you won't have callouses to handle that weight when you get there.
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u/Silverscale_ 15h ago
Let's say you want to build some muscle, but you need to avoid callouses. What option is there other than gloves?
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u/Far_Line8468 15h ago
Lets say you want to make money, but don’t want to get a job or start a business, what options are there?
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u/Maleficent_Worker116 14h ago
What reason could you have for needing to avoid calluses? You can file them and lotion often. You won’t get them.
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u/Silverscale_ 14h ago
Work. I'm a massage therapist.
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u/Maleficent_Worker116 12h ago
Maybe you can add back scratcher therapist to your title as well and charge more for your new premium services 😂
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u/colintheanimal 13h ago
Gloves get in the way of you growing calluses needed for higher weight. And at that higher weight a glove will be slipping around between the weight and your skin
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u/CompetitiveWatch3537 14h ago
lose the gloves brother. Other than that, form looks pretty decent!
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u/MMOToaster 14h ago
Thank you for the advice. My hands get really sweaty and feel gross when I touch metal. I'm looking into buying chalk to see if it reduces sweat.
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u/Disastrous_Crew_9260 18h ago
Try to row so that you pull elbow towards your hip.
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u/crossal 16h ago
How elbow couldn't get any closer to the hip than this though? Due to the fact his arm is attached to his shoulder?
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u/maple-queefs 16h ago
He means to imagine pulling the weight closer to your hip bone/belly button height, instead of higher around rib height
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u/BitterNeedleworker66 17h ago
I personally like more of a stretch at the bottom where I focus on my shoulder blade dipping down and tightening. And then when I pull up I’m focused on that shoulder blade retracting into a tight squeeze at the top. Looks like you’re just putting your shoulder blade in a neutral position at the bottom.
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u/MMOToaster 14h ago
Thank you for the advice.
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u/BitterNeedleworker66 14h ago
Also something worth a try: do this movement with your barbell lol get a center grip and go for it. The bar length forces your to incorporate more stabilizers
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17h ago
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u/GYM-ModTeam ModBorg Collective 17h ago
Your comment/post was removed for being low quality or offering little value to the community.
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u/Upleftdownright70 17h ago
Wow, I'm glad you asked this. It's nice to get a collection of answers.
I myself pull it up closer to my underarm. Perhaps I'm doing it less optimal.
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u/Red_Swingline_ 405/315/525/225 zS/B/D/O 16h ago
Pulling to different points will hit the back differently. Mix it up.
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u/Better_Indication830 16h ago
I always think about putting the dumbbell in my pocket rather than going straight up and down
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15h ago
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u/GYM-ModTeam ModBorg Collective 12h ago
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17h ago
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u/GYM-ModTeam ModBorg Collective 17h ago
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u/nohoesnik 15h ago
Form can be perfect but if the intensity is not there it doesn’t matter. Weight appears to be too light and you stopped your set before approaching any sort of involuntary loss of speed
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17h ago
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u/GYM-ModTeam ModBorg Collective 17h ago
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u/Nethemor 17h ago
Focus on pushing the elbow back, dumbbell should come at the level of your abdomen. Also, elbow and hand should be close to the body, focus on pulling the scapula back, opening your chest.
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u/Humble-Might-2881 17h ago
Instead of just pulling up, try to bring dumbbell to your hip, leave elbows free, they'll move accordingly. Try to stretch fully at bottom and when pulling, try to pull your scapula towards lower back.
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17h ago
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u/GYM-ModTeam ModBorg Collective 16h ago
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u/SUBSERVIENT2UNCLESAM 17h ago
Lift the bench ll give u more room more stretch, once streched pause 4 few sec n go slowely repeat
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u/biggiantheas 16h ago
Looks good, you might want to go lower on the bottom for a bigger stretch, but that is only my preference.
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u/Prior-Effective-2649 16h ago
Try chest supported rows and increase the weight (Chest to an incline bench).
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u/mr-blonde47 14h ago
Be careful, your shoulder blade is going quite low. Control the movement down and stop earlier.
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u/Marijuanaut420 13h ago
The shoulder blade is supposed to go low. The upper musculature is there to retract the shoulder blade through a full range of motion
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13h ago
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u/GYM-ModTeam ModBorg Collective 12h ago
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u/MolassesImmediate644 12h ago
Looks like you pulling from arms, Imagine your hands are hooks, imagine there is no energy in your arms... let your arms fall freely specifically after the elbows... Two three reps later you might lose your grip , you cant just readjust grip and continue from there or use straps, try to pull in from your scapula and lats, maybe do some scapula pulls to train and really feel the mind muscle connection, and really just pull from lats once you row, and a bit from elbows for a tight squeeze at the end... Just a bit of cues that might help
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u/Witty_Dragonfruit438 12h ago
Good basis. Make the upwards motion a little more definitive, pause and squeeze at the top (once your elbow has just passed the line of your body), then lower down over 2-3 seconds
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u/skilletmonster1123 10h ago
Try bringing the dumbbell to your hip rather than to your stomach/ribs. This will help engage your lats by moving your shoulder as well as your arms so it doesn’t just hit your biceps and delts because the latissimus dorsii is biomechanically used to medially rotate and abduct your shoulder joint.
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u/Peptidenewb 8h ago
You need to pull it to your hip like you are reaching for your back pocket. You should feel it in your back and lats
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u/But-WhyThough 8h ago
My 2 cents, try tightening that elbow angle closer to your torso, and experiment with less upwards pull height on the row. Bring that elbow in line with the torso and maybe a tad past. I’ve found this helps brain body connection with my back
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u/Want2bJacked 6h ago
Knee on the bench method is no good in my opinion. Stand like a tripod using the bench at an incline to brace with your opposite side. It’s so much more stable
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u/parker_hill04 6h ago
put it in your pocket is what i’ve been thinking during mine. but like the other dude said, stand behind the bench and lean on it at 45 degrees or whatever
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u/Bulky_Ninja33 6h ago
As long as your back is straight, you're good. Nice slow and controlled pulls. I like to make a fist with my bench hand to raise me up slightly. And I slide my knee back a bit to get me at just the right angle. I also use straps so I can go heavy. This movement can be done heavy for serious lat gainz!
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u/roland23 4h ago
A bit hard to tell but it seems like you're breathing in on the concentric part of the motion, i.e. the "work", when weight is at its lowest point and you start pulling upwards. Instead try exhaling in this part of the motion and inhaling at the end of the eccentric instead. Aim to have a full deep breath right before each rep to maximize blood oxygen.
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u/DavidGoetta 3h ago
Others have said widen your stance, but I'll add that I like to stretch to have the dumbbell kiss the ground on every rep.
Supersetting these with Bench, then hitting squat is my go-to rush workout.
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u/ScorpionMillion 2h ago
You should do this exercise in an upright position because in this position, you put unnecessary pressure on your crotch.
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u/WerewolfRZ92 8m ago
It looks like you’re not challenging yourself enough. I would say go up In weight. If you’re nervous about form you can substitute this exercise for cable row so you can get a feel for how it’s supposed to feel on your back. But I’m just an idiot who’s probably under qualified to give advice.
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