One-Arm Cable Row

Muscles worked: Back (assisted by biceps).

How to do it

1. To get into the starting position, first sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform or crossbar provided making sure that your knees are slightly bent and not locked.
2. Lean over as you keep the natural alignment of your back and grab the single handle attachment with your left arm using a palms-down grip.
3. With your arm extended pull back until your torso is at a 90-degree angle from your legs.
4. Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handles back towards your torso while keeping the arms close to it as you rotate the wrist, so that by the time your hand is by your abdominals it is in a neutral position (palms facing the torso).
5. Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in.

Coaching cues

The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:

• Square hips, brace the free hand
• Full stretch forward, elbow to the hip

Logging it

IronPack suggests working in the 8 to 12 rep range, progressing in 2.5 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.

Related exercises

• Deadlift - back, glutes
• Pull-Up - back
• Chin-Up - back, biceps
• Lat Pulldown - back

Photos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.