One-Arm Kettlebell Row

Muscles worked

The prime movers are the rhomboids and mid-trapezius, which draw the shoulder blades together and back down the ribcage.

Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the biceps add force at the elbow; the lats keep the upper arm drawn in toward the torso.

Every exercise for:Middle backBicepsLats

How this movement works

The load travels toward you and several joints bend to bring it there. The arms finish work the back starts, so grip and elbow flexors sit in the path of every repetition: when people stall on a compound pull, it is more often the hands giving out than the primary muscle running out of force.

It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.

What you need

A kettlebell's mass hangs below and outside the handle, so it pulls away from the grip and the wrist has to stay packed. That offset is why racked and swinging variations feel nothing like the dumbbell version.

Every exercise using:Kettlebell

These train the middle back too, using equipment this one does not:

• One-Arm Long Bar Rowbarbell
• Rhomboids-SMRfoam roll
• Seated Cable Rowscable
• Smith Machine Bent Over Rowmachine
• Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Rowdumbbell

Difficulty

Listed at intermediate level. It assumes you already own the underlying pattern and can hold position under load — if the position breaks before the target muscle tires, drop back to a beginner variation until it does not.

Of the 37 middle back exercises in this database, 10 are listed at intermediate level.