Seated One-Arm Cable Pulley Rows

A unilateral compound rowing exercise using a cable machine that develops back thickness, biceps, and stability by pulling a single handle row.

Instructions

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. Your back should be slightly arched and your chest should be sticking out. You should be feeling a nice stretch on your lat as you hold the bar in front of you. The right arm can be kept by the waist. This is the starting position of the exercise.
4. Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handle back towards your torso while keeping your arm 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). Breathe out as you perform that movement. At that point you should be squeezing your back muscles hard.
5. Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in. Remember to rotate the wrist as you go back to the starting position so that the palms are facing down again.
6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions and then perform the same movement with the right hand.

Tips

• Maintain a stable, upright torso throughout; avoid rotating or leaning during the pull.
• Feel the middle back contracting, not just the arms; pull with your elbows rather than your hands.
• Use a controlled tempo with 2-3 seconds of pulling and 2 seconds of return.
• Perform all reps on one side before switching to balance the workload effectively.
• This single-arm variation builds unilateral strength and core stability better than bilateral rowing.