How to do the Dumbbell Row
Step by step
- Place one knee and the same-side hand on a bench, holding a dumbbell in the other hand.
- Set a flat back roughly parallel to the floor, dumbbell hanging straight down.
- Keep your torso still and your shoulder down.
- Pull the dumbbell up toward your hip, driving your elbow back past your ribs.
- Squeeze your back at the top, then lower the dumbbell slowly to a full stretch.
The thing people get wrong
Drive your elbow back and pull toward your hip rather than straight up. Keep your torso quiet instead of twisting to lift the weight.
Coaching cue
Let the dumbbell hang all the way down at the start of each rep so your back gets a full stretch.
Make it easier or harder
- Harder: Pause one second with the dumbbell at your hip.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Upper Back, Lats
- Secondary: Biceps, Core, Forearms
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.