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Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row

Middle BackBarbell

beginner · compound · strength

Also works: Biceps · Lats · Lower Back · Traps

One end of an Olympic bar is wedged into a corner, the other end is loaded, and you row it with one hand while bracing the other on your knee. Because the bar pivots on a fixed point, the load travels on an arc rather than straight up, which lets you pull heavy one-armed without a dumbbell rack in sight.

▸ How to

Own the movement

Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.

Before the first rep

Jam the empty end into a corner, or pin it under a heavy dumbbell. A bar that slides mid-set will take your ankles with it.
Load the far end with 10 kg plates rather than 20s. Small plates keep the handle low, which buys you several centimetres of extra stretch at the bottom.
Straddle or stand alongside the bar, knees bent about 20 degrees, hips pushed back until your torso is close to horizontal.
Grip the bar just behind the plates with a neutral hand, and plant the other palm firmly on the same-side knee.
Brace, then take the slack out of the lat before the plates leave the floor.

Every rep

Pull the elbow back along the line of your torso until the plates reach your lower ribs.

Let the shoulder blade retract at the top rather than stopping at pure elbow flexion.

Squeeze for a full second at the top, then lower until the arm is completely straight and the lat is stretched long.

Stop the plates just short of the floor so the bar never rests between reps.

Keep the torso absolutely still. Only the arm and shoulder blade move — no twisting to meet the bar.

Breathing & tempo — Exhale as the plates come to your ribs, inhale as the arm straightens. One second up, a one-second squeeze, two to three seconds down to a full stretch.

Before you load it

Secure the anchored end before every set, not just the first. Bars creep out of corners as the loaded end swings, and a loose Olympic bar under 40 kg is heading straight for your feet.

▸ Programming

Sets, reps & load

Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.

Strength

4 sets of 5-6 per arm

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 per arm

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 per arm

Remember the anchored end carries roughly half, so 40 kg of plates feels closer to a 20-25 kg dumbbell row. Start at 20 kg of plates and add 5 kg once you can complete twelve strict reps per side with a still torso. The marker for progressing is the free hand: as soon as you are pushing hard on the knee to help the bar up, stop adding weight.

▸ Fix your form

What goes wrong

The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.

Twisting the torso open to help the bar up, so the shoulder rolls towards the ceiling.

Press the supporting hand hard into your knee and keep both shoulders level with the floor. Drop 5 kg and add a one-second pause at the top until the rotation disappears.

Using 20 kg plates, so the bar bottoms out with the elbow still bent.

Load with 10 kg plates instead. The smaller diameter drops the handle several centimetres and restores the bottom half of the range where the lat actually stretches.

Shrugging the plates upwards instead of driving the elbow behind you.

The bar travels on an arc, so pulling straight up fights the pivot. Aim the elbow at the wall behind you and let the plates follow that line to your ribs. If your traps are what burn afterwards, you rowed vertically.

Letting the plates rest on the floor between reps and bouncing the next one off it.

Stop the descent a couple of centimetres short of the ground. If you cannot control that, the load is too heavy for the range you are trying to use.

▸ The case for it

Why bother

The anchored end takes a share of the weight and turns the bar into a lever, so the resistance builds as you pull rather than sitting constant. That arc also lets the elbow travel further behind your torso than a dumbbell allows, which is where the rhomboids and lower traps actually contract.

Bracing your free hand on your knee is what separates this from the two-arm version. It offloads the spinal erectors, so the set ends when your mid-back is done rather than when your lower back gives up. That is the trade: less trunk work, more usable rowing volume per side.

Where it fits

Second movement on a pull day, after chins or a two-arm barbell row, 8-12 reps per side for three sets. It is also the right pick as a main row on a day where your lower back is already beaten up from deadlifts — the supported hand is doing real work for you.

▸ Swap it out

If this one isn't it

No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.

▸ Questions

Asked and answered

How much weight is the anchored end actually taking?

Roughly half, though it varies with how far behind the plates you grip. Grip closer to the plates and you carry more; slide your hand towards the middle of the bar and the anchor takes more. Never compare the number to a dumbbell row — log it, and compare it only to itself over time.

Do I need a landmine attachment?

No, but it helps. A landmine sleeve gives the bar a proper pivot and stops it wandering. Without one, a corner plus a heavy dumbbell across the end works fine — just check it before every set and put a towel down so you do not chew up the wall or the bar's knurling.

Is this better than a one-arm dumbbell row?

Different, not better. The arc lets the elbow travel further back and the resistance climbs through the pull, which many people feel more in the mid-back. A dumbbell row gives a straighter line and a longer stretch at the bottom. If your gym's dumbbells stop at 40 kg, this is how you keep loading a one-arm row.

Should I brace on a bench instead of my knee?

A bench is more stable and easier to hold a flat back on, so use one if you want to push the load. Bracing on your own knee keeps the setup portable and asks a little more of the hips and trunk. Both are legitimate; just do not switch between them mid-block and expect the weights to match.