One-Arm Long Bar Row
Also works: Biceps · Lats
A landmine row done one hand at a time: one end of a barbell wedged in a corner or landmine sleeve, plates on the other, and you row that loaded end to your side from a hinge. The pivot at the far end forces the bar along an arc, which keeps the elbow tucked and the pull naturally in the groove.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Wedge the empty end into a landmine sleeve, or into a corner with a heavy plate on top of it so it cannot skid out.
- Load small plates rather than one big one — a 25 kg plate can leave no room for your hand near the collar.
- Stand beside the bar, straddling nothing, and grip just behind the collar with the working hand.
- Stand it up with your legs, then hinge back down: hips pushed back, chest up, arm hanging straight.
- Set the feet staggered, working-side foot slightly back, so the bar has a clear path past your leg.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Exhale as the bar comes to the hip, inhale on the way down. One second up, one second paused, three seconds down. Reset the brace at the bottom of every rep.
Before you load it
- Secure the far end before every set. A bar that shoots out of a corner under load takes your grip and your balance with it.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Start with a single 10 kg plate and treat the number as a scale of its own — because the far end pivots, the weight in your hand is well under the plate total. Add 5 kg a side once you can pause the top of every rep for a second without your torso rising. Grip is the usual limiter past 40 kg; use straps rather than shortening the range.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Use 10 kg or 15 kg plates and stack them. Gripping further out the shaft lengthens the lever and turns a 40 kg row into an unmanageable one for no benefit.
Use a proper landmine sleeve if the gym has one. If not, drop a 20 kg plate flat over the bar end in the corner and check it has not crept after every set.
Keep your hips pushed back and your chest at a fixed angle; strip a plate rather than raising your torso. The arc only stays useful if your body angle stays constant.
Log the plate weight and let it be its own progression scale. Do not compare it to a dumbbell row — the pivot carries part of the load, so the numbers are not equivalent.
Why bother
Because the far end of the bar is fixed, the loaded end travels on an arc rather than straight up. That arc pulls your elbow toward your hip as you row, which is the same path a good dumbbell row takes but here it is enforced by the equipment rather than by your attention.
The other advantage is loading granularity at the heavy end. You can put 60 kg of plates on the sleeve and only feel a fraction of it, because the pivot bears part of the weight — so this is the single-arm row that keeps working long after the gym's biggest dumbbell has stopped being a challenge.
Where it fits
A main horizontal pull for four sets of 6-10 per side, or a heavy finisher after chin-ups. Because you are hinged and unsupported, treat it as spinal work and keep it off the same day as heavy deadlifts, or put it late in that session with a lighter load.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
How much weight am I actually lifting?
Considerably less than the plates say — the fixed end carries part of the load, and how much depends on where along the shaft you grip. That is not a problem, but it means the number is only comparable to itself. Log it as a landmine number and progress it on its own scale.
Do I need a landmine attachment?
No. A corner works, provided you protect the wall and stop the bar sliding — a heavy plate laid over the end does the job. A proper sleeve is safer and quieter, and it lets you set up in the middle of the floor rather than fighting for the one usable corner.
Is this better than a dumbbell row?
It is better when the dumbbells run out or when you keep flaring your elbow, because the arc solves both problems. The dumbbell version gives a longer stretch at the bottom and lets the shoulder blade travel further forward. Neither is redundant; the landmine version is the one that scales further.
Should I brace my free hand on my knee?
You can, and it makes the hinge easier to hold at heavy loads by taking some torso weight through the arm. It also removes the anti-rotation demand. Keep the free hand off for lighter, higher-rep sets and put it on the knee for your top sets if the hinge is what fails first.