One-Arm Row

The one-arm row is a kettlebell pulling exercise for the upper back. From a hip hinge near forty-five degrees, the bell pulls to the same-side hip. The elbow stays tight to the ribs and the back stays flat. The exercise trains the lats and mid-back under a horizontal pull.

Mechanics and load path

Hinge at the hip to roughly forty-five degrees with a flat back and a braced trunk, letting the bell hang from one arm. Pull the elbow back toward the same-side hip, keeping it tight to the ribs, then lower under control. The torso stays still through the pull.

The failure mode is a rounding back or a twisting torso. When the trunk rotates to help the pull, the load leaves the mid-back and the hinge position degrades. A flat back and a still torso keep the work on the target muscles.

In the Kettlebell Complex protocol

One-arm row is the row station in the force-grinder complex across all three weeks (S1, S7, S13), the fourth exercise of the chain after the front squat. It also runs through the conditioning-flow complex (S2, S8, S14) and as one of the six stations in the capacity-test AMRAP (S6, S12, S18).

Used in: Program 01 — Kettlebell Complex