10 Best Lever One Arm Bent Over Row Alternatives for Limited Equipment

If you need an alternative to the Lever One Arm Bent Over Row, use single-arm dumbbell rows, barbell bent-over rows, chest-supported rows, inverted rows, or seated cable rows to hit the same upper-back muscles. Maintain a neutral spine, hinge at the hips, and cue scapular retraction, pull your shoulder blade back before driving the elbow to your hip.

Original Exercise: Lever One Arm Bent Over Row

Lever One Arm Bent Over Row
Primary Muscle
Upper-back
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Biceps, Forearms
How to Perform Lever One Arm Bent Over Row
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold a barbell with an overhand grip.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your head up.
  3. Let the barbell hang in front of you with your arms fully extended.
  4. Pull the barbell up towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  5. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
  6. Lower the barbell back down to the starting position.
  7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Lever One Arm Bent Over Row Alternatives

Best Match
Barbell Bent Over Row

1. Barbell Bent Over Row

92.2% Match
Upper-back Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
  2. Bend forward at the hips while keeping your back straight and chest up.
  3. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Pull the barbell towards your lower chest by retracting your shoulder blades and squeezing your back muscles.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position.
Barbell Pendlay Row

2. Barbell Pendlay Row

91.7% Match
Upper-back Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your chest up.
  3. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Pull the barbell towards your upper abdomen, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  5. Lower the barbell back down to the starting position.
Kettlebell Alternating Row

3. Kettlebell Alternating Row

89% Match
Upper-back Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold a kettlebell in each hand with your palms facing your body.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
  3. Pull one kettlebell up towards your chest, keeping your elbow close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  4. Lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position and repeat with the other arm.
  5. Continue alternating arms for the desired number of repetitions.
Ez Bar Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

4. Ez Bar Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

88.2% Match
Upper-back Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
  2. Hold the ez barbell with an underhand grip, palms facing up, and hands shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and chest up, until your torso is almost parallel to the floor.
  4. Pull the ez barbell towards your lower chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the ez barbell back to the starting position.
Kettlebell Two Arm Row

5. Kettlebell Two Arm Row

87.7% Match
Upper-back Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold a kettlebell in each hand with your palms facing your body.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
  3. Pull the kettlebells up towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the kettlebells back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
One Arm Towel Row

6. One Arm Towel Row

85.2% Match
Upper-back Body-weight Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold a towel with one hand.
  2. Bend forward at the waist, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
  3. Extend your arm fully, allowing the towel to hang in front of you.
  4. Pull the towel towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the towel back to the starting position.
Band One Arm Standing Low Row

7. Band One Arm Standing Low Row

84.7% Match
Upper-back Band Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach the band to a stable anchor point at waist height.
  2. Stand facing the anchor point with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Hold the band with one hand, palm facing inward, and step back to create tension in the band.
  4. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  5. Pull the band towards your waist, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Cable One Arm Bent Over Row

8. Cable One Arm Bent Over Row

84.7% Match
Upper-back Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand facing a cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  3. Grasp the cable handle with one hand, palm facing inward, and extend your arm fully.
  4. Pull the cable handle towards your body, keeping your elbow close to your side, until your hand reaches your lower chest.
  5. Pause for a moment, then slowly extend your arm back to the starting position.
Smith One Arm Row

9. Smith One Arm Row

82.3% Match
Upper-back Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the height of the smith machine bar to waist level.
  2. Stand facing the smith machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  4. Grasp the bar with one hand using an overhand grip, with your palm facing down.
  5. Keep your elbow close to your body and pull the bar towards your waist, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Elevator

10. Elevator

81.7% Match
Upper-back Body-weight Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Place your hands on your hips or cross them in front of your chest.
  3. Keeping your back straight, slowly bend forward at the waist, lowering your upper body towards the ground.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then slowly raise your upper body back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Why You Might Need a Lever One Arm Bent Over Row Alternative

You might substitute the Lever One Arm Bent Over Row for several reasons: lower-back pain from the hip-hinge position, no access to a lever machine, bilateral loading preferences, or to correct strength imbalances. The lever row emphasizes scapular retraction and unilateral elbow drive; alternatives can reproduce that activation while changing spinal loading or range of motion. For example, a chest-supported row reduces lumbar shear by removing the hip hinge and shifts load to the lats and rhomboids. If you have a back complaint, keep a neutral spine, brace your core, and limit torso rotation while you train.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Select a substitute based on equipment, back health, and the muscle pattern you want to emphasize. If you lack a machine, choose a single-arm dumbbell row or barbell bent-over row to maintain unilateral elbow-driven loading; cue: keep torso parallel to the floor and pull the elbow to the hip. For low-back issues, pick chest-supported or seated cable rows to minimize spinal extension demand and focus on scapular retraction. If you need progression, use tempo (3-1-1) and increase load while preserving full shoulder extension and elbow flexion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does Lever One Arm Bent Over Row work?

The movement primarily targets the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, middle trapezius, and posterior deltoid, with the biceps assisting. The erector spinae and hip extensors stabilize the torso during the hip hinge while the scapular retractors drive the concentric pull.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Lever One Arm Bent Over Row?

The inverted row (suspension trainer or bar) is the top bodyweight substitute because it preserves horizontal pulling and scapular retraction. Keep your body rigid, pull your chest to the bar, and squeeze the shoulder blades together to maximize lat and mid-trap activation.

Can I build muscle without doing Lever One Arm Bent Over Row?

Yes. You can achieve hypertrophy with alternatives that apply progressive overload and full range of motion, dumbbell rows, chest-supported machine rows, pull-ups, and seated cable rows all work. Prioritize controlled eccentrics, full scapular retraction, and incremental loading to stimulate the same upper-back muscle fibers.

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