Exercise Comparison
Bent Over Barbell Row vs Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rows




Side-by-Side
Muscle Analysis
Shared
Only in Bent Over Barbell Row
Only in Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rows
Instructions
Bent Over Barbell Row
Holding a barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing down), bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward, by bending at the waist, while keeping the back straight until it is almost parallel to the floor. Tip: Make sure that you keep the head up. The barbell should hang directly in front of you as your arms hang perpendicular to the floor and your torso. This is your starting position.
Now, while keeping the torso stationary, breathe out and lift the barbell to you. Keep the elbows close to the body and only use the forearms to hold the weight. At the top contracted position, squeeze the back muscles and hold for a brief pause.
Then inhale and slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rows
To get into the starting position, first sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform or crossbar provided making sure that your knees are slightly bent and not locked.
Lean over as you keep the natural alignment of your back and grab the single handle attachment with your left arm using a palms-down grip.
With your arm extended pull back until your torso is at a 90-degree angle from your legs. Your back should be slightly arched and your chest should be sticking out. You should be feeling a nice stretch on your lat as you hold the bar in front of you. The right arm can be kept by the waist. This is the starting position of the exercise.
Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handles back towards your torso while keeping the arms close to it as you rotate the wrist, so that by the time your hand is by your abdominals it is in a neutral position (palms facing the torso). Breathe out as you perform that movement. At that point you should be squeezing your back muscles hard.
Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in. Tip: Remember to rotate the wrist as you go back to the starting position so that the palms are facing down again.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions and then perform the same movement with the right hand.
Verdict
Both exercises target the middle back. Bent Over Barbell Row is a beginner exercise using barbell, while Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rows is intermediate and uses cable. Choose Bent Over Barbell Row if you're looking for a more accessible option, or Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rows for a greater challenge.