1-arm dumbbell row proper form, overworking the shoulder

[SirTeabag]

So going through the videos on the internet i've come across some different ways people do the 1-arm dumbbell row. My question is whether should one let the shoulder drop at the bottom of the movement or should the shoulder blades stay pinched the whole time?

Also, I have a problem with one of my arms doing this exercise, where the shoulder (posterior and side deltoids) seems to get overworked before hitting the lats well. I'm watching out so that the form is the same as when i'm performing the exercise with my other arm (where there are no issues), but it doesn't seem to help. Same problem arose in case of a dumbbell chest press where, again, front deltoids seemed to get overworked on the same arm. I switched to hip press and that seemed to solve the problem for this part of the workout though. The problem in case of dumbbell rows still persist though. I haven't had this problem before when doing the exercise and it only arose recently (few months ago). I should probably also mention, that i haven't had any shoulder problems in the past regarding that arm, and there's no particular pain when i'm doing workouts.

[Matt Z]

It okay (actually preferable) to allow your shoulder to come forward as you lower the weight and back as you raise the weight. The important thing is to avoid twisting your torso, since that's cheating. It also greatly shortens your ROM.

[robertscott]

letting your shoulder come forward and then pulling it back trains scapular retraction, which is the whole point of the rowing movement.

If body english is a problem do them as a chest supported row lying face down on an incline bench

[Dub]

You also get a little stretch on the lats if you let your arm hang, which might help with hypertrophic gains.

[SmokeWillow]

In my experience, keeping everything neutral works best.

[Stephen Johnson]

If dropping the shoulder during a one-arm dumbbell row is improper form, exrx site management might want to correct this:



The exerciser allows his shoulder to drop at the bottom, but returns to neutral at the top - no rolling of the torso to help the weight up.

[Crow]

For someone not so familiar with the english language... "dropping" the shoulder doesn`t mean to let loose at the bottom? I mean you still control the weight at any moment doing the lift, don`t you?

[Stephen Johnson]

For someone not so familiar with the english language... "dropping" the shoulder doesn`t mean to let loose at the bottom?

Your English is perfect.

To get the drop on drop, go here and scroll down to the transitive verb

4 a : to lower or cause to descend from one level or position to another

In this instance, dropping the shoulder means lowering it from a neutral position with control.

[Crow]

Thanks a lot!