Dumbbell One-Arm Upright Row

The upright row is an exercise targeting all heads of the deltoid (shoulder muscle). Although it is primarily performed for the rear head of the shoulder, studies show that the middle and front heads work approximately equally hard as well. Nevertheless, it is not strange to focus this exercise on the rear of the shoulder. Most other shoulder exercises activate the front and middle heads to a much greater extent than the rear head.

Naturally, there are assisting muscles as well. The (upper portion of the) trapezius and the levator scapulae assist in elevating the shoulder blades. The biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis assist in flexing the arm.

In this variation, the exercise is performed with dumbbells.

Dumbbell upright row execution

Stand with the dumbbell in your hand. Keep the arm beside the body and point the thumbs inward (palms facing backward, a pronated grip).

Raise the elbow outward until you cannot go any further. The hand remains at the side of your body and directly below the elbow (not turned inward).

Lower the hand back to the starting position under control

Dumbbell one-arm upright row

Muscles involved:

Back and shoulder joint:

Deltoid (all heads)
Rotator cuff (subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor)
Levator scapulae

Arms:

Biceps
Forearm muscles

Back:

Trapezius

In this variation, the exercise is performed with dumbbells, alternating one arm per set..

Dumbbell upright row preparation

You can partly determine the involvement of the trapezius (and levator scapulae) yourself. Their function is to elevate the shoulder blades, as when you shrug your shoulders because you ‘have no idea’. The deltoid itself is only involved in raising the upper arm.

Therefore, focus on keeping the shoulders themselves down if you want to isolate the deltoid as much as possible.

Hand position:

The upright row (with the barbell in front of the body) has often been associated with shoulder injuries. However, this risk can be reduced or even prevented.

Many shoulder injuries are caused by impingement of the shoulder joint. The likelihood is high when the upper arms are raised toward or above shoulder level and rotated inward.

This is often seen when performing the exercise with a barbell held with too narrow a grip. With that narrow grip, the shoulders are not only rotated inward, but it is also possible to bring the elbows above shoulder level. A high risk, therefore.

By gripping the bar at shoulder width or, better yet, wider, the shoulders are rotated outward and it is impossible to raise the elbows too high.

A beneficial added effect is that the muscles themselves (deltoids and trapezius) appear to show greater activity with the wider grip. More effective and safer, therefore. You can find more information here.

When performing the exercise with dumbbells, the same principle applies. Therefore, keep the hands beside and not in front of the body at the beginning of the exercise. They thus start at shoulder level and remain below the elbows at all times.

At a glance