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How to be INSTANTLY 10% stronger in the One-Arm Dumbbell Row

1,820 views · Published 11 September 2014 · 5:25 · Indexed 26 October 2026

Channel: Nick Nilsson - the Mad Scientist of Muscle · 2014 · Sports

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So...if there was a way to be 10% stronger in an exercise INSTANTLY....would you use it? Of course you would!

And there IS...

The technique is called Contralateral Antagonistic Muscle Activation. 

The name is long and sounds a bit technical, however, once you understand it, it's really pretty simple.

The key concept is this...by activating the antagonistic muscle on the opposite side of the body as the muscle being worked, you can see an INSTANT 10% increase in strength in the working target muscle. 

The physiological mechanism (if you're interested) is that approximately 10% of the neural fibers that cross over at the medulla oblongata (the connection between the two halves of your brain) reciprocally innervate agonist and contralateral antagonist muscles.

In English, that means that some of the nerves that activate muscle fibers in your left tricep also activate some fibers in your right bicep, and vice versa.

The practical upshot of this is that when you work your right bicep and your left tricep simultaneously, both will see about a 10% instant increase in strength due to increased nervous system activation and fiber recruitment.

Sound interesting? 

I thought so...

The trick is finding exercises that can be done simultaneously in an effective manner.

And that's where THIS exercise comes into play.

You're going to be performing a standard One Arm Dumbbell Row exercise...and at the same time, your support arm is going to be pushing a heavy high-pulley load down onto the bench.

Now, in the original theory behind this contralateral technique, it was advised to use the same tempo for both exercises. In this case, however, you're just going to be doing an isometric contraction for chest activation. I found it to be just as effective in my testing of the exercise.

I HAVE used a simultaneous push/pull for this style of training and, while VERY effective, I actually found I was limited in the amount of weight I could use by the torque my core was capable of withstanding during the paired exercises. I use it as a core exercise regularly but you just plain can't use as much weight due to that issue.

To perform this exercise, you'll need a bench, a dumbbell and a high pulley with a single handle. If you don't have a pulley, you can also use a thick band (or several thinner bands, if that's what you've got). The concept is the same.

Set the bench so that the end is right underneath the high pulley. Set a moderately heavy weight on the pulley and set a dumbbell you could get about 10 to 12 reps with for the row beside the bench.

Get your knee in position on the bench then grab the cable handle with both hands.

Use a powerful downward push with your entire upper body to push the handle down towards the bench. How hard you have to push will depend on how much weight you have on the pulley.

Set your fist on the bench then quickly reach down and grab the dumbbell. Once you pick up the dumbbell, that will counterbalance the pull of the pulley weight and you'll be locked in. Your chest will be in a steady isometric contraction.

Get into position for the dumbbell row. You should have your plant leg out to the side at an angle, knee bent, with an arch in your lower back for support. Look slightly forward to keep a curvature in your neck...this will help you maintain the arch in your lower back.

Now simply row up. Your plant arm/cable arm DOES NOT MOVE. It stays on the bench, right where it is.

As you row up, try to consciously push down into the bench with your support arm to maximize pec contraction. You will also get MASSIVE cross-tension in through your core while performing this technique, so be sure to keep your core tight.

Get as many reps as you can then set the dumbbell down. Grip the cable handle with both hands and bring it back up, setting the stack down (don't let the handle just fly up and the stack crash down).

Then repeat on the other side with the exact same execution.

This technique is demanding but VERY effective. I immediately felt stronger in the exercise the first time I used it.

In the next set, I'm using a 135 lb dumbbell (125lbs + 10 lbs of Plate Mates magnetic plates attached) and the entire weight stack of cable machine.

The heavier weight requires a BIG push to get the cable handle down into position.

That's the exercise!

It's a very simple setup and the concept is extremely effective.

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Be 10-15% stronger on dumbbell curls INSTANTLY with this science-based hack...
https://www.fitstep.com/metamorphosis/landers/contralateral-curls.htm

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