What muscles does the sumo single arm upright row work?

The side of the shoulder and the upper traps raise the bell, the biceps work because the elbow bends, and the quads and glutes drive out of the sumo position to get it moving. Your midsection holds you square against a load that is only on one side.

Is this an upright row or a high pull?

Closer to a high pull. An upright row starts standing still and lifts the weight with the shoulder. This starts in a squat and uses the hips, so the bell is already traveling when the arm takes over. Both names get used for it.

How high should you pull the kettlebell?

Chin height at most, and stop with the elbow just below shoulder height. Raising the elbow above the shoulder while the arm is turned inward is the position most associated with pinching, and the last few inches add very little.

Does grip width matter with a kettlebell?

There is no grip width. One hand on one handle means nothing is fixing where your hands sit relative to each other, which removes the main thing people argue about with the barbell version.

How heavy a bell should you use for a high pull?

Light enough that your elbow stays above your wrist and your torso stays square for every rep. Because the hips help, it is easy to pick a bell you can move and cannot control, and the elbow position is the first thing to go when you have.

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Kettlebell · intermediate · shoulders

Kettlebell sumo single arm upright row

Also called Kettlebell high pull, Sumo high pull, One arm kettlebell upright row, Single-arm kettlebell high pull.

The short answer

From a wide stance with your toes turned out, you dip into a shallow squat with one kettlebell hanging between your legs, then stand and pull it up the front of your body to chin height in one movement. The side of your shoulder and your upper traps raise the bell, your biceps are involved because the elbow bends, and your quads and glutes start it moving. That last part matters more than it sounds: the hips get the bell going, so the weight you can finish with is more than your shoulder could lift on its own.

How to do it

Step oneStand in a wide sumo stance with toes pointed outward, holding a kettlebell in one hand.
Step twoLower into a slight sumo squat, allowing the kettlebell to hang in front of you.
Step threeDrive through your hips to stand while simultaneously pulling the kettlebell upward along your body to chin height.
Step fourKeep your elbow higher than your wrist throughout the row.
Step fiveLower the kettlebell and return to the sumo squat starting position.
Step sixComplete all repetitions on one side before switching hands.

What usually goes wrong

Each starts with what you would notice.

The bell comes up but your hand is higher than your elbow.

WhyYou are lifting with your hand rather than driving your elbow up, which turns the pull into a curl and takes the shoulder out of it.

FixLead with the point of your elbow and let the hand follow underneath it. The elbow stays above the wrist the whole way up and the whole way down.

The bell stalls somewhere around your waist and you have to yank it the rest of the way.

WhyYour hips finished before your arm started, so the bell has already stopped moving by the time the shoulder is asked to take it, and it has to start from a dead stop.

FixStart the pull as the hips start driving, not after. The two are meant to be one movement, and when they are, the bell arrives at chin height still traveling.

Your torso twists toward the arm doing the pulling.

WhyOnly one side is loaded and nothing is holding the other side in place, so the trunk turns in the direction the weight is going.

FixSet your feet, brace as though someone might shove you sideways, and keep both shoulders square to the front. If the twist is unavoidable, the bell is too heavy for a controlled pull.

Your shoulder pinches at the very top of the pull.

WhyThe elbow has come up past shoulder height with the arm turned inward, which is the position most associated with pinching at the shoulder.

FixStop with the elbow just below shoulder height. You lose almost nothing from the movement and the top few inches are the part most guidance advises against.

One kettlebell or a barbell

The barbell version comes with a long-running argument about how wide to grip, because a bar fixes both hands the same distance apart and that distance decides how far your upper arms rotate inward.

With one bell in one hand, that whole question disappears. There is no width to get wrong, nothing tying your hands together, and your arm can travel on whatever path suits your shoulder rather than the one the bar dictates.

What you give up is load. Two hands on a bar will always move more weight than one hand on a bell, so the barbell remains the version to use if you want the movement to be heavy. This one is the version to use if the barbell setup has never felt right on your shoulder.

Driven by the hips or done strictly

The demonstration here drives out of a sumo squat while pulling, so the legs get the bell moving before the shoulder has anything to do. That is what makes it a high pull rather than an upright row, and it means the weight reaching chin height is more than your shoulder raised.

A strict version starts standing still and lifts the bell with the shoulder alone. It is a much smaller weight and a much more honest one, and if the side of your shoulder is what you actually want to train, that is the version to do.

Neither is a mistake, but they answer different questions. Use the hip-driven version to move a bell quickly with your whole body. Use the strict version when you want to know what your shoulder can raise.

What it will not do

The catalog lists this under shoulders, and it will not build a set of them. Look at what else is in the movement: quads, glutes, a hip drive out of a squat. When the legs choose the weight, the shoulder gets handed a bell that is already traveling, and a muscle that receives a moving weight is not the muscle being loaded.

That is the honest description of most high pulls. They are whole-body pulling movements, useful for moving a weight fast and for stringing reps together, and poor at isolating anything. If the side of your shoulder is the goal, a lateral raise or a strict pull with a much lighter bell does that job properly.

The other thing worth saying plainly is that the shoulder argument around this movement family is not settled. Some guidance says keep the elbow below shoulder height and grip wider; other sources say the whole concern is overblown and pain at the top is about range rather than the exercise. We are not going to pretend to referee that. Stopping below shoulder height costs you nothing, so it is the sensible default. If something hurts and keeps hurting, that is a question for a physiotherapist.

What it is for

The sumo kettlebell single arm upright row combines a sumo stance hip extension with a single-arm upright row, linking lower body drive with upper body pulling power. It targets the deltoids and traps while also engaging the quads and glutes through the wide-stance hip hinge.

Questions people ask

What muscles does the sumo single arm upright row work?: The side of the shoulder and the upper traps raise the bell, the biceps work because the elbow bends, and the quads and glutes drive out of the sumo position to get it moving. Your midsection holds you square against a load that is only on one side.
Is this an upright row or a high pull?: Closer to a high pull. An upright row starts standing still and lifts the weight with the shoulder. This starts in a squat and uses the hips, so the bell is already traveling when the arm takes over. Both names get used for it.
How high should you pull the kettlebell?: Chin height at most, and stop with the elbow just below shoulder height. Raising the elbow above the shoulder while the arm is turned inward is the position most associated with pinching, and the last few inches add very little.
Does grip width matter with a kettlebell?: There is no grip width. One hand on one handle means nothing is fixing where your hands sit relative to each other, which removes the main thing people argue about with the barbell version.
How heavy a bell should you use for a high pull?: Light enough that your elbow stays above your wrist and your torso stays square for every rep. Because the hips help, it is easy to pick a bell you can move and cannot control, and the elbow position is the first thing to go when you have.