The Pendlay Row: What It Does, How to Do It, and Who It Suits

The Pendlay row is a barbell row where every rep starts from a dead stop on the floor. It is named after the American weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay, who used it to build back strength in his lifters without letting them cheat with the hips. It looks like an ordinary row, but it is harder to do correctly and uses less weight than most people expect.

What the Pendlay row is

The bar sits on the floor. You set up like a deadlift, hinge until your torso is roughly parallel to the ground, and pull the bar explosively into your lower chest from there. Then you return it to the floor, let it settle, and only then start the next rep.

Three things separate it from a standard bent-over row: your torso stays at the same height the whole set, the bar never hovers between reps, and the emphasis is on pulling speed rather than a slow lowering phase. The pause on the floor lasts 1 to 2 seconds and is not a rest — it is there so each rep starts from zero momentum.

What it actually trains

This is an upper and mid back exercise, not a back-width exercise. For width you need pull-ups and vertical pulling.

• Mid traps and rhomboids — from squeezing the shoulder blades together at the top.
• Lats — involved, but less than in a row with a more upright torso and elbows tucked in.
• Rear delts — heavily, because the grip is wider and the elbow travels out.
• Spinal erectors and posterior chain — isometrically, just to keep the torso parallel under load.

The practical payoff: a stronger upper back helps you stay tight on the bench press and keeps the bar close on deadlifts.

Technique, step by step

1. Bar on the floor, over the middle of your feet. Feet hip-width apart.
2. Overhand grip, roughly 5 to 10 cm wider than shoulder width. Thumbs wrapped around the bar.
3. Hinge until your torso is parallel to the floor or close to it. Knees bent 15 to 20 degrees, no more — this is not a deadlift.
4. Brace your abs, exhale about half your air and hold it. Flat back, eyes on a spot 1 to 2 metres in front of your feet.
5. Pull the bar explosively into your lower sternum. Aim for a concentric that takes less than half a second.
6. No pause at the top. Bring the bar back down under control.
7. Wait 1 second for the bar to settle, check that your torso has not risen, then repeat.

If your torso climbs as you pull, the weight is too heavy. Take 10 kilograms off and fix the position.

Common mistakes

• Torso rising with every rep — the most common error, and the point at which it stops being a Pendlay row.
• Pulling to the stomach instead of the chest — that is a different exercise with a different elbow path.
• Slow, controlled pulling — speed is the whole point; if you cannot accelerate the bar, the load is wrong.
• Bouncing the bar off the floor — set it down, let the tension go, then start again.
• Loading too fast — most people handle 50 to 65 percent of what they use on a standard bent-over row.

Sets, reps, and how much weight

Because it is an explosive lift, it belongs in lower rep ranges. Sets of 12 to 15 make no sense here — technique falls apart after the sixth rep.

• Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps.
• Rest: 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
• Starting weight: an empty 20 kg Olympic bar for the first two weeks, until the position becomes automatic.
• Progression: add 2.5 kg per week for as long as you can keep your torso at the same height.
• Reference point: working weight usually lands at 40 to 55 percent of your deadlift max.
• Frequency: once, at most twice a week, and on a day when your lower back is not already cooked from squats or deadlifts.

Who it suits, and who it does not

It is worth doing if you have a couple of years of training behind you, a decent deadlift, and you want upper back strength built without body English. It is also useful if your upper back rounds during deadlifts.

It is not worth doing if you are a complete beginner — in your first 6 months you will get more out of chest-supported rows or single-arm dumbbell rows. It is also a poor choice if you have a history of lower back problems, since the isometric load in the hinge lasts the entire set. A chest-supported row gives you around 90 percent of the benefit with far less spinal loading.

When to see a doctor

Lower back pain lasting more than 2 weeks, or getting worse even though you have stopped training, is not something better technique will fix. The same goes for numbness, tingling, or weakness running down a leg, pain that wakes you at night, and any pain that came on suddenly mid-set with a popping sensation. In those cases see a GP or a physiatrist before you get back under a bar.

The short version

• Every rep starts from a dead stop on the floor, with the torso parallel throughout.
• The goal is an explosive pull to the lower chest, not a slow controlled one.
• 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps, 2 to 3 minutes of rest, once or twice a week.
• Working weight is typically 40 to 55 percent of your deadlift max — start with an empty bar.
• If you are a beginner or have lower back issues, a chest-supported row is the better pick.