One of America's top weightlifting coaches, Glenn Pendlay, was accredited with a Level 5 from USA Weightlifting (the highest available). He coached many athletes to medals in national and international competitions.
Aside from his weightlifters' success, he is also known for making the Pendlay row- an exercise where you lift a barbell from the floor to your stomach- a popular strength building activity. This movement can help you build strength and size, no matter your skill level. Here’s how to perform this highly effective movement.
How to Do the Pendlay Row
The barbell row is an exercise that has been commonly used for a long time to build muscle and strength in the back, shoulders, and arms. The Pendlay row is a weightlifting move that helps you to generate more power and work your target muscles more effectively.
Step 1 — Get Into the Starting Position
Start with a barbell on the floor above your toes. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width. Bend your knees slightly, then push your hips back and bend at the waist until your upper body is parallel to the ground.
To complete this exercise, arch your lower back and grab the bar with an overhand grip. The width of your grip will be determined by the length of your arms. The priority is maintaining a parallel torso, so you should grab the bar wider than shoulder-width.
You should only feel tightness in your hamstrings, not discomfort, when you are holding the correct upper body position. If you feel pain when trying to achieve this position, make sure to thoroughly warm-up your hips, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back beforehand to make it more comfortable.
Step 2 — Perform an Explosive Pull
To create tension and stability, flex your abs and squeeze the bar. Start by pinching your shoulder blades together and then quickly driving your elbows up while pulling the bar to your lower chest. Your torso should not lift from the parallel position.
When you are doing a barbell row, the bar should touch your lower chest or upper abdomen before you let it go back down to the ground. Do not try to slow the barbell down on the way down. Make sure the bar comes to a complete stop on the ground before starting the next repetition.
If your torso is moving a lot, put less weight on the bar and concentrate on keeping a good posture. Even though it may seem like swinging heavy weights is more impressive, it is more important to keep a strict upper body position while lifting explosively.
Pendlay Row Mistakes to Avoid
The Pendlay row is a type of barbell row that is used to avoid technique issues that are more common with traditional barbell rows. To make sure you are performing the exercise correctly, avoid these problems.
Moving Your Upper Body
Pendlay rows are different from other rowing exercises because the person doing them is Bent over significantly more, and their upper body stays parallel to the ground the whole time. This allows you to focus the stress on the upper back and lat muscles, rather than using the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings to move the weight.
If your torso moves in order to start the weight moving, you're using energy that could be going towards the target muscles, which reduces the benefits of the exercise in terms of strength and size.
Remember that the body position is deliberately bent forward in order to get the best results. Be conscious of maintaining a strict parallel position. Never trade technique for more weight on the bar.
Bouncing Off the Floor
Every repetition of a Pendlay row should be done with the barbell starting from a rested position on the ground. This text is saying that you will get more out of your workout if you push yourself to your limits on each individual rep, rather than using the stretch-shortening cycle to increase strength. This technique is sometimes referred to as “dead-stop training.” This means that you come to a complete stop before starting the next repetition.
If you don't have a full rest at the bottom, you build momentum which makes your body produce less force and makes the exercise less effective.
You should avoid letting the bar come to a complete stop on the ground after each rep. Releasing and resetting your grip between each rep will help to ensure a full stop. When you are doing a set, think of each rep as an individual, rather than a group of several reps. Instead of performing a set of five reps, try performing five single reps with one second between each.
Benefits of the Pendlay Row
The Pendlay row is an exercise that was initially used to support good old-fashioned strength gains. This exercise also promotes muscular growth. The following are reasons to train with this big, basic lift.
Back Strength
A strong back is necessary to be able to lift the heaviest weights possible during presses, and to reduce the likelihood of shoulder injuries. The Pendlay row strengthens the muscles in the back to increase pulling strength, which will also improve your bench and overhead pressing.
Explosive Power
The Pendlay row is a weightlifting move that requires explosive power to lift the weight from a dead stop. This allows you to involve more muscles in the movement, which has been shown to lead to greater overall power and strength. (3)
Back Size
Working out the lats and upper back using heavy weights is an effective way to cause muscle growth. The Pendlay row is an excellent way to work out your back muscles, along with your biceps and forearms.
Muscles Worked by Pendlay Row
The Pendlay row is a compound exercise that uses a number of muscles to complete the lift. This exercise works almost all of the muscles on the back of the body, and some other ones too.
Upper Back
The muscles in the upper back work to control the shoulder blades. These include the trapezius, rear deltoids, rhomboids, and other smaller muscles. The Pendlay row helps you to lift the bar from the ground and pull the bar into the top position by working your upper back with each repetition.
Lats
The latissimus dorsi, commonly referred to as the lats, are the largest set of back muscles. They are located near your ribs and run from your underarms to your lower back. The primary function of the muscles in the arms is to bring the arms towards the body from an extended position.
Spinal Erectors
There are two columns of muscles running along your spine. The muscles in your torso work to control your position at the waist, whether you are bending forwards, sideways, or rotating. The spinal erectors work to keep the upper body still during the Pendlay row.
Biceps
The biceps brachii are the muscles that allow you to flex your elbow, bringing your arm into a closed position. The biceps do not fully contract during a Pendlay row, but they help contribute to pulling the weight towards the body and finishing the lift in the top position.
Forearms
The muscles on the bottom of the forearm are called the flexors and the muscles on the top are called the extensors. While performing Pendlay rows, keeping a tight grip on the barbell will work the flexor muscles heavily. Meanwhile, controlling the bar during the upwards lift uses the extensor muscles.
Who Should Do the Pendlay Row
The Pendlay row is a compound exercise that can be beneficial for lifters with different goals.
Strength and Power Athletes
Pendlay rows can help people who want to lift heavy weights for competition or recreation to build strength and power. The exercise was first used by Coach Pendlay to help powerlifters and was later used by his Olympic weightlifting champions.
Training for Muscle
Heavy rowing exercises have consistently built large, muscular backs. The Pendlay row is an exercise that develops thicker and wider lats, as well as an upper back to match.
How to Program the Pendlay Row
The Pendlay row is best trained with lower reps in order to efficiently train for size and strength. This will prevent excessive fatigue in the support muscles of the lower back, which could compromise technique. Here are some effective guidelines
Moderate Weight, Low Repetition
The Pendlay row is a great exercise for developing explosive power. You can increase the amount of force you apply to the weight by using less weight. You can prioritize power development by training for two to six sets of two to four reps.
Heavy Weight, Low Repetition
A time-tested way to gain size and strength by moving heavy weights on big compound lifts is to do three to five sets of three to five reps. Lifting heavier weights with good form will help you see better results. You will not be able to lift as much weight during a Pendlay row as you would during a traditional bent-over row.
Pendlay Row Variations
Pendlay rows offer many advantages, but some lifters may not be prepared to do this difficult exercise. Here are the best ways to work up to Pendlay rows.
Chest-Supported Row
The chest-supported row is an upper body exercise that does not require any lower body stabilization. This is a good exercise for people who can't do Pendlay rows because of lower back issues or mobility restrictions.
Many chest-supported row machines have different gripping handles which can emphasize different muscles of the back.
Neutral-Grip Two Dumbbell Row
Performing the single-arm dumbbell row with two dumbbells at the same time is an excellent way to transition to barbell rowing. This method of training helps to even out strength discrepancies in muscles on either side of the body.
If you grip the bar with your palms facing your body, it's called a neutral grip. This type of grip puts less strain on your shoulders and allows you to better target your biceps and upper back muscles.
Reverse-Grip Barbell Row
The reverse-grip barbell row is a back exercise that also significantly increases biceps activation. The range of motion is different than other back exercises, which primarily affects the back muscles.
Pendlay Row Alternatives
The Pendlay row is one of a few exercises that can help you build muscle size, strength, and power. Here are some of the top choices.
Barbell Row
The Pendlay row is a back-building exercise that involves a strict, parallel torso position and pulling each repetition from the ground. “Breaking” the rules of the Pendlay row turns it into a different exercise.
The same muscle groups are activated to varying degrees. A row performed with the torso at a slight angle instead of upright reduces the hip and hamstring flexibility needed, while keeping the muscles under constant tension without resting the barbell on the ground. The supportive muscles don't get as tired when there are more repetitions, so this kind of exercise is good for moderate to high repetitions.
Kroc Row
If a Pendlay row is considered a strict barbell row, a Kroc row could be considered a controlled chaos dumbbell row. It is typically performed using heavy weights for high-rep sets and is often mistaken for standard single-arm rows being done with poor form.
Kroc rows involve leg drive and body English rather than super-strict upper body pulling, and can be very effective for building upper back strength and size.
Power Clean
The power clean is a very beneficial exercise that an athlete can perform in the gym. The clean and jerk variation from Olympic weightlifting is a classic staple in strength and conditioning programs for contact sports.
The power clean is a total-body exercise that builds explosive strength and specifically works the upper back and traps muscles to add size. The bar should not be dropped from the top position if you are not using bumper plates and a specific lifting platform.
FAQs
My grip fatigues before the end of my set. Should I use lifting straps?
One issue that is common with many rowing exercises and back exercises in general is that the smaller muscles in your grip and forearms will become fatigued before the larger muscles in your back. Although grip strength may improve rapidly, it should not be the primary focus of any exercise.
Lifting straps can improve your grip and performance during heavy and challenging sets. Although straps can be helpful when lifting very heavy weights, using them all the time can prevent you from developing strong grips.
Why does my lower back hurt during the exercise?
The Pendlay row requires you to keep your torso in a parallel position. However, some lifters may find that this position aggravates lower back pain or they may be unable to achieve sufficient depth in the first place. If this is the case, then the best exercise for you would be the one that allows you to keep a neutral spine while still providing a good stretch for the hamstrings.
