The Pendlay row is a strict barbell row in which every rep starts from a dead stop on the floor. You hinge forward until your torso is roughly parallel to the ground, pull the bar explosively toward your lower chest, and return it to the floor before the next rep. The exercise is named after American weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay, who popularized it, and it trains the latissimus dorsi, mid-back muscles, and rear delts.
Like other free-standing barbell rows, the Pendlay row asks a lot from your lower back. In a comparison of rowing exercises, the standing bent-over row produced large muscle activation from the upper to the lower back, along with the largest lumbar spine load of the rows tested. The Pendlay row wasn’t part of that study, but it uses a similar, even more horizontal, hinged posture, so a solid hip hinge and a neutral spine matter just as much.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to perform the Pendlay row with proper form, which muscles it works, how to program it, and how it differs from the classic bent-over barbell row.
The Pendlay row is a free-weight barbell rowing exercise performed from a hip-hinged position with the torso roughly parallel to the floor, in which each repetition starts with the bar resting on the floor (a dead stop) and is pulled explosively toward the lower chest or upper abdomen. The exercise mainly trains the latissimus dorsi, middle trapezius, rhomboids, and rear delts, while the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings work isometrically to hold the position.
When clients show me their “Pendlay rows,” I often see a bent-over row with the bar bouncing off the floor between reps. It looks similar, but it misses the point. For me, a row is a Pendlay row only when it meets three conditions: the bar starts every rep from a dead stop on the floor, the torso stays roughly parallel to the ground, and the pull itself is fast and powerful, while the torso stays still.
The word “explosive” is where most people go wrong. Explosive refers to the speed of the bar, not to jerking the torso up to get it moving. If your chest rises with every rep, the hips and lower back are doing the work your back muscles should be doing. In that case, I lower the weight and ask for the same explosive pull with a still torso. The reps get lighter, but they finally train what the exercise is meant to train.
— Krunoslav, Ph.D. in Kinesiology
Other Names for the Pendlay Row
You’ll come across this exercise under a few names:
- Pendlay barbell row – the full descriptive name.
- Dead-stop row – highlights that each rep starts from the floor.
- Strict barbell row – a general term sometimes used for the same exercise.
- Floor row – an informal gym name.
These names are sometimes used loosely, so if someone tells you to do a “strict row,” check whether they mean the Pendlay row or a strict bent-over row.
Required Equipment
The Pendlay row needs very little equipment:
- Olympic barbell. A standard bar works well.
- Standard-diameter weight plates. Full-size plates set the bar at the usual starting height; smaller plates put it lower (see the Pro Tip below).
- Lifting straps (optional). Wrist straps help when your grip gives out before your back on heavier sets.
- Weight-lifting belt (optional). A lifting belt can help some lifters brace, but it isn’t necessary for typical working sets.
- Chalk (optional). Lifting chalk keeps the grip secure on explosive pulls.
How to Perform the Pendlay Row
Good Pendlay rows depend on a consistent starting position. Because the bar returns to the floor each rep, take time to set your stance and back position correctly before the first pull.
Starting Position
Load the bar and stand facing it, then:
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and the bar over your midfoot.
- Hinge at the hips with your knees slightly bent, as in a Romanian deadlift, until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor, or as close as you can get while keeping a neutral spine.
- Grab the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder width, with your arms hanging straight down.
- Keep your spine and neck neutral, with your gaze on the floor a little ahead of the bar.
- Brace your trunk before the first pull. The bar should rest on the floor, not hover above it.
Execution
From the dead stop, pull fast but keep your body still:
- Pull the bar explosively toward your lower chest or upper abdomen by driving your elbows back and slightly out to the sides.
- Let your shoulder blades move back naturally as the elbows travel behind the torso, without shrugging.
- Keep your torso still and roughly parallel to the floor; don’t raise your chest or extend your hips to swing the bar up.
- Touch the bar to your torso, or bring it as close as you can without changing your back position.
- Lower the bar under control to the floor and let it settle completely before the next rep.
- Reset your brace at the bottom: take a breath, brace, pull, and exhale on the way down or once the bar is back on the floor.
Every rep starts from zero, without bouncing the bar off the floor. That dead stop is what defines the Pendlay row.
Video Demonstration
The video below shows the Pendlay row from setup to the last rep. Notice how the bar settles on the floor between reps and how the lifter resets before each pull.
Pay attention to the torso during the pull. In a good set, the back stays flat and roughly parallel to the floor, while only the arms and shoulder blades move. Filming yourself from the side is the easiest way to see whether your chest rises during the reps.
The most common mistake I see on the Pendlay row is what I call the “oil pumpjack.” With every rep, the torso rises and falls like one of those nodding oil pumps you see in old Texas oil fields. The bar moves fast, sure, but a big part of that speed comes from the hips and lower back, not from the lats and upper back.
With clients, I set a simple rule: the back is a table, and nothing on the table should fall off. If the torso moves, the load comes down until it doesn’t. Most clients lose ten or fifteen kilos on the bar, and almost all of them tell me the next day that their mid-back is sore in a way it never was before. That’s the moment they understand that the weight on the bar isn’t the goal.
Quick Form Checklist
Check these points before and during every set:
- Bar over the midfoot, torso roughly parallel to the floor
- Neutral spine and neck, trunk braced
- Explosive pull to the lower chest or upper abdomen
- Torso stays still; no swinging
- Bar settles on the floor before every rep
On the Pendlay row, grip width and elbow path work together to decide where you feel the pull. This is the overview I give my clients:
| Grip | Elbow Path | Typical Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Overhand, slightly wider than shoulder width | Back and slightly out, about 45° from the torso | The standard setup; balanced work for the lats and upper back |
| Wide overhand | Out to the sides, toward the lower chest | Tends to shift work toward the upper back and rear delts |
| Underhand, about shoulder width | Close to the torso, toward the upper abdomen | Tends to increase lat and biceps involvement; harder to keep the torso flat for some lifters |
Most of my clients use the standard overhand grip with the elbows traveling back at roughly 45 degrees, because it lets them pull heavy while keeping the shoulders comfortable. When a client wants more upper-back and rear-delt work, we widen the grip and let the elbows flare a little more. The underhand grip is an option for clients who want more lat and biceps involvement, but many of them find it harder to keep the torso parallel.
A small preliminary study on dumbbell bent-over rows found a non-significant trend toward higher rear delt and upper trapezius activity when the elbows were held out at 90 degrees, compared with elbows close to the body. With only three participants, the results are far from conclusive, and the Pendlay row wasn’t tested, but they’re consistent with what I see with clients.
— Krunoslav, Ph.D. in Kinesiology
Technical Emphasis & Targeting Adjustments
Small changes in how you pull shift where you feel the Pendlay row. Use these cues as practical adjustments:
- Elbows back at about 45° → balanced back emphasis. This standard path works the lats and upper back together and lets you handle the most load.
- Elbows flared, bar toward the lower chest → more upper-back and rear-delt work. Letting the elbows travel out to the sides emphasizes the rear delts, middle traps, and rhomboids.
- Elbows tucked, bar toward the upper abdomen → more lat emphasis. Keeping the elbows closer to the body shifts the movement toward shoulder extension.
- Torso still and parallel → stricter rep. The less your torso moves, the more of the work stays on the back muscles.
- Controlled lowering → more eccentric work. Lower the bar over about two seconds, instead of letting it drop quickly, to add training time without changing the dead-stop start.
Common Pendlay Row Mistakes
Most Pendlay row mistakes come from chasing heavier weights. Watch for these:
- Raising the torso to move the bar. Swinging the chest up uses momentum instead of back strength. Lower the load and keep the torso parallel.
- Rounding the lower back. Losing the neutral spine under load increases stress on the lower back. Brace before every rep and use a load you can control.
- Bouncing the bar off the floor. Touch-and-go reps turn the Pendlay row into a bent-over row. Let the bar settle completely before each pull.
- Pulling with the arms. Yanking the bar with bent wrists and biceps first reduces the work for the back. Think about driving the elbows back.
- Standing too upright. A torso angle far above parallel changes the exercise into a different row. Hinge until your torso is roughly parallel, or as close as your hamstrings allow.
If you can’t reach the bar with a flat back, raise the bar instead of rounding. With standard plates, the bar sits at a fixed height, and lifters with tight hamstrings or long arms may not be able to reach it in a parallel position without rounding the lower back. Place the plates on low blocks or a couple of stacked plates so the bar starts a few centimeters higher.
The same trick helps when you train with light weights and smaller plates, which put the bar much lower. Raising the bar keeps the start position consistent, and over time, regular hamstring stretching can help you reach the floor version without losing your back position.
Mechanical Considerations
With the torso roughly parallel to the floor, the bar is pulled almost straight up against gravity, so the line of pull is close to perpendicular to the torso, similar to a chest-supported row. The difference is that nothing supports your chest: the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings have to hold the hinged position on every rep. Because each rep starts from a dead stop, the pull also begins without any momentum from the previous rep. This is biomechanical reasoning, not a measured result.
No study appears to have examined the Pendlay row directly. Research on the stretch-shortening cycle helps explain why the dead stop matters: in a bench press study, the performance boost from the preceding lowering phase faded as the pause between lowering and lifting got longer. The study used the bench press, not a row, but it suggests why a dead-stop row usually feels harder than a touch-and-go row with the same weight. Loads therefore aren’t directly comparable between the Pendlay row and other barbell rows.
Muscles Worked by the Pendlay Row
The Pendlay row is a compound exercise that involves the back, shoulders, arms, and the muscles that hold the hip hinge:
MAIN
- Latissimus dorsi – extends the shoulder as the elbows travel back.
- Middle trapezius – retracts the shoulder blades at the top of the pull. Learn more about the trapezius muscle.
- Rhomboids – work with the middle traps to pull the shoulder blades together.
- Posterior deltoid – assists shoulder extension and contributes more when the elbows flare.
SECONDARY
- Teres major – assists the lats.
- Lower trapezius – helps control the shoulder blades.
- Elbow flexors – the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis bend the elbows.
STABILIZERS
- Erector spinae – hold the spine neutral in the hinged position.
- Glutes and hamstrings – maintain the hip hinge isometrically.
- Abdominals and other core muscles – brace the trunk.
- Rotator cuff and forearm muscles – stabilize the shoulders and maintain the grip.
Pros and Cons
The Pendlay row is a strict and effective row, with a few limitations worth knowing:
Advantages
- Strict, repeatable reps. The dead stop and fixed torso angle make every rep look the same, so progress is easy to track.
- Explosive pulling practice. Starting each rep from zero trains you to produce force quickly, which is why strength athletes like it.
- Heavy horizontal pulling. It allows substantial loads while keeping the pull close to perpendicular to the torso.
- Minimal equipment. A barbell and plates are all you need.
Potential Drawbacks
- High lower-back demand. Holding the parallel position with a heavy bar is demanding for the lower back.
- Requires hamstring flexibility. Not everyone can reach the bar with a flat back.
- Shorter eccentric phase. Traditional Pendlay rows lower the bar quickly, so there is less controlled lowering than in other rows.
- Less suited to unloading the back. Lifters who need to rest the lower back are better served by chest-supported rows such as the barbell seal row.
Safety Considerations
Most Pendlay row problems come from combining a near-horizontal torso with a heavy, fast pull. A careful setup and sensible loading go a long way:
- Master the hip hinge first. If you can’t hold a neutral spine in a parallel position without load, practice the hinge before adding weight.
- Progress loads gradually. The lower back adapts more slowly than the willingness to add plates. Increase the weight only when every rep looks the same.
- Respect your lower back history. If you have recurring lower back pain, choose chest-supported rows and consult a qualified professional before returning to free-standing rows.
- Don’t jerk the bar. Explosive doesn’t mean yanking. Build tension before the pull so the bar leaves the floor smoothly and quickly.
Pendlay Row Variations
These variations let you adjust the range of motion, the emphasis, or the equipment:
Block Pendlay Row
Difficulty: Intermediate
Rest the plates on blocks so the bar starts a few centimeters higher. This is useful if you can’t reach the floor with a flat back, or to overload the top part of the pull.
Deficit Pendlay Row
Difficulty: Advanced
Stand on a low, stable platform so the bar starts farther from your torso. The longer range requires good hamstring flexibility and a very solid hinge.
Paused Pendlay Row
Difficulty: Intermediate
Hold the bar against your torso for about one second at the top of each rep. The pause removes any momentum and makes it obvious whether your torso stays still.
Underhand Pendlay Row
Difficulty: Intermediate
Use an underhand grip about shoulder width. It shifts the emphasis toward the lats and biceps, similar to the Yates row, although the Yates row is performed with a much more upright torso.
Dumbbell Pendlay Row
Difficulty: Intermediate
Perform the same dead-stop row with two dumbbells resting on the floor. Each arm works independently, and the neutral grip suits lifters whose wrists or elbows dislike the barbell.
Replacement Exercises
If you want a similar training effect, or need to reduce the demand on your lower back, these exercises are good substitutes:
- Barbell Seal Row. Same horizontal torso angle and overhand grip, but with the chest supported on a high bench, which removes almost all lower-back demand.
- Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row. The chest-supported dumbbell row keeps the strict pull while each arm works independently.
- Supported T-Bar Row. The supported T-bar row allows heavy loading with a chest pad.
- Freestanding T-Bar Row. The freestanding T-bar row uses a similar hinged position with a fixed bar path.
- One-Arm Dumbbell Row. The one-arm dumbbell row trains each side separately with bench support.
- Machine Row. The machine row offers a stable, guided pull with no balance or lower-back demand.
How to Program the Pendlay Row
Use the box below as a starting point and adjust it to your goals and training split.
Show full programming guideHide programming guide ▾
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Tempo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength & power | 4–6 | 3–5 | 2–3 min | Explosive pull, controlled lowering |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 6–10 | 90–120 s | Explosive pull, about 2 s lowering |
| Technique practice | 2–3 | 5 | 90 s | Light load, full reset every rep |
Because each rep starts from a dead stop, the Pendlay row lends itself to lower and moderate rep ranges. That fits the research: heavier loads tend to favor maximal strength, while muscle growth occurs across a broad spectrum of loading ranges, as long as sets are taken reasonably close to failure.
- As the first or main row on back or pull days
- After deadlifts only if your lower back is still fresh; otherwise, use a chest-supported row instead of combining it with the deadlift
- Paired with a vertical pull, such as pull-ups or lat pulldowns
- In strength-focused programs alongside other explosive lifts, such as the power clean
Add weight in small steps once you complete all sets at the top of your rep range with a still torso and a full reset on every rep. If the torso starts to move, the weight is too heavy. Apply progressive overload with the same strict standard on every rep.
Pendlay Row vs Bent-Over Barbell Row
Both are free-standing barbell rows that train the same main muscles, but they differ in setup and rhythm:
| Feature | Pendlay Row | Bent-Over Barbell Row |
|---|---|---|
| Start of each rep | From a dead stop on the floor | From a hang, without touching the floor |
| Torso angle | Roughly parallel to the floor | Usually more upright, often 30–45° above horizontal |
| Tempo | Explosive pull, reset every rep | Continuous, controlled reps |
| Use of the stretch-shortening cycle | Minimal, due to the dead stop | Present between reps |
| Time under tension | Shorter; tension released between reps | Longer; continuous tension |
| Lower back demand | High | High |
| Consistency of reps | Very consistent | Varies more with fatigue |
| Best for | Strict, explosive pulling strength | Continuous-tension back training |
The main difference is the rhythm. The Pendlay row resets on the floor every rep and starts each pull from zero, while the bent-over row keeps the bar moving continuously, with constant tension on the back. The more horizontal torso in the Pendlay row also makes the pull closer to perpendicular to the body.
Neither is better overall. Many lifters use the Pendlay row for heavier, strength-focused work and the bent-over row for higher-rep sets with continuous tension. For more ideas, see our list of the best exercises for developing back thickness.
Final Thoughts
The Pendlay row is a strict, explosive barbell row in which every rep starts from a dead stop on the floor. Keep the torso roughly parallel and still, pull the bar powerfully toward your lower chest, and let it settle completely before the next rep.
Use it for strength-focused back work, respect your lower back, and choose a chest-supported row whenever you need a break from free-standing rows. To understand the muscles that hold the hinge during every rep, read our guide to the posterior chain muscles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does the Pendlay row work?
It mainly works the lats, middle traps, rhomboids, and rear delts, while the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings hold the hinged position.
Why is it called the Pendlay row?
It’s named after the American weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay, who popularized the exercise.
Does the bar have to touch the floor every rep?
Yes. A full dead stop on the floor before each pull is what defines the Pendlay row.
Should my back be completely parallel to the floor?
Aim for roughly parallel, or as close as you can get while keeping a neutral spine. If you can’t reach the bar, raise it on blocks.
Is the Pendlay row better than the bent-over row?
Neither is better overall. The Pendlay row is stricter and more explosive; the bent-over row offers continuous tension.
Is the Pendlay row bad for the lower back?
It’s demanding, but not inherently harmful. Use good hinge mechanics and sensible loads, and switch to chest-supported rows if your back needs a break.
How heavy should I go on Pendlay rows?
Use a weight you can pull explosively with a still torso. Most lifters handle less than on touch-and-go rows.
Should I use straps for Pendlay rows?
Straps are optional. They’re useful when your grip fails before your back on heavier sets.
Can beginners do Pendlay rows?
Beginners should first learn the hip hinge and a supported row. Once they can hold a neutral spine, light Pendlay rows are a good next step.
