Back · Compound

Pendlay Row

A strict barbell row variation where the bar returns to the floor each rep, targeting the lats, rhomboids, and rear deltoids with explosive pulling power. The dead stop strips out momentum and stretch reflex, so every rep is pure back strength from a standstill. It is the row that carries over most directly to the deadlift, and the least forgiving of a heavy ego.

By Macros Inc Team Verified by Alex Dedmon Updated August 2026

Advanced Barbell Compound Pull
pendlay-row-poster
  • Level Advanced
  • Equipment Barbell
  • Primary Muscles Biceps, Lats, Lower Back, Rear Delts, Rhomboids, Traps
  • Movement Compound Pull

Demonstration

Watch the Form Demo

Technique

How to Do the Pendlay Row

  1. Set up over the bar as if deadlifting, feet at hip width and the bar over your midfoot.
  2. Hinge until your torso is parallel with the floor and grip the bar just outside your legs.
  3. Flatten your back and brace hard.
  4. Pull the bar explosively to your lower chest, keeping the torso parallel.
  5. Lower the bar all the way back to the floor.
  6. Reset your position completely, then pull the next rep from a dead stop.

Anatomy

Muscles Worked

back
Primary muscles
Lats Lower Back Rear Delts Rhomboids Traps
Secondary muscles
Biceps

Do This

Form Cues

  • Set the torso parallel with the floor and keep it there.
  • Return the bar to the floor and pause before each rep.
  • Pull explosively from a dead stop.
  • Every rep is rep one. The reset on the floor is part of the exercise, not wasted time.

Avoid This

Common Mistakes

  • Letting the torso rise during the pull.
  • Bouncing the bar off the floor rather than resetting.
  • Treating it as a heavier bent over row. The dead stop is the point.
  • Letting the torso rise a few degrees per rep until the last pulls are half row, half shrug.

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