Training guide
A Pendlay row is a barbell row from the floor. Set up over the bar as you would for a deadlift, tip your back as near level with the floor as you can keep it flat, pull the bar fast to your lower chest or upper belly, then lower it to the floor, let it settle and reset before the next rep. It's the strict, dead-stop version of the bent-over row.
No study has measured the Pendlay row itself. What we know comes from the bent-over row, which loaded the lower spine most of the rows tested, and from one small programme that used Pendlay rows, supervised, with people who had back pain.
This guide shows you how to do it step by step on the 3D figure, with the three changes from a bent-over row, how it compares with other rows, your lower back, the dumbbell and kettlebell versions, how heavy and how many, and the warning signs.
The bar starts on the floor over the middle of your feet. You hinge until your back is as near level as you can keep it flat, pull fast to your lower chest or upper belly, and set the bar down before the next rep. The one study that used it described the back as "as close to parallel to the floor as possible", with the bar resting on the floor between reps.
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No study has measured the Pendlay row's muscle activity, spine load or training effect. The bent-over row it comes from worked the back right across in 7 men, and a two-handed free-weight row worked the lower back muscles 34% more than a machine row in 15 trained men.
The bent-over row put the largest load on the lower spine of three rows tested. A flatter back probably asks more of your lower back during each pull, while setting the bar down rests it between reps: that's our reading of the mechanics, not a measurement.
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In 25 adults with persistent low back pain, a 16-week programme of squats, bench presses, deadlifts and Pendlay rows, with a physiotherapist present, cut worst pain by 2.6 points at 8 weeks and 3.4 at 16 (on a 0 to 10 scale); 2 people had minor strains. There was no comparison group.
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You need a steady hip hinge, a deadlift set-up you can repeat, and 3 sets of 8 bent-over rows that hold their angle every rep (our bent-over row technique workout). The American Council on Exercise rates the bent-over row as advanced, and the Pendlay row asks more of the same position (our reading).
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Start light, 3 sets of 5, adding 1 to 2.5 kg a session while every rep holds its angle; then 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 for strength, or 3 sets of 8 to 12 for muscle, stopping 2 or 3 reps short and resting about 2 minutes (our editorial starting point). End the set when your back angle changes. Going to failure adds little muscle, and people misjudge the reps they have left by about one.
A barbell row in which every rep starts with the bar still on the floor. You hinge until your back is as near level with the floor as you can keep it flat, pull the bar fast to your lower chest or upper belly, lower it to the floor, let it settle, reset and pull again. In the one study that used it, the grip was overhand and about shoulder-width, and the bar was pulled to between the lower chest and the belly button.
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Fitness writers say it's named after Glenn Pendlay, a US weightlifting coach, who used it to strengthen the back for the snatch and the clean. We found no primary source for that. What matters is the style: from the floor, back flat and near level, a reset every rep.
Your lats, the trapezius and rhomboids between your shoulder blades and your rear shoulders pull the bar, with your biceps and forearms. Your back extensors, glutes and hamstrings hold the hinge, and hold it harder the nearer your back is to level (our reading). Across 23 studies of the lats, where your upper arm moves relative to your trunk mattered most.
These are EMG (electromyography: electrodes measuring how hard a muscle works over a few reps) studies of other rows. They show effort, not what a muscle will build.
A steady hip hinge, a deadlift set-up you can repeat, and enough hamstring flexibility to reach a bar on the floor with a flat back. The bent-over row's move page asks for a stable hip hinge and competence handling a barbell. If you can't reach the bar with a flat back, raise it on plates or blocks.
Longer arms let you reach the bar with a flatter back; shorter arms or tighter hamstrings mean a more upright back or a raised bar. Tall lifters often need the bar raised (our observation).
The figure shows a bent-over row: the same overhand grip, the same flat-backed hinge held still and the same pull to the lower ribs or belly. Three things change for a Pendlay row: the bar starts every rep on the floor over the middle of your feet (step 1); your back goes nearer level than the figure's, but only as far as it stays flat (step 3); and you pull fast from a dead stop and set the bar down every rep (step 6). The grip and bar path follow the one study that used the Pendlay row and the bent-over row's move page; the rest is our editorial advice.
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The movement on the figure: Bent-over barbell row
Both are barbell rows from a hinge held still, with an overhand grip and a pull to the lower ribs or belly, and both work the same muscles. Our bent-over row guide teaches the bent-over row with your torso between about 45 degrees and horizontal and the bar hanging between reps.
A Pendlay row starts every rep from the floor, with your back as near level as it stays flat and a fast pull. A bent-over row keeps the bar hanging, usually with a more upright back, which is easier to learn. Strict means no heave in either: your back angle stays put while you pull.
No study has compared them. Choose the one you can do strictly and add weight to steadily; many people learn on the bent-over row and move to the Pendlay row once their hinge is solid (our view).
Each Pendlay rep starts without a bounce, so expect to row a little less than in a touch-and-go row. In 113 adults, touch-and-go bench presses were about 8% heavier than presses from a dead stop. That's a bench press study, and nobody has tested it in rows.
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A Yates row is a more upright row, usually underhand; a seal row or chest-supported row takes the hinge away; a gorilla row rows two dumbbells or kettlebells one at a time from the floor. Our bent-over row, T-bar row, dumbbell row and seated cable row guides cover those.
In 7 healthy men, the standing bent-over row produced large activity right across the back and the largest load on the lower spine of three rows; the inverted row drew the most lat, upper back and hip muscle activity with the least spine load.
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In 15 resistance-trained men at matched effort, the two-handed free-weight row drew 34% more lower back muscle activity than a machine row and 12% more than a one-arm free-weight row.
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In 25 adults with persistent low back pain (24 analysed), 16 weeks of supervised squats, bench presses, deadlifts and Pendlay rows twice a week, starting at 3 sets of 10 at 50% of their best, cut worst pain by 2.6 points at 8 weeks and 3.4 at 16, and disability scores fell. Two people had minor strains. It was a feasibility study with no comparison group, so it can't show that the programme caused the improvement.
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In 70 people with recurrent low back pain, a programme built on heavy deadlifts and a programme of low-load motor control exercise eased pain alike over 8 weeks; the low-load programme improved people's own ratings of their activity more.
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A review found no clear link between bending the lower back while lifting and back pain starting or lasting, but the evidence was of low quality. Keep your back flat anyway: it's the position the row is built on.
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In an 8-week study of 21 trained men, the Pendlay row was the row in the programme that kept the same exercises throughout, but it wasn't measured on its own.
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We found no study of the Pendlay row's muscle activity, spine load, power or injuries, no study comparing it with other rows, and no study of torso angle in any bent-over row.
The bent-over row loaded the lower spine most of three rows tested. A flatter back lengthens the lever your lower back has to hold, so each Pendlay pull probably asks more of it, while setting the bar down gives it a moment's rest between reps. That's our reading of the mechanics: nobody has measured either.
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Feeling your lower back muscles work is normal. Sharp pain, pain that builds during a set or pain that travels down a leg isn't: swap to a chest-supported row and get checked if it doesn't settle, as our bent-over row guide says.
With back pain, up to about 5 out of 10 is acceptable if it settles within about an hour and is no worse the next morning, as our T-bar row and back pain from deadlifts guides say. Pain, tingling or numbness spreading down a leg is the exception: stop the exercise that causes it.
The programme that used Pendlay rows with back pain had a physiotherapist present, and handled flare-ups by lowering the weight first, then the speed, then the range, then leaving the exercise out for at least a week. Use a chest-supported row until your back settles, or bring Pendlay rows back with a physiotherapist's help.
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Any row that starts each rep with the weight at rest, with no bounce or swing. The Pendlay row is the barbell version: a barbell row from the floor with a reset every rep is a Pendlay row, and a strict row with the bar hanging, or taken from a rack, is a bent-over row.
Two dumbbells or kettlebells rowed from the floor and set down every rep work the same way. Rowing them one at a time from the floor is often called a gorilla row.
Standing on a low, stable platform makes each rep start lower, a harder start for your hinge. Our figure of the barbell row standing on a bench shows that set-up: use a bench that can't tip or slide, keep the load modest, and step down only once the bar is set down, as its move page says.
Hip-hinge practice, 2 sets of 8 and then a 20 to 30 second hold at about 45 degrees with a flat back, chest-supported dumbbell rows, 2 sets of 10, bent-over two-dumbbell rows, 3 sets of 8 with 2 or 3 reps to spare, and bent-over barbell rows, 3 sets of 8 with the empty bar or a light load (all from our bent-over row technique workout), moving on when every rep holds its angle; a few light deadlifts to learn the start from the floor (our suggestion); then the Pendlay row over the bent-over row figure, 3 sets of 5, light, adding 1 to 2.5 kg a session (our editorial starting point).
None of these figures shows a Pendlay row: for the Pendlay version of the kettlebell, dumbbell or underhand row, start every rep from the floor and set the weight down; the barbell row standing on a bench starts each rep lower, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (its move page's dose); and on a Smith machine the bar hooks onto the stops, so it isn't a true dead stop (our view).
3D demoBent-over two-kettlebell rowIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoAlternating bent-over kettlebell rowIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoUnderhand bent-over barbell rowAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoBarbell row standing on a benchAdvanced · A barbell + A bench or box
3D demoSmith machine bent-over rowIntermediate · Strength machineThat turns it into a heave. Go lighter, and end the set when your back angle changes, as the bent-over row's move page says.
Raise the bar on plates or blocks, or do bent-over rows until your hinge allows it.
Let it settle and reset: each rep is its own lift.
Keep your knees and hips still and use less weight.
Pull to your lower chest or upper belly with your elbows going back towards your hips, as our bent-over row guide teaches.
Keep your neck in line with your back and your eyes on the floor a little ahead.
Lower it under control. In 15,348 gym injuries seen in US emergency departments, dropped equipment caused 18.5% of women's and 12.1% of men's.
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Light, 3 sets of 5, adding 1 to 2.5 kg a session while every rep holds its angle (our editorial starting point; the step size is our bent-over row guide's).
3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8, stopping 2 or 3 reps short and resting about 2 minutes (our editorial starting point, close to our pull day workout's barbell row: 3 sets of 6 to 10 with 2 reps to spare and 2 minutes' rest). Heavier loads build strength best, in the ACSM's (American College of Sports Medicine) overview of 137 reviews.
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3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping 2 or 3 reps short, with 90 seconds to 2 minutes' rest (our editorial starting point, as our plans rest compound sets). Count each set towards your back's 10 or so hard sets a week: more weekly sets went with more growth, with diminishing returns, across 67 studies.
Stop each set with 2 or 3 reps to spare, or 3 or 4 in your first two weeks, as our plans advise, and end it early if your back angle changes. Going to failure adds little muscle, and people underestimate the reps they have left by about one.
Once or twice a week as your main row (our suggestion).
Add 1 to 2.5 kg a session while every rep holds its angle, as our bent-over row guide and beginner strength programme do. When that stalls, add reps within your range first, then weight (double progression, as our plans use).
There are no Pendlay row strength standards. Judge it by your reps in reserve and by whether every rep holds its angle.
Chest-supported dumbbell rows, 3 sets of 10 to 12 with 1 or 2 reps to spare and 90 seconds' rest (our pull day workout); chest-supported T-bar rows and one-arm dumbbell rows on a bench, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (each side for the one-arm row) with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (their move pages' doses); and seated cable rows and inverted rows, which take the hinge away completely (our seated cable row and inverted row guides).
3D demoChest-supported dumbbell rowBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoChest-supported T-bar rowIntermediate · Strength machine
3D demoOne-arm dumbbell row on a benchIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoSeated cable rowBeginner · A cable machine
3D demoInverted rowIntermediate · Pull-up barFace pulls, 3 sets of 12 to 20 (our pull day workout), and band pull-aparts, 15 reps (our bent-over row technique workout), for your upper back and shoulders; dead bugs, 2 sets of 5 to 8 a side (our squat strength workout), and suitcase carries, 2 walks of 20 to 30 metres a side (our bent-over row technique workout), for your trunk and grip; and cat-cow, 8 waves, slower than feels natural (its move page's dose), before you start.
Our bent-over row technique workout is the ladder to the barbell row. Once you can do a Pendlay row well, it can stand in for the barbell row in our pull day, deadlift strength, bench press strength and barbell strength workouts.
A 30-minute practice session for the bent-over row: hold the hinge, groove the pull with your chest supported, then row dumbbells and a light bar.
30 minBeginner8 movesA band, A dumbbellA pull day workout for back and biceps: pull-ups, barbell rows, chest-supported rows, face pulls and curls, with sets, reps and rest.
55 minIntermediate10 movesPull-up bar, A barbellA heavy deadlift session for lifters past the beginner stage: heavy sets of 3 to 5, deficit deadlifts, back extensions, rows and farmer's carries.
55 minIntermediate9 movesA barbell, Weight platesA heavy bench press session for lifters past the beginner stage: heavy sets of 3 to 5, close-grip presses, rows, pushdowns and face pulls.
60 minIntermediate9 movesA band, A barbellBarbell strength workout A: back squats and bench presses in sets of five, plus rows. Workout B (squat, overhead press, deadlift) is a separate session.
40 minBeginner6 movesA band, A barbellThese plans use our pull day or barbell strength workout, where a Pendlay row can take the barbell row's place.
A 6-day push/pull/legs plan for experienced lifters: two push, two pull and two leg days, with sets, reps, rest and lighter weeks.
6 training days55 minAdvanced5 days a weekA 5-day gym split that trains every muscle twice a week: upper, lower, push, pull and legs, with an honest look at the bro split.
5 training days50 minIntermediate3 days a weekA 12-week beginner barbell program: squat every session, alternate bench and row with press and deadlift, and add weight each time until it stalls.
3 training days50 minBeginnerUse a chest-supported row until your back settles, follow our back pain from deadlifts guide, and bring Pendlay rows back with a physiotherapist's help if you can.
Keep your back long and flat, and choose chest-supported rows if holding the hinge is hard, as our bent-over row guide suggests. Our exercise guide for osteoporosis has more.
Raise the bar on plates or blocks so you can reach it with a flat back, or stay with the bent-over row for now.
Breathe out through every effort and keep the weight moderate, as our breathing guide says: heavy lifts to failure with a held breath sent blood pressure to an average of 320/250 mmHg (millimetres of mercury) in 5 bodybuilders. People with controlled blood pressure can do moderate strength training with proper breathing, the American Heart Association says.
The bar travels close to your bump, so once a bump shows, swap to a one-arm dumbbell row with a hand on a bench, as our pregnancy strength workout uses, or a seated cable row (our suggestion): a pregnancy charity advises avoiding exercises where a weight could hit your bump. The NHS says strength training is fine if you already do it, and not to start new vigorous activity in pregnancy.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck or jaw; a sudden, extremely painful headache, for example during a heavy lift (the NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy); someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint; or signs of a stroke, even if they've stopped. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
If you haven't exercised for some time or have a medical condition, speak to your GP first, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
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Call 999 or go to A&E for loss of feeling or numbness around your genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently; don't drive yourself. Back pain with chest pain is also a 999 call.
See a GP if back pain hasn't improved after a few weeks of looking after it at home, stops you doing day-to-day activities, worries you, or you're struggling to cope.
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A sudden pop at the front of the elbow during a heavy pull, with bruising, a gap at the front of the elbow or a bulge in the upper arm, can be a torn biceps tendon. Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E (in the US, urgent care or the emergency department), and don't wait for it to settle: it's best repaired within the first 2 to 3 weeks, as our T-bar row guide says.
A sudden sharp pain at the back of the thigh at the bottom of the hinge: stop the set and see our hamstring strain guide. One person in the back pain programme strained a hamstring and left out the Pendlay row and the deadlift for the rest of it.
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See a GP if you think you have a hernia. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, sickness, constipation, a high temperature or sudden confusion. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a lump at the top of the thigh) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, or the injured part has changed shape, points at an odd angle, is numb or tingling, or has turned blue, grey or cold. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, badly swollen or bruised, or you can't put weight on it.
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Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new or harder session is common and fades. Sharp pain, or pain that builds during a set or lingers into the next day, isn't: swap to an easier version, and see a clinician if it persists, as our plans advise. The NHS says to stop exercising straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, and to get help from 111 if symptoms worry you or don't go away.
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They ask a lot of the lower back, as the bent-over row does, but no study has counted Pendlay row injuries. A supervised programme that included them was tolerated by 25 people with persistent back pain (2 minor strains), and rounding while lifting isn't a proven cause of back pain.
The flatter back probably makes each pull harder for your lower back, and setting the bar down rests it between reps, by our reading of the mechanics. Nobody has measured either.
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It's one good choice among several. No study has compared it with other rows, so choose the row you can do strictly and progress.
Pulling fast suits power training, and the ACSM's power advice uses fast lifts at moderate loads, but no study has tested the Pendlay row for power.
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As close to level as you can keep it flat. The one study that used it said "as close to parallel to the floor as possible", and rounding your back to get lower defeats the point.
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Muscle activity over a few reps isn't a validated predictor of growth, and no study has measured the Pendlay row anyway. Training trials, not activity, decide what builds muscle.
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A barbell row from the floor: your back as near level as it stays flat, a fast pull to your lower chest or upper belly, then the bar set down and your back reset before every rep. It's the strict, dead-stop version of the bent-over row.
Neither in general. The Pendlay row starts every rep from a dead stop with a flatter back; the bent-over row keeps the bar hanging, usually with a more upright back, which is easier to learn. No study has compared them, so choose the one you can do strictly and progress.
Your lats, the muscles between your shoulder blades, your rear shoulders and your biceps, while your lower back, glutes and hamstrings hold the hinge. No study has measured the Pendlay row itself; the bent-over row worked the back right across, and loaded the lower spine most of the rows tested.
There's no evidence they harm a healthy back, but they work it hard: the bent-over row loaded the lower spine most of three rows. People with persistent back pain did them, supervised, in a 16-week programme in which their pain eased. If your back hurts, use a chest-supported row until it settles, and follow our back pain guides.
As close to level with the floor as you can keep it flat, without rounding. If you can't reach the bar like that, raise it on plates or blocks, or stay with the bent-over row for now.
The Pendlay row is usually done overhand, about shoulder-width. An underhand grip brings your elbows closer to your sides; where your elbows go matters more than which way your palms face, as our bent-over row guide explains.
There are no standards. Start light, 3 sets of 5, and add 1 to 2.5 kg a session while every rep holds its angle; then 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8, stopping 2 or 3 reps short. Expect a little less than in a touch-and-go row, because there's no bounce.
Yes: two dumbbells from the floor, your back near level, pulled together and set down every rep. Rowing them one at a time from the floor is often called a gorilla row; both work the same muscles.
Any row that starts each rep with the weight at rest, with no bounce or swing; the Pendlay row is the barbell version. A barbell row from the floor with a reset is a Pendlay row, while a row with the bar hanging, or taken from a rack, is a bent-over row.
They're taught with a fast pull, and they train the hinge you deadlift from, but no study has tested them for power or for the deadlift. Power training generally uses fast lifts at moderate loads.
Fitness writers say it's named after Glenn Pendlay, a US weightlifting coach who used it to strengthen the back for the snatch and clean. We found no primary source for that. What matters is the style: from the floor, back flat and near level, a reset every rep.
A bent-over barbell or dumbbell row, a chest-supported dumbbell or T-bar row if your lower back limits you, or a seated cable row. They train the same muscles without the start from the floor.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
