Barbell Pendlay Row
The barbell Pendlay row is a strict row where your torso stays roughly parallel to the floor and the bar returns to a dead stop on the ground every rep. It works your upper back hardest, with biceps and lats assisting. Pick it for explosive pulling strength with no momentum carried between reps.
Muscles worked
The barbell pendlay row trains the back, with biceps, lats helping.
Weekly sets for back
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for back, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the barbell pendlay row
- 01Stand over the bar with feet hip width apart and the bar over your midfoot.
- 02Hinge until your torso is close to parallel with the floor, knees bent and back flat.
- 03Grip slightly wider than shoulder width with straight arms and brace your trunk.
- 04Pull the bar explosively from the floor to your lower chest while your torso stays still.
- 05Lower the bar back to the floor, let it settle fully, then reset your brace before the next rep.
Coaching cues
- Dead stop on the floor every rep.
- Chest stays parallel to the ground.
- Rip it up fast, lower it controlled.
Common mistakes
- Letting your torso rise toward upright turns it into a bent-over row, so keep your chest near parallel throughout the set.
- Bouncing the bar off the floor removes the dead-stop start, so let the plates settle before each pull.
- Kicking the bar up with your legs hides a weak back, so keep the knees fixed and pull with your arms and upper back.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Barbell Pendlay Row alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your barbell pendlay row free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.