Pendlay Row

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

The bar returns to the floor between every rep, so nothing is stored up and each pull starts from a genuine stop.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Trunk close to horizontal): Hips set so the torso is near parallel with the floor and the bar sits under the mid-foot.
During the set (Vertical line of pull): With the trunk horizontal the bar's resistance is perpendicular to the torso, so the shoulder moment holds through the range.
Between reps (Dead stop removes the reflex): Resetting on the floor eliminates the stretch-shortening assist and any hip drive, lowering load but not tension.
Weeks later (Erectors often fail first): The spinal extensors hold their longest moment arm throughout, which is usually what caps the set before the lats do.

Muscles trained

Primary: lats, upper back
Secondary: biceps, forearms, rear shoulders, rotator cuff

Intensity

6 METs (Resistance training (weight lifting, free weight, nautilus or universal), power lifting or body building, vigorous effort (Taylor Code 210)).

Time to effect

Weeks: Resetting the bar on the floor between reps forces you to re-brace and re-hinge every time, so your starting position and bar path tighten up fast, even as your working weight sits lower than a touch-and-go row.
Months: The strict, momentum-free pulling builds real upper- and mid-back thickness and carries over directly to a stronger, more explosive first pull in the clean or deadlift.

Related supplements

Creatine Monohydrate

Common myth

"The Pendlay row is just a barbell row done wrong, since you're not supposed to use your legs or hips to help move the weight." In reality: Removing the stretch-reflex and momentum is the entire design intent — resetting each rep on the floor with a parallel torso trains the lats and upper back to produce force from a true dead stop, which is exactly the demand of pulling a heavy bar off the platform.