Barbell Pendlay Row

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly, and hinge forward at the hips. Grab the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back flat and core engaged, squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the barbell towards your upper abdomen. Lower the barbell back down and repeat.

How to perform the Barbell Pendlay Row

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Barbell Pendlay Row using your barbell.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your rhomboids.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your rhomboids rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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