How to Barbell Row With Proper Form

Three row variations, three jobs

Pendlay row

Named after Olympic weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay. Torso parallel to the floor, bar starts on the floor every rep, pulled explosively to the sternum. Resets on the floor between reps — no touch-and-go. The strictest row, lowest loads, best for back thickness and explosive strength. The "purest" row.

Bent-over row

The standard row. Torso 15–30° above parallel, more upright than a Pendlay, with continuous tension between reps (no floor reset). Heavier loads possible, still mostly back-focused if done well. This is the default for most lifters.

Yates row

Named for bodybuilder Dorian Yates. Torso about 70° above parallel (much more upright), underhand grip, pulled to lower abdomen. Heavier loads still, more bicep involvement, hits the lats from a different angle. Useful as an accessory but easy to turn into a cheat curl. Don't make it your primary row.

For most lifters: bent-over row as your main row, Pendlay as accessory for technique work, Yates as occasional variety.

Setup: the bent-over row

Foot position and grip

Feet hip-width apart, bar over the middle of your foot — same as a deadlift setup. Hinge at the hips and bend your knees enough to grip the bar just outside your knees, palms facing back (overhand grip).

Torso angle

Hinge back up so your torso sits 15 to 30 degrees above parallel to the floor. Knees stay soft (slightly bent) but the lift is a hip-hinge, not a quarter-squat. If you bend your knees too much, you'll bounce out of the bottom and turn the row into a leg movement.

Brace

Big breath into your belly, brace hard. Engage your lats by pulling your shoulders down and back. The bar should be hanging from straight arms with your lats taking the load — not just from your hands.

The pull

Row to the lower chest

Pull the bar to your sternum or just below — the bottom of your ribcage, not your belly button. The exact contact point depends on your torso angle: a parallel Pendlay touches higher up the torso; a more upright row touches lower. Don't yank the bar — pull it under control.

Drive elbows up and back

The cue is "elbows to the ceiling." Drive your elbows up and back, not out to the sides. Elbows flared like a bench press turn the row into a rear-delt exercise (which is fine, but that's not what you came here for). Elbows tucked at 45° engage the lats.

Squeeze at the top

At the top of the rep, squeeze your shoulder blades together for a half-second. This is where the back actually contracts — most of the strength gain on rows comes from this end-range squeeze, not from moving the bar.

Control the eccentric

Lower the bar with control — 2 to 3 seconds. Letting it drop is skipping half the rep. Maintain your torso angle the whole way down — don't stand up between reps.

Pendlay row specifics

The Pendlay row adds two constraints to the standard row:

1. Torso parallel to the floor. Lock it there and don't let it rise during the pull.
2. Bar resets on the floor between every rep. Each rep starts from a dead stop — no stretch reflex, no bouncing.

Both constraints make the lift harder at the same weight. Use about 70% of your bent-over row weight when starting Pendlays. They're worth it: the floor reset forces strict reps and the flat torso angle maximizes lat involvement.

Common mistakes

Standing up during the pull

The most common row error. You start at 30° above parallel and end up at 70° as the rep gets heavy. Now you're using your hip extensors and back erectors to throw the bar to your chest. Drop the weight 20% and re-pattern. Film from the side.

Pulling to the belly button

Hits the lower lats and biceps; misses the upper back. Pull to the sternum unless you have a specific reason not to.

No squeeze at the top

Lifters who are obsessed with weight on the bar tend to rush through reps without ever pausing at full contraction. The actual stimulus for back growth is in that squeeze. Add a half-second pause at the top of every rep.

Rounded back

A rounded thoracic spine under heavy row weights eventually hurts somebody. Cue "chest up" on every rep. Keep your neck neutral — don't yank your head up to look at the ceiling, but don't let it hang straight down either.

Treating it like a deadlift max

Your row should never approach your deadlift weight. If you're loading 80% of your deadlift on rows, you're using too much body english. Strict rows top out at about 50–60% of deadlift for most lifters.

How to program the barbell row

Row twice a week, paired with bench day. One day heavier (5 reps), one day for volume (8–12 reps). Use the RPE calculator if you train by RPE.

For back thickness (hypertrophy)

Sets of 8–12 at RPE 7–9. Examples: 4 × 10, or 5 × 8 with a 2-second pause at the top of each rep. This is where most of your row volume should live.

For strength

Sets of 5 with strict form, RPE 8. Examples: 5 × 5, or work up to a top set of 5 then 3 × 5 back-offs. Pendlay rows shine here because the floor reset prevents cheating as the weight gets heavy.

Pairing with bench

Roughly match your row volume to your bench volume. If you do 4 × 8 bench, do 4 × 8 row. Equal pulling and pushing volume keeps shoulders healthy and balances upper-body development.

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