10 Best Barbell Pendlay Row Alternatives for Upper Back Strength

The Barbell Pendlay Row has you bend forward at the hips with a flat back and pull the bar into your upper abdomen. The Barbell Bent Over Row is the closest swap because it uses the same bar and the same bent over stance, just finishing the pull higher at your lower chest with a paused squeeze on every rep. Training at home with a kettlebell instead, the Kettlebell Two Arm Row keeps that same bent over pull with a kettlebell in each hand, palms facing your body.

Original Exercise: Barbell Pendlay Row

Barbell Pendlay Row
Primary Muscle
Upper-back
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Advanced
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Biceps, Forearms
How to Perform Barbell Pendlay Row
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your chest up.
  3. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Pull the barbell towards your upper abdomen, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  5. Lower the barbell back down to the starting position.
  6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Barbell Pendlay Row Alternatives

Best Match
Barbell Bent Over Row

1. Barbell Bent Over Row

99.4% Match
Upper-back Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
  2. Bend forward at the hips while keeping your back straight and chest up.
  3. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Pull the barbell towards your lower chest by retracting your shoulder blades and squeezing your back muscles.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position.
Ez Bar Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

2. Ez Bar Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

95.4% Match
Upper-back Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
  2. Hold the ez barbell with an underhand grip, palms facing up, and hands shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and chest up, until your torso is almost parallel to the floor.
  4. Pull the ez barbell towards your lower chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the ez barbell back to the starting position.
Kettlebell Two Arm Row

3. Kettlebell Two Arm Row

94.9% Match
Upper-back Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold a kettlebell in each hand with your palms facing your body.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
  3. Pull the kettlebells up towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the kettlebells back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Lever One Arm Bent Over Row

4. Lever One Arm Bent Over Row

91.7% Match
Upper-back Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold a barbell with an overhand grip.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your head up.
  3. Let the barbell hang in front of you with your arms fully extended.
  4. Pull the barbell up towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  5. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
Elevator

5. Elevator

88.9% Match
Upper-back Body-weight Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Place your hands on your hips or cross them in front of your chest.
  3. Keeping your back straight, slowly bend forward at the waist, lowering your upper body towards the ground.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then slowly raise your upper body back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Kettlebell Alternating Row

6. Kettlebell Alternating Row

87.7% Match
Upper-back Kettlebell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold a kettlebell in each hand with your palms facing your body.
  2. Bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
  3. Pull one kettlebell up towards your chest, keeping your elbow close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  4. Lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position and repeat with the other arm.
  5. Continue alternating arms for the desired number of repetitions.
Dumbbell Reverse Grip Row (female)

7. Dumbbell Reverse Grip Row (female)

85.9% Match
Upper-back Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip, palms facing your body.
  3. Bend forward at the waist, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
  4. Let your arms hang straight down, fully extended, with a slight bend in your elbows.
  5. Pull the dumbbells up towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Smith Bent Over Row

8. Smith Bent Over Row

85.2% Match
Upper-back Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Set up the smith machine with the bar at hip height.
  2. Stand facing the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  4. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  5. Pull the bar towards your lower chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Straight Bar Bench Mid Rows

9. Straight Bar Bench Mid Rows

84.4% Match
Middle-back Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Place a loaded barbell on the end of a bench. Standing on the bench behind the bar, take a medium, pronated grip. Stand with your hips back and chest up, maintaining a neutral spine. This will be your starting position.
  2. Row the bar to your torso by retracting the shoulder blades and flexing the elbows. Use a controlled movement with no jerking.
  3. After a brief pause, slowly return the bar to the starting position, ensuring to go all the way down.
Lever Reverse T-bar Row

10. Lever Reverse T-bar Row

83.3% Match
Upper-back Lever Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the seat height and footplate position on the leverage machine.
  2. Sit on the machine with your chest against the pad and your feet flat on the footplate.
  3. Grasp the handles with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Keep your back straight and engage your core.
  5. Pull the handles towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Why You Might Need a Barbell Pendlay Row Alternative

A barbell might be busy, or you would rather train the Barbell Pendlay Row's pull with different equipment or a different grip. The EZ Bar Reverse Grip Bent Over Row swaps in an EZ bar and an underhand grip, with your torso bent until it is almost parallel to the floor and the pull finishing at your lower chest. Training at home with a kettlebell or a pair of dumbbells, the Kettlebell Two Arm Row and the Dumbbell Reverse Grip Row (female) keep the same bent over pull without a loaded bar. The Kettlebell Alternating Row moves one kettlebell at a time so each side of your back works on its own, and the Smith Bent Over Row keeps the same pull on a fixed bar path.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

If you have a barbell and want tension held through the top of the pull, the Barbell Bent Over Row pauses at your lower chest before you lower it. With only a kettlebell at home, the Kettlebell Two Arm Row keeps that same bent over pull without a loaded bar, and a pair of dumbbells works just as well. To load one side of your back at a time, the Kettlebell Alternating Row pulls one kettlebell up to your chest while the other hangs, lowers it, then switches arms. With an EZ bar instead of a straight one, the EZ Bar Reverse Grip Bent Over Row swaps to an underhand grip with your torso bent almost parallel to the floor. On a Smith machine, the Smith Bent Over Row keeps the same pull on a fixed bar path.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I train the Barbell Pendlay Row's pull at home without a barbell?

Yes, with a kettlebell or a pair of dumbbells. The Kettlebell Two Arm Row keeps the bent over pull with a kettlebell in each hand, and swapping in a pair of dumbbells with an overhand grip trains the same pull just as well. Both keep you bent forward at the hips with your back flat, pulling up towards your chest.

What is different between the Barbell Pendlay Row and the Barbell Bent Over Row?

Both use the same bar and the same bent over stance. The Barbell Pendlay Row pulls the bar to your upper abdomen, and the Barbell Bent Over Row pulls further up to your lower chest and pauses there for a moment before you lower it, adding a beat of control at the top of each rep.

Which alternative lets me work one side of my back at a time?

The Kettlebell Alternating Row. You hold a kettlebell in each hand bent over, pull one up towards your chest with your elbow close to your body while the other hangs, lower it, then pull with the other arm, so each side of your back does its own work instead of sharing the pull.

What can I use instead of a barbell if my gym only has a Smith machine?

The Smith Bent Over Row. You set the bar at hip height on the Smith machine, hinge forward the same way, and pull it to your lower chest, but the bar travels on a fixed rail instead of moving freely in your hands.

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