How to Get the Right Form on Pendlay Row?

I’m just starting Stronglifts and since I’m 6’7" and have long legs I can’t get the right form and even when I try without even a bar just to see my form I still have arched back. Maybe scoliosis has something to do with it.

Can you do any sort of row without this issue?

I tried also the bent over row but sometimes I have lower back pain after it.

How about dumbbell rows? You could also try chest supported rows, machine rows, cable rows, etc.

I don’t do any barbell rows because I think they’re terrible. I’ve never needed to do them to reach my goals. You might have the same luck. Find a row you CAN do.

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I will have to experimet, but I wanted to do Pendlay since Mehdi says the Pendlay is a must in Stronglifts.

Right, but Mehdi is some guy who trained for 20 years and accomplished nothing (by his own admission) and to this day is still not big or strong, so you don’t really need to concern yourself with his thoughts on training.

He is very talented at building apps and marketing programs from what I have seen.

He is good at promoting Stronglifts :grin:
The reason I choose Stronglifts because because it seemed like a simple workout and I liked the emphasise on compund.

Right, not because you thought the author was some sort of infallible God of strength. So don’t worry about his opinion on the matter; just get in some sort of row.

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I will thanks for the tips, I will see which row best works, I’m just starting to doubt if Stronglifts it’s the right for me program.

What’s your athletic background coming into the program? Is this your first time lifting any sort of weights?

No I have been going to the gym before maybe two years and trained karate 9 years but stopped, before in the gym I have been doing mainly programs with machines instead compund. I have made some progress but I can’t do pull ups and dips which shows how weak I am. So that is why I wanted Stronglifts or some other program for strength.

At 6’7, I wouldn’t consider inability to do a pull-up or dip a sign of weakness. You’re dealing with limb lengths and bodyweights that the average folks aren’t. Yeah, there are still some taller and heavier guys out there that are beasts, but I wouldn’t sweat it.

Stronglifts and similar programs abbreviated programs are built around peaking strength. Whatever strength you have built up, you will realize it on those programs. They’re not bad to run for 2-3 months just to get technique established and a baseline to work with. Once you’ve done that though, I would advocate moving to a program that is built around building the qualities that create strength (hypertrophy, conditioning, work capacity, etc). Something like 5/3/1, Westside Barbell for Skinny Bastards, Cube Method, Juggernuat Method, Thib’s Power Look program, etc. This will be where you really start getting strong.

Alternatively, you could just run those programs now since you have a little experience under your belt. The difference between the two paths won’t be terribly significant, it’s more about what suits you.

I have look at that programs and they all seem really good, I am willing to try anything that will get me results although I really need to change my diet workout is useless. :smiley:

This is usually my go to for structuring a diet

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I don’t see why you couldn’t put that bar on some blocks to raise it up for you since you’re tall when you are doing pendlay rows. Your limbs are probably really long so you’ll still get a decent range of motion. Also keeping your core solid helps with the low back pain for me. Try widening your stance a bit as well and bending your knees as much as you can to get that back flat. See if that helps but chest supported is a great way to start and it will be easy on your back.