Horizontal pull with a bar

Barbell Row

Hinge until your torso is a table. Pull the bar to your stomach. Your torso stays quiet. This is a row, not a shrug with a bounce.

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Hunter: If I have to hop the bar off the floor to finish, the plates won. I drop a plate. I row. 5x5 wants 5 honest reps, not 5 gymnastics.

Cues

Bar over mid-foot. Hinge. Soft knees.
Grip about shoulder width. Brace.
Pull to the lower ribs or stomach. Elbows not flared to 90.
Pause a beat. Do not bounce the plates off the floor unless you chose a Pendlay on purpose.
Lower with control. Keep the hinge. Do not stand up every rep like a deadlift.

Setup

Same shoes as a deadlift. Empty bar to find the hinge. 5x5 A day is squat, bench, then this. Rest about 2-3 minutes. If a barbell row turns into a circus, a chest-supported dumbbell row is an honest swap. Log that name.

5x5 A day

Five sets of 5. This is the pull that matches the bench. You need it. If the gym is packed, a chest-supported row or a seated cable row still trains the pattern. Engine should see what you actually did.

Pendlay vs this

A Pendlay starts on the floor every rep and pauses dead. This page allows a hovering bar if you keep the torso quiet. Pick one for a month. Do not mix them in one working weight.

Why it sits next to the bench

Pressing without pulling is how shoulders get cranky. After a bench day, this is the horizontal answer. Log the plates. Use the calculator if your brain is fried.

Common misses

Standing too upright. Using a full hip pop to finish. Rounding into a shrimp. Half-reps that never touch the body. Also: straps plus ego weight so the log is fiction.

FAQ

Underhand or overhand?

Overhand is the default. Underhand is a different biceps bias. Pick one.

Should the plates tap the floor?

Only if you can keep the hinge and the back quiet. If the tap turns into a bounce, hover or drop the load.

Log barbell rows in the free Vitality Engine. Plates, every working set.

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