Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

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Pendlay rows

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lwoodroff
lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
in Social Groups
Right gang I need your help! I have to do rows tonight and I am still not confident with my stance/form...

particularly - how straight/bent should legs be? the Pendlay video the guy seems to have pretty straight legs with a fairly wide grip on the bar, straight back and lift straight up to his stomach...

I'm nearly 6 foot and still too weedy to be using big weights - tonight should be 42.5kg so I've been using the women's oly bar to increase the size of weights I can have on it, although this isn't going to be relevant until 45kg when I can put the 15kg on each end..

should I be stacking the bar on several weights? to what height? how do you keep it stable?

in summary: Aaarrrrggggghhhhh!!!

(I will try and get a video!)

Replies

  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    I'm no expert, but this page has lots of explanation on top of the video.

    http://moreathleticmagazine.co.uk/articles/item/2011/April/pendlay-rows

    I'd say start it straight leg/Romanian deadlift stance. Your bar needs to be high enough off the ground to get a grip, so why not look at the first weights you'd add for your next stage and stack it that high, say three inches off the ground, so you're ready.
  • xidia
    xidia Posts: 606 Member
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    I either pull from the floor on the first rep in each set then from a hang on the subsequent ones at "about" big plate level, or I set the bar up on a Reebok step and pull each rep from that. It just depends on whether the step is free or not.
  • kirabob
    kirabob Posts: 481 Member
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    I just stack up plates until I'm at the big plate height, and then tap the bar on those weights for each rep. As tall as you are, it sounds like you need to make a couple of small adjustments - maybe a wider stance, stack some plates - whatever you can do to get it to where you can keep a flat back. For what it's worth, I'm only 5'4", and I keep my knees slightly bent during the rows. IMO, and I am by no means an expert, it is more important to have a flat back that is parallel to the ground than it is to worry about whether or not your knees are bent. If I'm totally wrong on this, hopefully someone more experienced will jump in and correct me.

    Here's a thought - bend over in your squat rack so that you can use the mirror to see where in the bend your back flattens out. Then play with your legs (bent/straight) until you can feel like you are engaging your posterior chain. Then notice where your hands are - it could be that you could just pull straight from the lowest set of pins in the rack, maybe? It could also be that once you figure out the proper placement for everything that you need to drop back a bit on the weights to make sure it all works properly.
  • sraffel
    sraffel Posts: 66 Member
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    Tagging to see responses...

    I stack 3 25 lb plates and set my weights on top of them. I find this gives them a pretty good base, never had them roll off wildly. I'm only 5'2" though. I keep my feet around hip-width apart, and knees bent slightly to keep my back flat. I have to touch the weights back down on the plates with each rep, or my form will go crazy.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    This is a better example of the Pendlay

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlRrIsoDpKg

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