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Pendulum Squat

intermediate · squat

Setup

Step into the machine, shoulders under the pendulum arm's pads, back against the near-vertical backrest, feet placed slightly forward on the platform. Load plates onto the arm's posts and lock them with collars. Pull the safety pin so the arm can move freely along its arc only once you are ready to start the set.

Execution

  1. Set your feet shoulder-width apart, slightly forward on the platform, back firmly against the pad.
  2. Inhale and bend your knees to lower along the arm's arc, keeping your back against the pad the whole way down.
  3. Go down until your hip crease is level with or a little below your knee, depending on your mobility.
  4. Exhale and drive through the middle of your feet to push back up along the same arc, without locking the knees out at the top.
  5. Track the knees over the toes through both directions, without letting them cave in.
  6. If you run out of strength mid-set, do not force another rep: drive up to the highest point you still control and reinsert the safety pin at the nearest notch; if you cannot stand back up, keep your back on the pad, lower slowly until the arm rests on the machine's bottom stop, then slide your shoulders out from under the pads.
  7. At the end of the set, reinsert the safety pin to lock the arm in place before stepping out of the machine.

Breathing

Inhale as you lower, exhale as you drive up. Do not hold your breath to move a heavier weight; if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or you are pregnant, never hold it at all, lighten the load and exhale on the way up.

Quick cues

  • Pull the safety pin before you descend.
  • Keep the back against the pad through the arc.
  • Track the knees over the toes.
  • Reinsert the pin before you step out.

Common faults

  • Fault: Forgetting to pull the safety pin, or forgetting to reinsert it after the set

    Fix: Make a habit of checking the pin every time you get in and out of the machine; a loaded arm dropping freely is dangerous.

  • Fault: The back lifting off the pad at the bottom

    Fix: Reduce the depth or the load until the back can stay against the pad through the whole arc.

  • Fault: The knees caving inward on the way up

    Fix: Actively drive the knees out toward the little toes, and drop the load if that is what it takes to hold the line.

  • Fault: Locking the knees out hard at the top

    Fix: Stop just short of a hard lockout, keep a slight bend and start the next rep from there.

Equipment

machine

Muscle groups

legs, glutes