Pendulum Squats: Assisted Squat Variation for Stronger Legs

This is a complete guide to pendulum squats. Learn how to pendulum squat, plus get similar squat variations and alternatives for all fitness levels.

Victoria Petrella

April 15, 2024

9 min read

For a new squat variation, the pendulum squat is an optimal way to give your leg day workouts some variety. This squat variation doesn’t use a barbell and follows an arching path of movement.

It’s fun and still growth-friendly if you’re looking to train towards stronger legs and quad hypertrophy.

Let’s get to know how pendulum squats can help you define your legs and build a stronger lower half.

What Are Pendulum Squats?

The pendulum squat is an assisted squat machine, similar to the hack squat or Smith machine hack squat. This machine, however has a swinging arm attachment that operates around a fixed pivot point to create resistance against your back. This forces you to engage your legs and posterior chain to push the weight back up from the bottom of your movement.

The machine makes an arching motion as you squat, hence the name, pendulum. It can look a little intimidating, but it helps improve your leg strength and the health of multiple muscle groups at once. Namely, your quadriceps (quads), hamstrings and gluteal muscles (glutes).

Squatting requires you to bend your knees and hips to lower your body down into a seated position. After that, you push through your heels to return to a standing position.

Pendulum squats are a great way to build lower body strength, power, and muscle mass.

Good technique is necessary to reduce injury risk and maximize effectiveness in any type of squat. A few key components of good pendulum squats include keeping a neutral spine, holding your knees in line with your toes on the machine’s platform, and engaging the core and glutes throughout the movement.

Pendulum Squat Muscles Worked

Quadriceps

Sitting on the front of your thighs, your quadriceps (aka “quads”) engage as you squat, especially as you push up from the bottom of this move.

Hamstrings

Your hamstrings help you stay stable during squats. These muscles on the backs of your thighs work together with your quads to control the up-and-down movement of a squat.

Glutes

Pendulum squats are among the best exercises you can do to get a perkier butt. Your largest butt muscle, the gluteus maximus does most of the work here, but your gluteus medius and gluteus minimus also assist as you squat. When you drive up through your heels to standing after a squat, the gluteus maximus is the most involved.

Calves

Your calf muscles, including the gastrocnemius and soleus muscle, are supporting players when you perform any type of squat. What these muscles do is to stabilize your ankles so you keep your balance while squatting.

They also help with an ankle movement called “plantar flexion.” This means moving your foot away from the ankle joint. When your foot moves toward the ankle at the bottom of a squat, we call it “dorsiflexion.” On the other hand, when you drive through your feet to push up, your ankle joint “plantar flexes,” which the calf muscles assist.

Erector Spinae

These lower back muscles kick in to help you hold your spine “in neutral” throughout your pendulum squat movement. The erector spinae also make sure you don’t fall forward or backward.

Core

The core muscles: rectus abdominis, obliques, and transverse abdominis, engage in a pendulum squat to keep your trunk stable and help you hold proper posture in your squats. This is especially relevant if you want to switch your squat equipment to a barbell or other equipment for heavier resistance.

How to Pendulum Squat

Let’s get familiar with how to do pendulum squats:

Set-Up: Use plates to load a challenging amount of weight to your pendulum squat machine. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider on the machine’s platform. Plant your back against the back pad and set your shoulders up under the shoulder pads. Reach forward to grab the handles on your pendulum squat machine. Engage your core muscles and keep your spine neutral. Hold your chest proud.

Squat: Hinge from your hips as you bend your knees. Think about making the motion of dropping back to sit on a chair. Keep your weight on your heels and lower your body down as far as you can go. On the pendulum squat machine, you should be able to squat deeper than 90 degrees. Make sure your knees are tracking in line with your toes and that they don’t knock inward.

Reverse: Drive out of your heels, and push the platform away from you to come back up. At the top of the move, extend your hips.

Reps: Beginners should aim for 3 sets of 10 reps. If you’re squatting for strength, aim for 3 sets of 3-6 reps or try a one-rep max with heavy weight. If you’re squatting for hypertrophy, aim for 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

For more recommendations on squat load, see Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance.

Benefits of Pendulum Squats

No Barbell

Many lifters prefer to avoid cumbersome barbells when they squat. A barbell can knock you off balance if you struggle with stability.

Performing a variation like the pendulum squat lets you feel securely tucked in against your shoulder and back pads for a more stable squat.

Stronger Lower Body

When you pendulum squat, you’re mostly targeting the muscles in the lower body, like your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Squatting regularly helps you build muscle in these areas and work toward lower body hypertrophy.

The strength gains and larger muscles can help lead you to better functional movement and sports performance. Running, jumping, and holding an active stance all require squat positions.

We see this in sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, dance and track and field. If you think about it, you can apply the principles of squatting to pretty much any sport. Because of this, it’s important to get good at healthy squatting techniques. The pendulum squat can be a great way to simplify this training.

Core Strength

Because they require you to hold your posture, usually while lifting heavy resistance, squats are a great core strengthener.

Although the pendulum squat may not use as much core strength for stability as a barbell squat, your abs still work hard to keep you upright. They can improve your core strength outside the gym too. You’ll feel more stable and oftentimes your balance will improve too.

Like squatting motions, core strength is something that carries through pretty much any type of athletic performance to help you. Plus, it’s important in your everyday life, especially as you age.

Functional Movement

It’s usually second nature, but so many things you do daily require some squatting action. Just about everything you do, including walking, bringing your body down into a chair to sit or picking up your grocery bags to put things into the fridge involves a squat, even if it’s not as deep.

Although you may not be actively thinking about it, squats replicate everyday movements like bending over to pick things up or bending your knees to walk. Getting stronger through the muscles you use in these movements can help you perform better at everyday tasks.

Although you may not notice it when you’re young, in older age this comes in handy. You should always try and maintain your ability to squat easily.

Bone Density and Healthy Joints

Weight-bearing exercises like squats help you increase bone density. When you start to age, this can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis. You’ll improve your overall bone health which is important as you get older.

For more insights on bone density and aging, you can read:

Squats are great for your joints too. Working through a full range of motion helps you work toward better joint health and hip, knee, and ankle mobility.

What Are the Downsides of Pendulum Squats?

Here are a few areas that you should think about before you choose pendulum squats.

No Barbell

This is commonly one of the reasons people like pendulum squats, but on this machine, you don’t use a barbell to train with.

Locking your shoulders into the shoulder pads of a pendulum machine helps you to feel secure and stable. But avoiding a barbell does cause you to miss out on some of the balance training that is considered a benefit of barbell back squats.

Access to Equipment

Many machines simply don’t offer pendulum squat machines available.

Injuries or Overuse

If you lift too heavy or with bad form, you can risk serious injuries. Knee, lower back, and hip pain while squatting are especially prevalent.

A few common injuries from squats include:

Strains
Tendon or ligament issues
Sprains
Spinal problems

Make sure you’re following proper squat technique. If you’re looking to progressively overload, make sure you gradually increase your weight and listen to your body. This will help you reduce your injury risk.

Squats put a lot of stress on your joints. This is especially true for your knees, hips and ankles. If you’ve got pre-existing joint problems or mobility issues, squats can feel uncomfortable at best or painful at worst.

If this is you, it may be helpful to try a mobility test to see if squats are an accessible move for your joints.

Pressure on the Spine

When you squat with too much weight or bad form, you can do a number on your spine, even if you’re not using a barbell.

Always remember to engage your abs to help keep your spine neutral spine. Make sure your torso isn’t leaning too far forward into the machine. Try to keep your back planted against your back pad for proper form.

If your abs are engaged yet you still feel a lot of pain in your lower back, it can be a sign to drop some weight from your machine.

Can Feel Intimidating

These machines may look super scary and hard to operate, especially for novice lifters.

Although anyone can pendulum squat with a little practice, getting acquainted with a less-common machine, especially in a packed gym where you feel like all eyes are on you can feel awkward and vulnerable.

If your confidence is shaken before you start, there’s no chance that you’re going to perform at your best when it comes down to performing perfect pendulum squats.

Assisted Squat Variations and Alternatives

If you love the pendulum squat for its machine-assistance, but want to try different variations of the assisted squat, here are some key alternatives.

Not every gym has a pendulum squat machine, so these variations also offer a way to work out if you’re missing the right equipment.

Here are some of the best pendulum squat alternate movements you can try:

Hack Squats

The hack squat is one of the easiest squat alternatives if you suffer from lower back pain or poor balance. This machine-assisted option takes a lot of the work out of your stabilizer muscles so you can solely hone in on growing your quads.

The back pad also supports your lower back. If you struggle with pain in the lumbar spine during your squats, a hack squat or hack squat alternative may be a better choice for you.

Smith Machine Squats

If you have muscular imbalances that cause your weight to travel in an uneven path or make you feel lopsided, Smith machine squats can help.

These are also a good option if you’re recovering from an injury as a form of rehabilitation. If you’re working out alone and don’t have a friend on hand who knows how to spot a squat, a squat Smith machine workout can be a great stand-in too.

Leg Press

If you struggle with your balance and prefer seated leg exercises over standing, the leg press may be a good option if you’re looking for strong calves and jacked thighs.

Here are a few resources on the leg press and how you can build your leg press technique:

Squat Progression Exercises

Let’s say you want to ditch the machines entirely and work up to barbell back squats on the floor. In this case, it can be helpful to explore some squat progression exercises.

If you want to improve your squats, read our guide on how to progress in your squats here: Squat Progression.

This will give you a rundown of how to work through beginner progressions to gain the strength and stability needed to perform proper barbell back squats with expert technique.

The Takeaway

Pendulum squats are a go-to for building strength, muscle mass, and functional movement. They’re a way to introduce an element of fun into your toughest leg days.

By skipping the barbell, pendulum squats can help you take some of the stress out of your lower back, too.

If you’re attempting a personal best or one-rep max, always have a spotter to help you squat. Squat variations are the perfect way to lift heavy, gain confidence and absolutely crush your legs!

References

Demontiero, O., Vidal, C., & Duque, G. (2012). Aging and bone loss: new insights for the clinician. Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease, 4(2), 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1759720X11430858

Padilla Colón, C. J., Molina-Vicenty, I. L., Frontera-Rodríguez, M., García-Ferré, A., Rivera, B. P., Cintrón-Vélez, G., & Frontera-Rodríguez, S. (2018). Muscle and Bone Mass Loss in the Elderly Population: Advances in diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Biomedicine (Sydney, NSW), 3, 40–49. https://doi.org/10.7150/jbm.23390

Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W., & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 9(2), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020032