Starting resistance<\/td> Varies by machine; the empty platform can be anywhere from about 40 lb to over 100 lb<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPendulum Squat Muscles Worked<\/h2>\n\n\n\n The quads take most of the load. Two things put the work there: your torso stays upright, and the arc lets your knees travel far forward at the bottom. Together they bend the knee deeper than a leg press or a barbell squat does, and the deeper the knee bend under load, the more the front of the thigh works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The glutes and inner thighs help you stand back up, and they do more when your feet are higher or wider on the platform. Hamstrings only hold the knee steady; calves keep the foot pressed into the platform. Your abs brace, but the pad is doing most of the holding, which is the point of the machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foot position is the main adjustment on this machine, and it decides where the work goes and how deep you can go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For quads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Bring your feet slightly lower on the platform than the middle, hip-width apart, toes forward or turned out a little. With the feet lower, your knees have to travel further forward at the bottom, which stretches the quads more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The limit is your ankles. If your heels lift before you reach depth, you have two choices: move the feet back up a little, or wear a heel-raised shoe. The heel-raised shoe is the better answer if quads are the goal, because it lets you keep the low foot position and still reach depth. Do not squat on your toes to force it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For glutes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Bring your feet higher on the platform, hip-width apart. With the feet higher, the knees travel less and the hips bend more, so the glutes get the stretch instead of the quads. A flat shoe works better here; a raised heel would push the knees forward again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think about keeping a little more weight in your heels as you drive up, and go for the deepest position you can reach with your hips still on the pad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wider stance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Widening the feet to wider than shoulder-width, toes turned out more, adds inner thigh and glute work without changing depth. Keep the knees tracking out over the toes; if they drift inward as you get tired, narrow the stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n A slight turn-out is the default. Turning the toes further out brings in more inner thigh; pointing them straight ahead keeps the work on the quads. Do not turn them out so far that the knees cannot follow them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pendulum Squat Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Three things the pendulum squat does that other squat machines do not do as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depth without ankle mobility. Because the arc swings your body forward as you descend, your knees do not have to travel as far over your toes as they would in a hack squat or a barbell squat to reach the same depth. People whose ankles stop them squatting deep elsewhere often reach full depth here on the first try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No load on the spine. The weight goes through the shoulder pads into the platform. Your lower back is on the pad, not holding a bar up. That means you can take a set to failure without your back being the thing that fails first, which is hard to do with a barbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A resistance curve that gets harder at the top. The arc makes the load lightest at the bottom, where you are weakest, and heaviest at the top, where you are strongest. That lets you use full depth with a weight that would otherwise stop you at the bottom, and it is why the top of the rep feels so different from a hack squat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pendulum Squat Mistakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\nHeels lifting at the bottom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n What it looks like: the heels come off the platform in the last part of the descent, and you are on the balls of your feet at the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why it matters: the knees take the load that the whole foot should be spreading, and you lose the ability to drive through the heel on the way up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fix: move the feet slightly higher on the platform, or reduce depth to the point where the heels stay down, or wear a heel-raised shoe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hips coming off the pad<\/h3>\n\n\n\n What it looks like: at the bottom your hips drift forward off the back pad and your torso leans forward, so you look like you are doing a good morning instead of a squat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why it matters: the load has moved from the quads to the lower back, which is the opposite of what the machine is for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fix: move the feet a little lower on the platform so the knees travel forward and the hips can stay back, and reduce depth until you can keep contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knees caving inward<\/h3>\n\n\n\n What it looks like: the knees move toward each other on the way up, usually in the last few reps of a set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fix: push the knees out over the toes on every rep. If they still cave, the weight is too heavy for that set, or the stance is too wide for your hips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dropping and bouncing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n What it looks like: the descent takes half a second and you rebound out of the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why it matters: this is the mistake that ruins the pendulum squat, because the stretch at the bottom is the reason to use the machine, and you just skipped it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fix: two to four seconds down, every rep. If you cannot control the descent, take a plate off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Locking the knees hard at the top<\/h3>\n\n\n\n What it looks like: legs snap straight at the top and you rest there between reps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fix: stop just short of straight, squeeze the quads, and go straight into the next rep. The top is where the arc makes the weight heaviest, so it is also where staying under tension does the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loading it like a hack squat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n What it looks like: you put your hack squat or leg press weight on and cannot finish the set with clean reps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why it matters: the arc makes the weight heaviest near the top of the rep, which is the opposite of how a hack squat or leg press feels. The number on the plates is not comparable between machines. Most people find that a pendulum squat loaded with half of their hack squat weight feels about the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fix: start with the empty machine and build up in small steps, as described next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sets, Reps, and Starting Weight<\/h2>\n\n\n\nStarting weight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The empty machine is a real weight on a pendulum squat. The platform, arm, and pads all count, and machines differ by a lot; some are around 40 to 50 lb empty, some are well over 100 lb. So the first session is always with no plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do a set of ten with the empty machine. If every rep was clean and easy, add 10 to 20 lb (5 to 10 kg) a side and do another set of ten. Keep going until ten reps are hard but every rep looks the same as the first one: same depth, same tempo, heels down, hips on the pad. That is your working weight for the first few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sets and reps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n For muscle: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12, with 90 seconds to two minutes rest between sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a finisher at the end of leg day: 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20, with the weight low enough that you reach full depth on every rep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For strength: 4 to 5 sets of 5 to 8, but only once your form is stable at higher reps; grinding heavy reps on a pendulum squat is where knee position falls apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frequency and progression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Once or twice a week, with at least one rest day between sessions. When you hit the top of the rep range on every set with clean reps, add one small plate a side and start again at the bottom of the range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where it goes in the session<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Either first, as the main squat movement of the day, or second after a barbell movement. Not after leg extensions or another quad-fatiguing exercise; you want the quads fresh enough to reach depth with control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pendulum Squat vs Regular Squat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n This is the comparison most people are actually asking about when they find the machine: can it replace a regular squat? The two exercises look similar and load the same legs, but they are different in four ways that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/th> Pendulum squat<\/th> Regular (barbell) squat<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Balance<\/td> The machine holds you. Nothing to stabilize<\/td> You balance the bar and yourself on every rep<\/td><\/tr> Where the load goes<\/td> Shoulders into the platform; spine unloaded<\/td> Bar on the back; spine carries the whole load<\/td><\/tr> Muscle focus<\/td> Quads, with glutes and adductors helping<\/td> Quads, glutes, hamstrings, lower back, core, all working<\/td><\/tr> Depth<\/td> Deep for most people, because the arc moves you forward<\/td> Limited by ankle and hip mobility<\/td><\/tr> Skill needed<\/td> Low; learned in one session<\/td> High; months to do well under load<\/td><\/tr> Weight<\/td> Less on the plates, but all of it goes to the legs<\/td> More on the bar, but some of it is spent on staying upright<\/td><\/tr> Fatigue<\/td> Legs give out first<\/td> Back and breathing often give out before the legs<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBalance.<\/strong> The machine removes it. That is the whole trade: you lose the stabilizer work and the carry-over to sport and to the barbell, and in return you can push the legs to the point where they fail, not the point where your back or your balance fails.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhere the load goes.<\/strong> On the barbell the spine is under the bar; on the pendulum squat it is against a pad. For someone with a lower back that limits their squat, this is the difference between squatting heavy and not squatting.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMuscle focus.<\/strong> The barbell squat trains everything from the floor to the neck. The pendulum squat trains the quads first, the glutes and inner thighs second, and very little else. It is a leg exercise, not a whole-body exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDepth and joints.<\/strong> The arc lets most people squat deeper on the pendulum than they can with a bar, and with less forward knee travel to get there. Knees and ankles usually feel better; the trade is that the top of the rep is heavier, so the stop-short mistake is more tempting.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhich one: if you train for a sport, compete in powerlifting, or simply want a squat that carries over to everything, the barbell stays. If you want quads and are held back by balance, mobility, or a lower back, the pendulum squat does the job better. Most people who have access to both keep the barbell as the main lift and use the pendulum squat for the extra quad volume the barbell cannot give them without wrecking their back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the pendulum squat harder than a barbell squat? Rep for rep, yes, in the legs: the number on the plates is lower, but all of it goes to the quads and none of it is spent on balance. As a lift, no: there is almost nothing to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pendulum squat vs hack squat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The hack squat is the machine version of a regular squat, so it is the closer comparison if your gym has both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/th> Pendulum squat<\/th> Hack squat<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Path<\/td> Curved arc<\/td> Straight rail at an angle<\/td><\/tr> Where it is hardest<\/td> Near the top<\/td> Near the bottom<\/td><\/tr> Ankle mobility needed<\/td> Less; knees do not have to travel as far<\/td> More<\/td><\/tr> Depth<\/td> Deeper for most people<\/td> Limited by ankle and the rail<\/td><\/tr> Weight you can use<\/td> Less<\/td> More<\/td><\/tr> Best for<\/td> Deep, quad-focused sets, people with stiff ankles or a tired lower back<\/td> Heavier loading, people who want a squat pattern closer to the barbell<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIf your gym has both, the pendulum squat is the one for deep, quad-focused sets, and the hack squat is the one for heavier loading. They are not the same exercise, and doing both in the same week is normal. We compared the hack squat with the leg press separately in leg press vs hack squat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\uc7a5\ube44<\/h2>\n\n\n\n A TZFIT pendulum squat machine is plate loaded, with a swinging platform, shoulder pads, a back pad, and a handle-operated safety. When choosing one for a gym floor, the three numbers to compare are footprint, maximum load, and the resistance of the empty platform, because that last one decides how light the lightest member can go. All three are in the catalog<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The pendulum squat is a machine squat where you stand on a platform, put your shoulders under a pair of pads, and squat down while the whole platform swings on an arc. Your torso stays upright and your back stays against a pad, so the legs do the work and the spine does not carry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15150"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15153,"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15150\/revisions\/15153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tzfit.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}