Pendulum Squat (Machine)
Trains the quadriceps, with help from the glutes and calves. You need a machine. None of our programs use it yet, but you can add it to any session you build.
Free to use. The app works out every weight and times your rest.
In the programs
None of our programs use the Pendulum Squat (Machine)
It is in the app, so you can add it to any session and log it like anything else. It is just not written into one of our 50 free programs. If you want a quadriceps exercise that is, there are 16 on the Quadriceps page.
Muscles worked
What Pendulum Squat (Machine) trains
Technique
How to do the Pendulum Squat (Machine)
- Step onto the pendulum squat machine, positioning your shoulders under the pads and your back against the backrest. Place your feet shoulder-width apart on the platform.
- Release the safety handles and lower yourself by bending your knees, following the machine's arc, until your thighs are at least parallel to the platform.
- Push through your heels to extend your legs and return to the starting position, without locking your knees at the top.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then re-engage the safety handles.
Form cues
Getting it right
- Keep your back and hips pressed firmly against the pads throughout the movement.
- Control the descent rather than dropping into the bottom position.
- Exhale as you press up and inhale as you lower down.
- Adjust your foot position on the platform to change the emphasis; higher targets glutes more, lower targets quadriceps more.
Substitutes
Swap Pendulum Squat (Machine) for
The app's swap picker ranks these the same way: same muscles, similar movement, similar equipment.
Let the app run the Pendulum Squat (Machine) for you
Durata picks the weight, times your rest and adds load when you earn it. That works on any of our 50 free programs, or on a session you put together yourself.