Sled Pull · Knee at Drive-End (Squat-Row)

Why this matters

The squat-row's power comes from the legs finishing their drive before the arms take over. If the legs stop short — quitting the drive early and handing the work to the arms — the sequencing breaks: the arms end up overworked and the pull cycle slows. Reading the knee at drive-end tells you whether the athlete actually finished the leg drive or bailed out of it.

Paired with the catch angle, this is the leg range each cycle actually uses: a deep catch that only reaches 150° at drive-end is leaving half the drive on the table.

What good looks like

From the side, at the top of the leg drive the knee reaches near-full extension (160°–180°) before the arm draw completes the pull. The legs finish, then the arms row — a clean legs-to-arms handoff, not the two fighting for the work.

Reading the result

• Incomplete (<150°): legs are quitting before the arms take over — a sequencing fault. Hold a pause at the finish to feel the leg end-position; build strength with trap-bar deadlifts.
• Partial (150°–160°): almost there — a small refinement.
• Complete (160°–180°): on standard — legs finish the drive, then the arms.

Coaching cues

• "Finish the legs, then row" — enforces the sequence.
• "Stand all the way up" — the simplest cue for full extension.

How to mark

1. Use a lateral-view clip. Pause when the rope's pull velocity peaks and starts to slow — knees essentially straight, arm draw still to follow.
2. Points: greater trochanter (hip) → lateral femoral condyle (knee) → lateral malleolus (ankle).
3. The tool reports the interior knee angle.

Common mistakes: picking the absolute end of the pull (arms have taken over, legs have settled); picking before the legs finish (under-reads the drive).

Related measurements

• Knee at Catch (Squat-Row) — the other end of the drive; the two frame the leg range used per cycle.
• Trunk-Rope Alignment (Squat-Row) — whether the finished drive transmits cleanly into the rope.