Written by Sam Coleman | Co-founder
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
One popular method to categorize movements is by labeling them as either pushing movements or pulling movements. I haven’t done the exact math, but that would mean that approximately 50% of exercises would be considered pulling exercises.
That’s a lot of pull exercises to choose from when you workout. In reality, you only need a few of these to get the job done as long as you choose the right ones.
We will break down the 12 best pulling exercises (for upper and lower body) that you need to have in your program to increase mass, strength, and improve performance. These are all tried and true classics that have been tested over time by the strongest lifters and best athletes in the world.
These movements will be the foundation of your lifting, and you would suffice if these were all you ever did, as all other pulling exercises can be considered an extra bonus.
What is a Pulling Exercise?
Pulling exercises are just a very easy, non-scientific way to classify certain movements. In reality, all movements are “pulling” movements because this is exactly how muscles work; they pull across joints to manipulate the limbs.
Common ways to explain what a pulling movement is that they either close the joints or pull weight towards you. However, there are plenty of exceptions to these rules:
- Hip extension is a “pulling” movement but opens the hip joint.
- Good mornings have the same set up as a squat, but the former is a pulling exercise while the latter is a pushing exercise.
The most obvious observation is that pulling movements use the muscles on the posterior (back) side of the body…but even that isn’t always true as the biceps are on the anterior (front) side of the arm.
As mentioned, it is very “non-scientific”.
So, when we say pulling movements, we are talking about:
- Those which involve the muscles on the posterior side and the biceps.
- They usually close a joint.
- They all compliment each other.
What Muscles are Used During Pull Exercises?
To ensure no confusion, let’s look at the actual muscles we will use. We’re going to break down pulling muscles for lower body and upper body exercises.
Muscles Used During Lower Body Pulling Exercises
Glutes: Actually being comprised of three muscles, the “glutes” are the largest and most powerful muscles in the human body. It is also the glutes that are one of the defining musculature characteristics of humans, as it is what gives us the ability to stay erect and walk on two legs.
The three muscles which comprise the glutes are the:
Together, these muscles maneuver the hip by:
- Extension of the hips- This occurs when you stand up from a seated position
- Abduction of the hips- Lifting the leg out the side of the body
- External rotation of the hips- Turning your foot outwards
Hamstrings: The hamstrings are also composed of three different muscles:
Together, these three muscles are located on the posterior side of the upper leg. The hamstrings cross both the knee joint and the hip joint, making them responsible for two significant movements:
- Flexion of the knee- Pulling the lower leg up, closing the knee joint
- Extension of the hip- They work in unison with the glutes as the primary hip extensors
Muscles Used During Upper Body Pulling Exercises
Latissimus Dorsi (Lats): The lats are the largest upper-body muscle we have. These are the muscles that look like “wings” hanging off the side of the body when developed.
The lats are responsible for:
- Shoulder Extension- Bring the arm down in front of the body
- Shoulder Adduction- Bringing the arm down to the side of the body
- Transverse Extension- Pulling your elbow backward with arms out to the side
Trapezius Muscle (Traps): No other muscle can give you that “swole” look faster like big pair of traps mounted behind your neck.
The traps run from about midway up the neck all the way down the back, overlapping the lats. At the top, the traps run all the way across the shoulders. There are three different parts of the traps:
- Upper part
- Middle part
- Lower part
The traps main job is to position and stabilize the scapula while also supporting the spine. This is vital as it helps provide a strong base for almost all upper body movements as well as maintains good posture.
Posterior Deltoid: The posterior deltoids are one of the three deltoid (shoulder) muscles and are stationed on the shoulders’ posterior side. They are responsible for:
- Shoulder horizontal abduction- Pulling the arms back while fully extended to the side, such as in a tennis backswing.
And also work with the lats for:
- Transverse extension
- Shoulder extension
Rhomboids: The Rhomboids are two muscles that lay underneath the traps. Their main job is to work with the traps to control and maintain the placement of the scapula.
Biceps: The biceps is one muscle that is comprised of three muscles, which form a short head and a long head. The biceps run down the front of the arm and cross both the elbow joint and the shoulder joint. The biceps has three primary responsibilities:
- Flexion of the arm- Pulling the arm towards the body by closing the elbow joint
- Supination of the forearm- Turning the hand over
- Flexing of the forearm- Pulling the hand upwards when the arm is supinated
The Top 12 Pulling Exercises You Need To Do
Let’s get into the exercises now.
The Top Lower Body Pulling Exercises
We will go through the best exercises to work these muscles, starting with the lower body. Lower body pulling exercises are going to primarily train the glutes and hamstrings for
- Hip Extension
- Knee Flexion
These movements will also involve the spinal erectors and other back muscles for stabilization
1. Barbell Conventional Deadlift
We are going to start this list with the “King of Exercises”.
Admittedly, the deadlift actually lays somewhere in the middle of a pushing and pulling exercise but I consider it a pulling exercise as it targets your posterior chain and compliments other pulling movements.
I specifically mentioned “conventional” deadlift because it’s biomechanics are quite different from a sumo deadlift or trap bar deadlift. The sumo and trap bar deadlift are both great movements, but they will hit the quadriceps more as more knee flexion and less hip flexion are involved.
Regardless, the deadlift is the best pulling exercise for strength there is.
How To Perform the Deadlift:
- Stand close to the bar so that it is over midfoot with a stance between hip and shoulder-width apart
- Point toes slightly outward
- Grab the bar on the outside of your legs. Use either a double overhand or mixed grip
- Stay tight as you lower your hips down and back. Pay attention to your body mechanics, and you will see as your hips go down, your shoulders move back.
- When your arms are straight vertically, stop.
- Your shins should be vertical.
- Make sure your back is straight and all muscles are tight.
- Pull the tension out of the bar. DO NOT jerk the bar off the ground.
- Now, pull the bar up your leg, keeping it in contact with your body the whole way.
Related:
2. Barbell Hip Thrust
If you have watched any “booty workout”, you have almost definitely seen this barbell movement. Over the past years, this movement has become much more common for a good reason; they are arguably the single best exercise to develop your glutes.
Compared to other exercises, the barbell hip thrust causes more activation in the glutes AND hamstrings than all others. This higher activation of the glutes has led performance coaches to prefer it over other glute exercises, such as back squats and lunges, as it has more crossover to performance, such as increased sprinting. It is also the go-to movement for Dr. Bret Contreas, the “world’s foremost expert on glute training”, for training the glutes.
If you want a powerful, well-rounded butt, you need to be doing this lower body pulling exercise.
How to Perform a Barbell Hip Thrust:
- Use a bench so that the edge sits about 1/3 to 1/4 down your back.
- With your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, place a barbell in the crease of your hip.
- Drive your feet into the ground while pushing your hips up.
- Stop at full extension. Your shins should be vertical.
- Make sure to keep your knees pointing out.
Related: Hip Thrusts Exercise Guide
3. Glute-Ham Raise
Want a nice pair of hamstrings? Then ditch the leg curls and start doing glute-ham raises (or do both, just make sure you’re doing gluts-ham raises!). Glute-ham raises are the most effective exercises to train the hamstrings for strength and hypertrophy, even activating more muscle than the leg curl mentioned above.
One of the reasons is that this exercise works the hamstrings at both ends by extending the hips AND flexing the knees.
Glute-ham raises are also going to recruit the glutes and require an isometric contraction in the spinal erectors.
How to Perform Glute-Ham Raises:
- You will need a GHD machine. If your gym doesn’t have a GHD, don’t worry. Go down to number 6 for a body-weight version (note: you can also use a lat pull machine like the picture above, but it will be more difficult than with a GHD machine).
- Set up the pads and foot-placement so that your knees rest behind the big moon pad.
- When starting, the torso should be perpendicular to the floor and straight up and down with bent knees.
- Let your body come down and extend the knees.
- Once parallel, let your torso flex at the hip.
- Now extend the hips, and then flex the knees to pull the torso back to the starting position.
Related: Best Glute Ham Raise Alternatives
4. Good Mornings
The good morning exercise is a powerful pulling exercise to train the hip extensors. The movement is similar to a Romanian deadlift except that it is placed across the back rather than held with the hands. This will place much greater torque on your lower back and hips, so use lightweight with higher repetitions and slow tempo. Really concentrate on the stretch and contraction of the muscles.
How to Perform Good Mornings:
- Start as you would with a barbell squat but with lighter weight.
- Hinge your hips back and drop your shoulders. Maintain a rigid back.
- Keep your shins parallel. Your knees should not move.
- Do not drop to parallel. Aim to hit 15 degrees but stop if you lose bracing.
- Drive the hips forward and come back up.
Related: Good Morning Exercise Guide & Variations
5. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts (SLDR) are the only unilateral exercise on this list. Unilateral exercises simply refers to an exercise that is performed on one side and can bring several benefits:
- Identify any muscular imbalances.
- Lower body unilateral exercises can cause more muscle activation in the upper legs, especially the gluteus medius, as a means to help maintain balance.
- Greater transfer to sport performance due to more similarity in movements.
These benefits make having at least one unilateral exercise for the lower body important. The SLDR the perfect option for this list as it is also a great pulling movement.
The Romanian deadlift involves significantly more hip flexion and less knee flexion than a conventional deadlift. This means that it will require more hip extension, which is exactly what we want to train the glutes and hamstrings.
How to Perform Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift:
- The movement will be very similar to a good morning except you will be on one leg AND you will be holding weight in your hands.
- These are usually done with dumbbells or kettlebells.
- Stand on one foot and push your hips back. Let your back leg go up as your shoulders drop
- Keep the supporting shin vertical and slightly bend the knee.
- You don not need to drop the weight all the way to the ground but go as low as you can while maintaining a tight core.
Standard Romanian Deadlift (For Heavier Weight - Muscle Mass):
Related: Romanian Deadlift Exercise Guide
6. Nordic Curls
Nordic curls are the best lower-body bodyweight movement that no-one is doing. Nordic curls use what’s known as eccentric-overload to train the hamstrings like no other. During the eccentric phase of a muscle contraction (when the muscles get longer), the muscle is able to produce more force. Eccentric-overload training takes advantage of this phenomenon by allowing an excessive load to be put on the muscle. This excessive load is what allows eccentric-overload training to produce superior gains in strength and power.
Nordic curls are slightly different from the other movements as the muscles aren’t actually “pulling”; instead, you are contracting the hamstrings and glutes to lower yourself down slowly.
You will also need a partner to help hold your angles and perhaps even aid with assisted nordic curls.
Start slow with nordic curls, and feel free to use variations as they are very difficult to do with perfect form. Many programs will only have trainees do 3 sets of 2-3 reps to begin with.
How to Perform Nordic Curls:
- Knell on the ground. You may want to set up a pad for your knees.
- Have a friend brace your lower legs (or use a smith machine with the bar lowered to keep your legs down)
- While trying to keep a straight torso, lower your body down as slowly as possible. You can bend at the hip some if needed.
Related: Nordic Ham Curl Exercise Guide
The Top Upper Body Pulling Exercises
All you need to build a monster back
7. Rack-Pulls
Rack-pulls are a powerful pulling exercise to build a huge upper back and monster traps. The biomechanics are very similar to the deadlift, so this muscle will work in the same manner by stabling the upper back and keeping it from rounding.
However, the range of motion (ROM) is much shorter, and you have a much better mechanical advantage. This allows you to load the bar with significantly more weight, which places a significant demand on your musculature. During deadlifts, the upper back gets more activation as the load goes up and trainees can use up to 50% more weight with rack pulls.
That is a huge load to put on these muscles. That means a ton more activation.
How to Perform a Rack-Pull:
- The set-up is very similar to the deadlift, except the bar will be higher.
- To minimize the use of your hip extensors, place the bar slightly above the knee.
- Pull the slack out and pull as in a deadlift.
Related: Rack Pull Exercise Guide
8. Chin-up
When talking about best pulling exercises for back training, the chin-up is at the top of the list. It is a favorite among top strength coaches, such as the infamous Mark Rippetoe, due to the shear amount of muscle it uses; basically all of them.
Because the elbows come out in front of the body, the chin-up will get more activation in the traps and the biceps while significantly creating a larger ROM when compared to the pull-up.
This is the reason that I choose chin-ups over pull-ups (If I HAVE to choose). Both are great movements. Check out a more in-depth breakdown of pull ups vs chin ups.
The chin-up is the best vertical pulling exercise you can do as it will literally work every muscle in your back, even better than the lat pull-down.
How to Perform a Chin-Up:
- Grip a pull-up bar with a supinated grip (palms facing towards you).
- The width should be shoulder-width apart.
- Before pulling, pull your scapula back and maintain its position.
- Pull your body up until your chin rises above the pull-up bar.
- Keep a tight core as you pull. If you swing too much, use your core more.
- Feel free to use bands (assistance) or extra weight (more resistance) to meet your level.
9. The Bent-over Row
On the flip-side, the bent-over row is the best horizontal pulling exercise.
As the name implies, the bent-over row is done while being bent-over while pulling a barbell up into the stomach. This will hit the back muscles in an entirely different manner than the chin-up as it will train the back with transverse extension. It’s also going to train the posterior chain with a killer isometric hold. This makes the bent-over one of the top pulling exercises for mass.
How to Perform Bent-Over Rows:
- Stand near a bar and grab it slightly wider than should width apart.
- Pick up the bar with a deadlift fashion until standing straight.
- ALWAYS start from the standing position.
- Push your hips back while maintaining tightness in the posterior chain.
- Allow enough bend in your knees to allow your shoulder to come down.
- Come down until your torso is as horizontal as possible.
- Your arms should hang freely in from of your knees.
- Pull your scapula back and pull the bar up into the belly. The elbows should be at about 45 degree angle from the body.
- Concentrate on pulling the elbows to the sky. Drive them as high as you can.
- You can also choose to use a supinated grip. This will hit the biceps more. The only difference is that the elbows will remain close to the body.
Note: Bent over rows is a pull exercise that can be done effectively with dumbbells and kettlebells, and even resistance bands as well.
Related:
10. Kroc Rows
For unilateral dumbbell pull exercises, I go with Kroc rows. Kroc Rows are the black sheep brother of dumbbell rows. These were invented by a crazy strong guy named Matt Kroc to increase his grip strength while adding strength and size to his upper back to help with his deadlift.
The Kroc rows differ from traditional dumbbell rows as these are done with heavyweight AND high volume, upwards of 20-30 reps. To do this, there is a much bigger ROM that uses an explosive pull at the bottom and allows more “body English”.
This has become a favorite movement from some of the strongest guys on the planet, such as Jim Windler. You should do them too.
How to Perform Kroc Rows:
- Unlike dumbbell rows, Kroc rows are usually performed with both feet on the ground and supporting your weight with one hand propped on a bench, or weight rack (If the gym is not busy).
- Place the leg of the rowing arm back.
- Maintain a straight back. There will be some movement however.
- Let the dumbbell sink so that it pulls your shoulder down and the scapula comes forward (This is KEY!)
- Using an explosive motion, pull the scapula pack and pull the dumbbell up alongside the body.
- Do not worry about “squeezing” at the top. Let the dumbbell come back down and repeat.
- Again, these are done with very high reps.
Related: Best Dumbbell Back Exercises
11. Face-Pulls
While a “smaller” movement than the rest, the face-pull is arguably the best pulling exercise for posture. They are a simple yet extremely effective exercise that trains the entire upper back musculature and posterior delts. For many, these muscles are underdeveloped and weak while the front muscles (chest, anterior belts) are overused. This leads to poor posture, less than a perfect form with exercises (rounding of the back), and general issues within the shoulder complex.
This is why face-pulls are utilized to either treat these problems OR prevent them from ever occurring in the first place. Everyone should be doing this pulling exercise. And by everyone, I mean everyone. From the elderly to elite athletes. Having a strong upper back combined with improved mobility in the scapula and shoulder complex will go a very long way in your training career.
How to Perform Face-Pulls:
- Set a rope attachment on a cable pulley at face-level,
- Grab the ropes, so your thumbs are at the bottom of the rope.
- Pull your scapula back and pull your elbows back HIGH. Your elbows should be at shoulder level.
- As you pull towards your head, pull your hands apart so they go past your face.
12. Bicep Curls
It’s always good to have a least one bicep curl in your regime to strengthen the biceps and the joints and tendons of the elbow. The good thing is that there are plenty to choose from, and studies don’t show much difference between bicep curls, hammer curls , and EZ bar curls. Being so, I tend to prefer prescribing either the hammer curl or EZ bar curl as these are often more comfortable and can take stress of the elbow joint.
How to Perform Bicep Curls:
- Choose whichever implement you feel comfortable with. You can even use cable machine.
- Stand with a slight bend in the knees and your elbows close to the side.
- Keeping your elbows still, pull the bar up to the chest.
- Let the bar down slowly.
- You Can Also Perform Negatives - Use a heavier weight and “cheat” the bar up. Concentrate on the negative and let the bar down slowly
How Often Should You Perform Pull Exercises?
You should aim to do these exercises twice a week (i.e. two pull workouts per week).
Overall volume actually plays a bigger role in terms of muscle growth. This means that when total volume is equated for, the number of times you train during the week has little effect. When taking all other factors into consideration, training these exercises twice a week seems to be the sweet spot for most people in terms of being able to perform the most amount of quality work efficiently.
If you were to do a push-pull routine, you could do the 6 lower body pulling exercises on lower body pull day and the 6 upper body pulling exercises on upper body day.
i.e.
Day 1: Upper Body Pulling Workout
Day 2: Lower Body Pushing Workout
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Lower Body Pulling Workout
Day 5: Upper Body Pushing Workout
Day 6: Rest
Repeat
You could also do a push-pull routine that hits both upper and lower body exercises in the same workout. For example:
Day 1: Pull Workout (6-8 Exercises - Low Reps, Heavy Weight)
Day 2: Push Workout (6-8 Exercises - Low Reps, Heavy Weight)
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Pull Workout (6-8 Exercises - High Reps, Lower Weight)
Day 5: Push Workout (6-8 Exercises - High Reps, Lower Weight)
Day 6: Rest
Repeat
Looking for a push-pull routine that brings all this information together? This pull day workout combined with this push day workout will help you build major muscle mass.
Related: The Ultimate Back & Bicep Workout (Pull Day)
How Many Reps Should You Do on Pull Exercises?
All of them.
There is a wide spectrum of reps that can be utilized to meet your specific goals. A basic spectrum looks like this:
- Power- 1-3 reps 90%+ 1RM
- Strength 4-6 reps 85%-90% 1RM
- Hypertrophy 8-12 reps 70%-80% 1RM
- Endurance 15+ reps >70% 1RM
Still, there is overlap through all of these. New studies have even suggested that reps and loads are only a concern for strength building while hypertrophy can be achieved equally across any rep scheme.
Related: Strength vs Hypertrophy
If you look at the best strength athletes and bodybuilders’ programs, you will quickly see that few of them only work within one rep range. They may tend to favor one end of the spectrum depending on their specific goals, but they will still utilize the entire range.
Are Isolation Pulling Movements Good?
Isolation movements are great when used appropriately. However, too many trainees overuse them when they would get better results from utilizing more compound movements. When using compound movements in a progressive manner, the use of single-joint exercises becomes negligible. Studies have shown that adding isolation movements to a proper program utilizing compound movements offers no additional benefits in strength OR hypertrophy; that goes for both untrained and trained individuals!
This doesn’t mean isolation movements are bad, just that when we are looking for “must-do” pulling exercises, most isolation movements will need to take a backseat to compound movements.
These Are The Only Pulling Movements You Need for Pull Workouts
Don’t make training complicated by thinking you need to do hundreds of movements. You don’t. Yes, there are other good movements to do. However, I promise you would be very happy with your results if you only ever did these 12.
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Sam Coleman
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