Rack PullsMuscles Worked
Rack pulls work your lower back hard as it holds your spine rigid through the top half of a deadlift, with your glutes and hamstrings driving the hips forward. Starting from the pins lets you load more than a full deadlift, so your traps and forearms work hard to hold the bar.
PrimaryLower Back
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Intermediate
- Type
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
How to do it
- Set the safety pins in a power rack so the bar rests just below or just above your knees, and load it evenly.
- Step up to the bar with your feet under your hips and the bar touching your legs.
- Push your hips back, grip the bar just outside your thighs and set a flat back with your chest up and your lats tight.
- Drive your hips forward and stand up tall, keeping the bar close to your thighs until your hips and knees lock out.
- Lower the bar back to the pins under control, reset your brace and pull again.
Form tips
- Finish standing straight with your glutes squeezed instead of leaning back at the top.
- Use straps or a mixed grip if your grip gives out before your back does.
- Pick one pin height and stick with it for a while so you can compare your progress from week to week.
Why it made the list
No. 5 of 10
Best Lower Back Exercises
Partial deadlift from knee height. Allows heavier loading of the lockout where lower back works hardest. Builds deadlift strength and back thickness.
More lower back exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Rack Pulls sets in KasMaker and watch your lower back, forearms, glutes, hamstrings, and traps fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
