I LOVE RACK PULLS.
- They seem so much easier than deadlifts (it’s half the distance of a regular deadlift — as a tall person, that matters).
- They make you feel strong AF.
Major muscles used:
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Core
- Lats
^^Those muscles make up a large percentage of your total muscle mass. Meaning, these are a great bang for your buck exercise.
If your gym doesn’t have these fancy little straps that I am pulling off of, you can do this off of regular pins or stack plates on the floor and pull from those.
What this exercise really helps with is the “lock out” (last part of the deadlift) and creating tension all throughout your body.
Creating tension is important because it help with a stronger and safer lift. You can think about this by imagining which would be sturdier, an empty straw or a straw filled with as much water as possible and seals on the end that don’t allow the water to escape? (Does that analogy even help?! I tried.)
If you’re getting a little bored of picking things up and putting them down (deadlifting) add in rack pulls (picking things up and putting them halfway down) and see if it doesn’t add a a little fun to your workout and make you feel strong 🙂