5 Best Pulling Exercises to Build Muscle & Strength

Pulling exercises are used to work on the back, biceps, and parts of the shoulders. Most pulling exercises focus on the back and biceps, and the best way to do such workouts is to have a mixture of compound and isolation exercises.

Compound exercises are those that work on more than one body part i.e., there's a primary and a secondary muscle group involved. Isolation exercises, meanwhile, focus on only one muscle group.

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Best pulling exercises to improve muscle and strength

The following are five pulling exercises you should add to your workout routine to improve strength and add muscle mass:

1) T-bar row

T-bar row (Photo via Chris Bumstead's Instagram: @cbum)

To do a T-bar row:

• Fix a barbell to a corner or attach it to the landmine grip (if accessible).
• Add a weight plate to only one end of the barbell.
• Use a v-grip or a ez-bar grip, and set it underneath the barbell.
• Stand over the barbell with one leg on each side.
• Bend forward from the hips, and hold the grip attached.
• Keeping your back straight and bent forward, pull the weight towards you.
• Engage your back as you pull the weight, and squeeze the shoulder blades together at the top of the motion.
• Steadily lower the barbell to move to the starting position.

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2) Barbell row

Barbell row (Photo via Unsplash/Anastase Maragos)

To do a barbell row:

• Place a barbell in front of you.
• Add weights to both sides.
• Bend from your hips, and hold the barbell with a pronated or a supinated grip.
• Keeping the back straight and bent from the hips, pull the barbell towards yourself.
• Engage your upper back, and keep your core strong during the motion.
• Squeeze the muscles at the top of the motion before steadily lowering the barbell to move to the starting position.

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3) Seated row

Seated row (Image via Pexels/Andres Ayrton)

To do a seated row:

• Set the anchor on the cable pulley machine to slightly below knee level.
• Attach the v-bar to the anchor. Select a suitable weight.
• Hold the grip, and pull it. Move backwards, and sit at a position that allows the full range of motion.
• Sitting on the floor, keep the back straight and knees slightly bent.
• Pull the v-bar towards you, and squeeze the shoulder blades together at the top of the motion.
• Steadily move forward to get a full stretch of the side lats to complete one rep.

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4) Pull-up

Pull-ups (Photo via Unsplash/Anastase Maragos)

To do a pull-up, you will need access to a pull-up bar. Do the exercise as follows:

• Hold the bar or grip with both hands.
• Engage your core for stability.
• Use your lat muscles to pull the body upwards.
• Engage your biceps as the secondary muscle group.

This is a one of the pulling exercises that should be used, as it’s a bodyweight movement.

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5) Bicep curl

Bicep curls (Pic via Chris Bumstead's Instagram: @cbum)

To do a bicep curl:

• Stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Turn your palms outwards.
• Pull the dumbbell towards your shoulder, and squeeze the biceps at the top of the motion.
• Control the negative as you lower the dumbbell, and use the full range of motion.
• Repeat on the other hand.

Note: Almost all pulling exercises work on the back and biceps, but it's important to isolate the biceps too.

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Takeaway

Pulling exercises should never be skipped. It’s essential to train the lats and biceps if you want to have a well-developed physique.

However, it’s not just training that can help you achieve your dream goal. You must focus on proper rest, nutrition, and hydration. Everything in proper ratios will enable you to grow your muscles and become stronger.

Moreover, to have a well-developed physique, you should also focus on push day workout routines that work on the chest and triceps, and leg days. There are many who skip leg days, but that’s a mistake. The legs are an essential part of your appearance, and not training them can give you an extremely odd physique.