A pull day workout is exactly what it sounds like. You pull things. Bars, handles, cables, your own bodyweight. Everything that loads the back, biceps, and rear delts through a pulling pattern belongs here.
If you're running a push/pull/legs split or any variation of it, your pull day is where your back gets built. Most lifters underinvest in it. They rush through rows, half-rep their pull-ups, and treat bicep curls like an afterthought. Then they wonder why their back looks flat and their arms won't grow.
This guide fixes that. You'll get a complete pull day workout plan, exercise-by-exercise form cues, the mistakes that kill progress, a 4-to-6-week progression model, and honest notes on when gear actually helps.
Pull Day Workout at a Glance
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadlift or Romanian Deadlift | 3-4 | 4-6 / 8-10 | 3 min |
| Barbell or Dumbbell Row | 3-4 | 6-8 | 2 min |
| Pull-Up or Lat Pulldown | 3-4 | 6-10 | 2 min |
| Seated Cable Row | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Face Pull | 3 | 15-20 | 60 sec |
| Barbell or Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Hammer Curl | 2-3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
This is a complete session. Adjust loading and volume to your training age and recovery capacity. Beginners can drop one exercise. Advanced lifters can add a set or two on the compound movements.
What Muscles Does a Pull Day Work?
Pull day hits every major muscle that moves the shoulder and elbow through a pulling pattern:
- Latissimus dorsi - the wide back muscle that gives you the V-taper
- Rhomboids and mid-traps - the muscles between your shoulder blades that pull them together
- Lower traps - often undertrained; critical for shoulder health and posture
- Rear deltoids - the back of the shoulder; most lifters neglect these
- Biceps brachii - primary elbow flexor
- Brachialis and brachioradialis - deeper elbow flexors that add arm thickness
- Erector spinae - the spinal extensors loaded isometrically on deadlifts and rows
Everything gets hit when you program the pull day correctly. The key is choosing exercises that cover both vertical pulling (pull-ups, pulldowns) and horizontal pulling (rows), plus direct rear delt and bicep work.
Setup, Warm-Up, and Safety Notes
Warm up before you load. Five minutes of light cardio or general movement gets blood moving. Then do two warm-up sets on your first compound movement - one very light, one at roughly 60% of your working weight - before you touch your first working set.
For pull-ups and rows, band pull-aparts are a useful warm-up tool. A few sets of resistance band pull-aparts opens the rear delts and primes the scapular retractors before you load them.
Wrist and elbow health. Heavy pulling puts load through the wrists and elbows. If you feel joint discomfort (not muscle fatigue - joint discomfort) during warm-ups, back off the load and address it before training through it. If pain persists, consult your healthcare provider before continuing.
Grip. Grip will fail before your back does on heavy rows and deadlifts. That is normal. It is also the point where straps become useful - more on that in the gear section.
The Pull Day Workout: Exercise Breakdown
1. Deadlift or Romanian Deadlift
The deadlift is the heaviest pull you'll do. It loads the entire posterior chain - spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings, traps, and lats all working together.
If you're in a hypertrophy block and want more direct hamstring and lower-back loading with less CNS demand, the Romanian deadlift (RDL) is the better choice. For strength-focused blocks, conventional deadlifts belong here.
Form cues:
- Set your hips back and down before you pull. The bar stays over mid-foot.
- Brace your core hard before the bar leaves the floor. Think about filling your belly with air and pressing it out against a belt.
- Drive the floor away from you rather than thinking about pulling up.
- Keep the bar close. It should drag up your shins on the way up.
- Lock out at the top with hips fully extended. No hyperextension.
For RDLs: hinge at the hips, soft knee bend, bar stays close to the legs, lower until you feel a strong hamstring stretch, then drive the hips forward to stand.
2. Barbell or Dumbbell Row
Rows are the horizontal pull that builds the mid-back thickness deadlifts can't fully reach. Barbell rows let you load heavier. Dumbbell rows allow more range of motion and reduce the demand on spinal position.
For a deeper look at technique, see our guide on how to do bent-over rows.
Form cues:
- Hinge to roughly 45 degrees or more parallel to the floor. The more horizontal your torso, the more lat involvement.
- Pull the bar or dumbbell toward your lower chest or upper abdomen - not your collarbone.
- Lead with the elbow, not the hand. Think about driving your elbow into the wall behind you.
- Squeeze the shoulder blade at the top. Hold for a beat.
- Control the descent. The eccentric is where muscle gets built.
3. Pull-Up or Lat Pulldown
Vertical pulling builds lat width. Pull-ups are the harder, more rewarding version. Lat pulldowns are the right choice when you can't do multiple clean pull-ups yet or when you're training high volume and need to manage fatigue.
If you're working toward unassisted pull-ups, banded pull-ups are the right progression tool.
Form cues:
- Start from a dead hang. Full shoulder extension at the bottom.
- Pull your chest toward the bar, not your chin over it.
- Think about driving your elbows down and back into your back pockets.
- Avoid kipping or swinging unless you're training for that specific purpose.
- Lower under control. A two-second descent is a minimum.
4. Seated Cable Row
The cable row keeps constant tension on the mid-back through the full range of motion. That's the advantage over barbell rows - the load doesn't drop off at the bottom.
Form cues:
- Sit tall. Don't round forward to get more range.
- Pull the handle to your lower sternum.
- Retract the shoulder blades before you pull - don't let the arms do all the work.
- Pause at full contraction. Then let the weight pull your shoulder blades apart slowly on the way out.
5. Face Pull
Face pulls are the most undertrained exercise on this list. They directly target the rear delts and external rotators - the muscles that keep your shoulders healthy under heavy pressing volume. Every serious lifter should be doing them.
Form cues:
- Set the cable at upper-chest to eye height.
- Pull the rope toward your face, hands finishing beside your ears.
- External rotate at the top - thumbs point behind you.
- This is a high-rep movement. Use a weight that lets you feel the rear delts working, not a weight that turns it into a bicep curl.
6. Barbell or Dumbbell Curl
Direct bicep work belongs on pull day. The biceps are already involved in every row and pull-up, but they need direct loading to grow.
Form cues:
- Keep your elbows pinned at your sides. Don't let them drift forward.
- Full range of motion - full extension at the bottom, full contraction at the top.
- Supinate (rotate the wrist outward) at the top of dumbbell curls to maximize the bicep contraction.
- No swinging. If you're swinging, the weight is too heavy.
7. Hammer Curl
Hammer curls hit the brachialis and brachioradialis - the muscles that add thickness to the upper arm that standard curls miss.
Form cues:
- Neutral grip throughout. Thumbs point up.
- Same rules as the curl: elbows stay pinned, full range, no momentum.
Common Pull Day Mistakes
Letting grip end the set early. Your back has more in the tank. Your hands give out first. This is where straps earn their place - not as a crutch, but as a tool that lets you train the target muscle instead of the limiting factor.
Rowing to the collarbone. High rows turn into a front-delt and upper-trap exercise. Pull to the lower chest or abdomen to keep the lats and mid-back in the movement.
Skipping rear delts. Face pulls and rear delt work get cut when sessions run long. Don't cut them. Rear delt weakness shows up as rounded shoulders, poor posture, and eventually shoulder problems. Three sets of face pulls takes four minutes.
Half-repping pull-ups. A pull-up that starts at 90 degrees is a half-rep. Start from a dead hang every time. Fewer full reps beats more partial ones.
Rushing between sets. Back training requires real rest. Two to three minutes between heavy compound sets is not optional. Cutting rest turns a strength set into a conditioning set.
No progressive overload. Doing the same weight for the same reps every week is maintenance, not growth. The work has to get harder over time.
How to Progress Over 4-6 Weeks
Progressive overload is the mechanism. Everything else is detail.
Weeks 1-2: Establish your working weights. You should finish each set feeling like you had 2-3 reps left in the tank. Log every set.
Weeks 3-4: Add weight to the bar on compound movements when you hit the top of the rep range for two consecutive sessions. On accessory work, add a rep or a set before adding weight.
Weeks 5-6: Push the intensity. Drop the rep range on your main compound by one or two reps and add load. Increase sets on rows and pull-ups if recovery allows.
After 6 weeks, take a deload week - reduce volume by roughly 40%, keep intensity moderate, and let the body absorb the work. Then reset and run it again heavier.
Log every session. Either the TUFF Training Journal for lifters who track on paper, or GhostFit if you want hands-free logging between sets.
Gear Notes: When It Helps and When It Doesn't
Lifting straps. Use them on heavy rows, deadlifts, and lat pulldowns when grip is the limiting factor - not the back. Straps let you train the target muscle to true fatigue instead of stopping when your hands give out. They do not replace grip training. Do your warm-up sets without them.
Figure 8 straps. For maximal deadlift pulls and heavy barbell rows where you want the most secure connection to the bar possible. More aggressive than standard straps.
Wrist wraps. Less critical on pull day than push day, but useful if you feel wrist instability during heavy curls or rows. The 16" Villain Wrist Wraps give you support without killing your feel for the bar.
Lifting belt. Relevant on heavy deadlifts. A belt helps you brace harder, which means more intra-abdominal pressure and a more stable spine under load. It does not replace learning to brace - it amplifies bracing you already know how to do. For general strength training, the TUFF 10mm Leather Double Prong Belt is a solid first belt. For heavier powerlifting-style pulls, the TUFF Lever Belt gives you a faster setup between heavy attempts.
Apparel. You need a full range of motion through the shoulder on pull day. Anything that restricts the overhead position or the row position is in the way.
FAQ
What exercises would be on a pull day workout?
The core pull day exercises are deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts, barbell or dumbbell rows, pull-ups or lat pulldowns, seated cable rows, face pulls, and bicep curls. A complete pull day covers both vertical and horizontal pulling patterns, plus direct rear delt and arm work.
What muscles do pull days work?
Pull day primarily targets the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, mid and lower traps, rear deltoids, biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis. The spinal erectors and core work isometrically on deadlifts and rows. It's the most complete posterior upper-body session you can run.
Is 5 exercises enough for a pull day?
Yes. Five well-chosen exercises - a hinge, a horizontal row, a vertical pull, a rear delt movement, and a curl - cover the major pull-day muscles effectively. More exercises only help if your volume and intensity are already dialed in. Most lifters need better execution on fewer movements, not more movements.
What gets hit on a pull day?
Everything on the back side of the upper body. Lats, traps, rhomboids, rear delts, biceps, and the spinal erectors. If you're running a push/pull/legs split, pull day is where your back and arms get built. It's one of the most productive sessions in the week when you take it seriously.
Build Your Pull Day Kit
A pull day done right is one of the most productive sessions in the week. Back and biceps respond to volume, tension, and progressive overload - not to rushing through sets or cutting the work short when grip gives out.
Train it with intent. Log the work. Add weight when you've earned it. Take the rest you need between sets.
For the full picture on back training, see our Back and Biceps Workout Guide and the 12 Best Back Exercises.
*This content is for general education only and is not medical advice. If you are dealing with pain, injury, numbness, tingling, weakness, or symptoms that worsen with training, stop and consult a qualified healthcare professional.*
