![]() Start with the back leg extended up (without allowing significant lumbar extension) in order to drive that knee forward during the pull which inevitably will produce greater activation in the glutes and hamstrings of the supporting/drive leg. For Leslie that’s approximately 185 regardless of whether she does the same movement single or double leg.įocus on bracing the core and maintaining full body tension from head to toe. Another way to gauge the weight is to try to use the heaviest load you can handle with a traditional double overhand grip. For instance Leslie typically uses 275 for sets of 4-6 reps and she was able to use 185 for several sets of 4. The goal should be to use a load that’s 2/3 or 67% of the typical weight you use on rack pulls. Secondly the back leg extended behind the lifter helps to act as a counterweight for the spine so it doesn’t feel like the weight is pulling the lifter over and placing excessive tension on the back. First because the overall load is reduced compared to the bilateral version. The low back tension is reduced for 2 reasons. These also absolutely torch the glutes and hamstrings. The single leg version is great way to crush rack pulls with high intensity while also minimizing strain on the low back and spine – a common issue with rack pulls. Although rack pulls are a fantastic functional strength and mass builder many lifters struggle with low back pain due to the extreme overload from a deadstop position. Here I have my awesome client and NPC figure competitor Leslie Petch performing single leg rack pulls. On a side note you can perform these with the plates on a box rather than using squat rack and pins as many traps bars won’t fit well in a rack. In essence rack pulls with the trap bar tend to be safer and also allow more overload in comparison to the standard barbell method. That’s because once you go below your knees with the standard barbell the weight wants to pull away from the lifter even more so which places further strain on the spine. In addition I find that I can have clients perform rack pulls with a slightly greater range of motion by starting the movement slightly below the knees rather than above the knee as I would typically have them do with a straight bar. Here’s my awesome client Elizabeth Yates showing how it’s done. Although they are traditionally performed with the standard straight bar, the trap bar is very conducive for overloading in a safer fashion as the load is lined up with the center of mass instead of in front of it. Rack pulls are one of the most effective exercises for overloading large muscles of the upper torso and hips including the upper back, lats, traps, rhomboids, spinal erectors, glutes, and hamstrings, not to mention the grip and forearms. ![]() ![]() I recommend performing several sets (3-4) of lower reps (2-6) with heavier loads is ideal before finishing with a higher rep set of 10-12 repetitions with a substantially lighter load. Regardless of whether you choose bands or chains or a combination of both, these provide a brutal combination for devastating the entire upper back and building a monster yoke as you’re taking advantage of all three mechanics of muscle hypertrophy namely muscle damage, mechanical tension, and metabolic stress (resulting from the isometric holds at the top). Notice the semi-controlled eccentric phase (rather than the common free-fall) which also promotes additional functional mass and strength via muscle damage through eccentric overload. Here I'm using 365 pounds of free weights with an additional 150-200 pounds of band tension. The same concept can also be applied to rack pulls using bands. In fact the total load at the top was well over 600 pounds. However if you're body mechanics are poor then yes you're better off using the free-fall technique.įinally, rather than simply bringing the weight back to the pins immediately after lifting it, I had Ben hold an isometric in the top position for several seconds while feeling the load literally pulling and creating micro trauma throughout the entire musculature of your upper back and traps. If you have proper postural control and body mechanics you should have the ability to control the eccentric phase on any lift including heavy deadlifts and rack pulls. Third, Ben used a controlled eccentric lowering phase to keep constant tension on the muscles rather than the free-fall technique commonly used. This allows for relatively lighter loads in the bottom position while overloading the stronger top position. We also used accomodating resistance in the form of chains.
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