Home pull workouts are way too underrated. For instance, by doing just 3,500 pull-ups within the comfort of your bedroom, you can burn more calories than someone who runs 10 miles. Besides the hard-to-beat convenience of a home workout, it helps to build strength and build muscle simultaneously. In this article, you’ll find the top ten home pull workouts to add to your strength training sessions.
With the rise of home fitness routines, many people are discovering the power of incorporating pull exercises into their regular workouts. These exercises not only target your back and biceps but also help improve overall upper body strength. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced fitness enthusiast, home workouts like these can be a great way to stay fit without needing to go to the gym.
What Is a Home Pull Workout?
A home pull workout is a workout routine performed at home that targets the muscles that are most involved in pulling motions. The muscle group that benefits the most from pull day workouts are your back muscles, including your latissimus dorsi or lats, rhomboids, and trapezius, as well as your biceps and forearms. During pull exercises, you draw objects towards, rather than away from your body.
Benefits of Home Pull Exercises
Pull Day Workouts Are Effective Antidepressants
Resistance training exercises, which include pull workouts, have been proven to have a positive effect on mental health. For every four persons who engage in resistance training workouts, at least one will enjoy a reduction in depressive symptoms.
Torso Strengthening and Stabilization
While you do pull day exercises, your muscles often contract isometrically. This makes your spine and torso stiffen which, in turn, enhances your ability to bear stronger loads and more physical impacts. Consequently, you become more resistant to injuries.
Alleviating and Preventing Back Pain
The lifetime prevalence of back pain is as high as 80%. While surgery offers a long-term relief from the condition, it’s not usually a good idea to choose surgery over exercise because the former tends to heighten depression and anxiety in those that have undergone it.
The only option left to those who choose to avoid surgery and its attendant costs and psychological problems is exercise. Scientists specifically recommend pull exercises because they help to strengthen the back and core muscles and also serve as a posture correction technique.
Best Pull Exercises that Can be Done at Home with Dumbbells
1) Kneeling Preacher Curls
Kneeling preacher curls are done one arm at a time. As you dedicate equal attention to both arms during their respective turns, the muscles in them develop at an equal pace, which can help decrease muscle imbalance.
Step-by-step Guide
- Get down on your right knee.
- Keep your back straight and your left knee positioned at a 90° angle to the ground.
- Hold a dumbbell with your left hand in a supinated grip.
- Place your left elbow joint on your left knee joint.
- Pull the weight of the dumbbell towards your left shoulder.
- Lower the dumbbell back to the starting position.
- Get down on your left knee and repeat the steps above with your right knee and hand.
2) Kneeling Curls
Kneeling curls work your biceps brachii. To distribute the effect of the exercise to the long and short head of your biceps, it’s advisable to grip the dumbbells in a supinated position.
Step-by-step Guide
- Get down on both knees.
- Ensure that your knees are shoulder-width apart.
- Take one dumbbell in each hand using supinated grips.
- Lift the dumbbells towards your shoulders until your elbow joints have fully contracted.
- Lower the dumbbells back down until your arms are hanging by your sides.
Best Upper Body Pull Exercises That Don’t Require Any Equipment
1) Back Extension
If you want to take a break from using workout equipment, one of the best upper body pull exercises to add to your regimen is the back extension.
Step-by-step Guide
- Lie down.
- Raise your upper body a bit so that you can rest your elbow joints on the floor. Ensure that your palms are lying flat on the floor.
- Raise your upper body as high as you can and hold this position for about three seconds. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep your core tight in order to distribute the load evenly across your body and prevent unnecessary strain on your back.
- Lower your upper body back down to the starting position.
2) Reverse Snow Angel
If you have stiff shoulders, reverse snow angels can help to loosen them up by stimulating their rotation and stabilization.
[Link to Workout]
Step-by-step Guide
- Lie on your stomach.
- Place your legs together and ensure the tips of your toes are touching the floor.
- Look downwards.
- Straighten your hands.
- While your hands are stretched, slowly bring your arms out to the side and overhead in a wide arc, mimicking the movement of making a snow angel, but in reverse.
- After your arms reach the overhead position, slowly sweep them back to the starting position along your sides.
3) Superman with a Towel
Although it appears simple, this exercise focuses on up to 9 muscles along your posterior chain, including the erector spinae, glutes, hamstrings, serratus anterior, and lats.
Step-by-step Guide
- Lie on the floor but keep your head facing downwards.
- Let the rest of your lower body, from your waist to your feet, relax on the floor.
- Hold one end of the towel in each hand, ensuring that your arms are fully stretched or extended in front of you and that they’re slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Raise the towel with both hands as far up as your upper body can go. Simultaneously push your lower legs upwards.
- Lower the towel until your body is back to its starting position.
Best Pull-ups to Include in Your Pull Day Workout Routine
Pull-ups have numerous benefits, including bone strengthening, formation of new bone cells, and sustaining the fluidity in your elbows, shoulders, and back. Regularly performing pull-ups will also increase your stamina and performance. In a review of clinical trials, it was found that people who did pull-ups twice a week for 12 consecutive weeks had a 65% improvement in their pull-up performance.
If you’re looking to engage your biceps and trapezius more, use a supinated grip. However, if you’re more concerned about working your upper back, you should stick to using a pronated or neutral grip. Here’s a list of the best five pull-ups to include in your pull day routine.
1) Weighted Pull-up
To do this pull-up, you first attach a weight to your body. One of the most common weight options is the weight plate with a dip belt. Alternatively, strap a backpack filled with different heavy objects like filled water bottles to your back.
Step-by-step Guide
- Using a pronated grip, hold on to the pull-up bar, keeping your hands wider than shoulder width apart.
- Lift your body up until your head is slightly above the pull-up bar, engaging your shoulders rather than your knees.
- Lower your body until your arms are completely extended.
2) Australian Pull-up
The Australian pull-up is typically done with a low bar, such as a Smith machine, power rack, or gymnastics or TRX rings. If you don’t have access to this equipment, you can use a table, countertop instead or a PVC pipe plus two chairs. The key is to find a sturdy, stable bar that supports your weight.
Step-by-step Guide
- With a wide grip, hold the bar/rings/PVC pipe/table/countertop.
- Extend your legs in front of you.
- Pull your chest toward the bar/rings/PVC pipe/table/countertop, keeping your body straight and core engaged.
- Slowly lower back to the starting position.
3) Slow pull-up
Slow pull-ups subject your muscles to tension for a longer period, forcing you to recruit or engage more muscle fibers during the process. The main muscles that benefit from this workout are your lats.
Step-by-step Guide
- Position the bar at a height that’s above your head.
- Hold the bar with an overhand grip. The space between your hands should be equivalent to your shoulder width.
- Slowly pull your chest upwards until your head is completely above the bar and hold this position for about three seconds.
- Slowly lower your body to your starting position.
4) Wall Pull-up
The wall pull-up is a perfect starting point for you if you can’t tackle advanced pull-ups yet. For this pull-up, it’s best to use an actual wall or something that can support your body weight.
Step-by-step Guide
- Stand with your feet slightly apart.
- Grab either side of the object that you’re using for the pull-up.
- Lean backwards until your arms are fully extended. Keep your back straight but don’t stiffen it or slacken it.
- Lean back towards the object until your body is almost touching it.
5) Towel Pull
Don’t worry, the towel pull isn’t one of those home workouts that will wear down your door. While not compromising your door’s health, the towel pull strengthens your lats, rhomboids, trapezius, forearms, and biceps.
Step-by-step Guide
- Fold a towel into two equal parts and push the crease underneath a closed door.
- Sit down, facing the door.
- Loop one end of the towel over each hand.
- Place the sole of each foot on either side of the door.
- Pull your butt towards the door, working your back muscles as you pull until your elbow has reached its flexion or maximum contraction point.
- Slide your butt backwards until your arms are fully extended again.
Final Thoughts on Home Pull Workouts
Although home pull workouts do wonders for your upper body, you shouldn’t fill your weekly workout routine with exercises that involve pulling movements alone. For balanced muscle development, alternate between push and pull workouts. Also, remember not to skip leg days.
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