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Rack pulls

Also called rack pull, barbell rack pull, rack deadlift.

What are rack pulls?

Rack pulls are partial deadlifts that start with a barbell resting on the safety bars or pins of a rack. You stand with the bar, then return it to the same supports. They work the glutes and back, with the starting height defining the range of the lift.

Anatomical illustration of rack pulls in two side-view positions: a barbell resting on power-rack safety arms below the knees, then held at the thighs, with the glutes and back highlighted.

How do you perform rack pulls?

Set up

  1. Set both rack supports to the same height, initially just below your knees, and check that they and the rack are rated for the load. Place the bar evenly across them.
  2. Stand close to the bar with your feet around hip width. Hinge back, bend the knees as needed and grip just outside your legs. Keep your arms straight and brace.

Execution

  1. Take up the slack in your grip, then stand by extending your hips and knees with the bar close to your legs.
  2. Finish upright with the bar at your thighs. Do not lean backward or add a shrug.
  3. Hinge back and lower onto both supports with control. Let the bar settle and reset your position before repeating.

Common mistakes

  • Loading for a shorter range than you actually use

    Choose the starting height before the weight. Reduce the load whenever you lower the supports.

  • Slamming the bar onto the supports

    Control the return and make contact on both sides together.

  • Leaning back at the top

    Stop once you are upright. An extra backward lean is not part of the repetition.

Where it fits in a session

Place it with your main hinge work, before grip and back fatigue make the starting position difficult to hold.

Record the support height along with the load. Keep the same range when judging progress and avoid chasing a heavier number by raising the pins.

Muscles worked

Front
Front — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.
Back
Back — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Primary

Secondary

Select a muscle name to locate it.

Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Variations

  • Anatomical illustration of a barefoot male figure performing a conventional barbell deadlift, drawn twice side by side against white. On the left he is at the start: hips back, knees bent, torso angled forward over a loaded barbell held in a double-overhand grip with both palms facing him, arms straight and hands just outside his knees. The glutes and the backs of both thighs are shaded red. On the right he stands upright at lockout, seen from behind, the bar held at arm's length across the front of his thighs; the shading is on the glutes, the backs of both thighs and the calves, with a faint wash over the upper back and rear shoulders. The lower back is not shaded in either frame, and the fronts of the thighs are not in view.
    DeadliftStarts from the floor and uses a longer range than a rack pull.
  • Block pull — Raises the starting position by supporting the plates on stable blocks.
  • Two frames of the same anatomical figure, a woman, performing a barbell Romanian deadlift, shown from the side against white. Left: the bottom of the rep, hips pushed back, torso close to horizontal, knees clearly bent rather than locked, arms hanging straight with the bar at about knee height just in front of the shins. Right: the finish, standing tall and upright with the bar held at the hips. The barbell carries one plate a side. Highlighted in red on both frames are the glutes and the hamstrings down the back of the thigh, with the shading continuing into the calf; in the standing frame the fronts of the thighs and the forearms are shaded as well. The lower back is left unshaded in both.
    Romanian deadliftBegins standing and lowers through a hinge without resting the bar between repetitions.

Frequently asked questions

How high should the bar start?

Just below the knee is one starting option. Use a height you can reach while holding a steady back position, and keep both supports level. Different heights are different ranges to track.

Are rack pulls the same as block pulls?

Both start from a raised position. Rack pulls support the bar shaft on rack pins or safety bars; block pulls support the plates on blocks.

Should you shrug at the top?

Finish by standing upright with straight arms. Do shrugs as a separate exercise if they are part of your session.

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