Designed by Canadian bodybuilding champion Jeff Nippard, this pull day workout forms part of a pull, push, legs split, and is ideal for anyone who’s moved past the beginner stages of training and wants to beef up their back, biceps and rear delts.
In this post, I want to walk you through the workout, as well as show you some alternative ways to set things up. Here’s what’s covered:
What Is a Pull Day?
When it’s programmed as part of a push, pull, legs split, a pull day workout is typically focused on pulling movements for the upper body, such as rows, pull-ups (or pulldowns) and curls. But when it forms part of a push/pull workout routine, a pull day workout will also include some work for your hamstrings.
What Muscles Does Pull Day Work?
- Back
- Biceps
- Posterior Deltoid
Pull Day Workout
- 1-Arm Lat Pull-In 2 sets x 15-20 reps
- Pull-Ups 3 sets x 6-8 reps
- Meadows Row 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Omni-Grip Lat Pulldown 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Rope Face Pull 2 sets x 15-20 reps
- Reverse Pec Deck 2 sets x 15-20 reps
- Band Pull Aparts 2 sets x 15-20 reps
- EZ-Bar Biceps Curl 3 sets x 6-8 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Curl 2 sets x 15-20 reps
- Rack Pulls 3 sets x 6-8 reps
1-Arm Lat Pull-In
Sets 2 Reps 15-20
This is a light warm-up exercise, with the aim of “pre-activating” the lats prior to the heavier compound lifts that come later in the workout.
The idea is that this will improve your ability to activate your lats in exercises like pull-ups and lat pulldowns, which in turn will speed up muscle growth.
However, while it sounds good in theory, there’s no direct evidence that draws a straight line between pre-activating the lats and faster gains in muscle mass.
Personally, I prefer to do a few light warm-up sets of pulldowns. But if you want to give the lat pull-in a try, it’s one of those things that won’t hurt, and may help a little. At the very least, it serves as part of an effective warm up for the heavier sets to come.
Make sure to use a light weight, don’t go anywhere near failure, and just focus on contracting the lats.
Pull-Ups
Sets 3 Reps 6-8
The pull-up is done with your palms facing forwards, as opposed to the chin-up where your palms face you.
If you’re not strong enough to do pull-ups, just do lat pulldowns instead. Most research shows that lat pulldowns are a highly effective replacement for pull-ups when it comes to working the lats [1].
The main downside of pull-ups and chin-ups is that very few people are strong enough to do them.
I’ve trained in many gyms over the years, and it’s rare to see pull-ups or chin-ups being done well, under control, through a full range of motion.
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In many cases, pulldowns are the better option, simply because they allow you to perform the exercise properly. If your gym has one, an assisted pull-up machine is also an option.
On the flip side, if you’re someone who can crank out 10-12 reps of pull-ups using good form and proper technique, then use a dipping belt to add resistance and keep you in that 6-8 rep zone.
There’s no need to take this exercise to complete failure — the point where you’re not able to complete another rep — but you do want to get close. Aim to leave a rep or two in the tank at the end of each set.
Jeff also recommends stretching the lats between sets, which is something I like to do myself. Not only does it feel good, there’s some interesting research to show that stretching between sets can accelerate muscle growth.
Meadows Row
Sets 3 Reps 10-12
Named after bodybuilder John Meadows, who popularized the exercise, this is the main heavy rowing (AKA horizontal pull) movement in the workout.
The seated cable row, done with a wide grip and your arms further away from your body, would be a suitable alternative. If you want to put a greater emphasis on the lats, you can also do the seated cable row or single-arm dumbbell row with the arms closer to the body.
Omni-Grip Lat Pulldown
Sets 3 Reps 12-15
One set is done with a wide grip, one set with a medium grip, and the final set with an underhand grip.
Personally, I like to include both the close grip underhand lat pulldown and wide grip lat pulldown in my workouts. However, rather than use different grips in the same workout, I’ll alternate between the two from one training session to the next.
Rope Face Pull
Sets 2 Reps 15-20
This exercise targets the muscles in the upper back, including the rear delts, mid traps and rhomboids.
Reverse Pec Deck
Sets 2 Reps 15-20
Here, you want to focus on isolating the rear delts as much as possible. Research shows that using a neutral grip (palms facing each other) on the reverse pec deck hits the rear delts harder than using a pronated grip (palms facing down) [3].
That said, while the difference between the two grips was statistically significant, the overall difference in rear delt activation between the two hand positions (90 vs 87% of maximum voluntary isometric contraction) was relatively small.
Is such a small difference going to make a major difference to your rate of muscle growth? Probably not.
Here’s how the researchers sum up their findings:
“Given that the magnitude of difference in mean normalized EMG activity between hand positions for the posterior deltoid was fairly small it is questionable whether altering hand position will translate into a meaningful difference in muscle adaptations for this muscle in the recreational weight training participant.”
What’s more, there was a degree of individual variability from one person to the next. By that, I mean some subjects saw more rear delt activation with the pronated versus the neutral grip. If you feel the exercise more in the rear delts with a pronated rather than neutral grip, go with a hand position that feels right for you.
Don’t have access to a pec deck? If so, you can replace this exercise with the bent-over lateral raise.
Band Pull Aparts
Sets 2 Reps 15-20
Band pull aparts target the shoulders and upper back. Using the resistance band allows you to generate high levels of tension at the top end of the range
These last three exercises — face pulls, reverse pec deck and band pull aparts — are done as a tri-set, where you move straight from one exercise to the next, with minimal rest between each one.
EZ-Bar Biceps Curl
Sets 3 Reps 6-8
Next up, we have the biceps. Given all the work you’ve done for your back, the biceps will have seen plenty of action already.
If you’re short on time, and building bigger biceps isn’t high on your list of priorities, you could skip the curls. However, if you want to optimize biceps growth, you will need to train them directly.
The EZ bar is a little easier on your wrists, but using a straight bar to do curls is also an option. Personally, I find that going heavy in the 6-8 rep range is hard on the elbows, and prefer higher reps and lighter weights in the 10-20 rep range when training biceps.
Incline Dumbbell Curl
Sets 2 Reps 15-20
The incline dumbbell curl allows you to position your arms behind your torso, which puts the biceps in more of a stretched position.
Exercises that generate high tension at long muscle lengths are important to include in your training program, as they stimulate stretch-mediated hypertrophy [4].
Rack Pulls
Sets 3 Reps 6-8
These are done with the barbell positioned slightly below, rather than above the knee.
The main aim is to get a heavy loaded stretch on the upper traps (which can help with muscle growth), as well as loading the spinal erectors.
If you’re using a weight that’s heavy enough to challenge the large muscles in your back, chances are your grip strength is going to be the limiting factor. If so, use lifting straps.
Avoid going all the way to failure, and leave 2-3 reps in the tank on each set.
Personally, I like to program this type of movement with the lower body, as the spinal erectors are heavily involved in squats and deadlifts. But rack pulls can be performed as part of a back workout, depending on how the rest of your training program is set up.
Pull Day Workout: The Short Version
If you’re on a tight schedule, and don’t have time for long training sessions, try this abbreviated pull day workout. It keeps the key exercises, meaning that it hits the same muscles, but with fewer exercises and sets.
- Rack Pulls 3 sets x 6-8 reps
- Pull Ups OR Lat Pulldowns 4 sets x 8-12 reps
- Wide Grip Seated Cable Row 4 sets x 8-12 reps
- Face Pulls 4 sets x 12-15 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Curl 3 sets x 12-15 reps
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