Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Set the safety pins in a power rack so the bar rests just below knee height, and load the bar appropriately.

2. 2

   Stand with feet hip-width apart, hinge at the hips to grip the bar just outside your legs with a double overhand or mixed grip.

3. 3

   Set your back flat with chest up, retract your scapulae, and take a deep brace into your abdomen before initiating the pull.

4. 4

   Drive your hips forward and extend your torso simultaneously, pulling the bar up your thighs until you reach full hip and knee extension.

5. 5

   Squeeze your glutes and traps hard at lockout, holding the top position for 1-2 seconds to maximize isometric upper back engagement.

6. 6

   Lower the bar back to the pins under control, reset your position completely, and repeat each rep from a dead stop.

Common Mistakes

• Hitching the bar up the thighs by rebending the knees after the initial pull, indicating the load is too heavy for the target muscles.

• Rounding the thoracic spine to initiate the pull instead of maintaining a braced, neutral back position.

• Setting the pins too high (above mid-thigh), reducing the range of motion to a near-isometric hold with minimal training effect.

• Hyperextending the lumbar spine at lockout by leaning back excessively instead of finishing with a neutral spine and glute contraction.

About This Exercise

The barbell rack pull is a hip hinge performed from an elevated starting position (typically just below or above the knee), allowing supramaximal loading of the traps, rhomboids, erector spinae, and grip. By reducing the range of motion compared to a conventional deadlift, it isolates the lockout phase and enables focused overload of the upper back and posterior chain. It is a highly effective accessory for deadlift performance and trap hypertrophy.