When it comes to upper body training there are two main movement patterns: pull and push. Each of them consists of a vertical and horizontal variation. Choosing exercises for your routine based on movement patterns is a great way to ensure you have a balanced routine. Today I am going to discuss horizontal and vertical pulling movements and how to incorporate them into your training routine.
Pulling movements involve moving the weight towards your body during a concentric phase and releasing it to the starting position during an eccentric one. The muscles involved in this movement pattern primarily target your back muscles – lats, traps and other upper back muscles. Depending on exercises, your core is also going to be significantly involved. Furthermore, your biceps will also be getting a good workout when you do upper body pulling movements.
While pulling movements would cover exercises such as the deadlift, RDL and pull-throughs, those types of exercise would fall under the hinge category. Therefore, in this article, I will be solely talking about upper body pulling movements.
Why pulling movement pattern is important?
When it comes to healthy posture, it is extremely important to have your posterior chain muscles function properly. Unfortunately, most of us don’t use posterior chain muscles too often in daily life. This is particularly important if you spend a lot of time in a sedentary position. That’s why adding some pulling exercises is extremely important to prevent or help with existing joint pain.
At the same time, even if you do exercise you might be doing more pushing exercises and not enough pulling. For example, if you go to fitness classes you probably do plenty of overhead press exercises, push-ups and some bent-over rows. However, you are less likely to do vertical pulling in traditional fitness classes as it would require a certain set up that isn’t always possible.
Similarly, if you train at home with only a pair of dumbbells, the only pulling movement you are doing is probably bent-over rows (horizontal pull). Therefore, investing in resistance bands/pull-up bar can be a good idea to work on your vertical pulling as well.
Horizontal pull
During the horizontal pull, you are moving the weight that is in front of you towards your torso. Horizontal pull exercises are known as rows. There are a great variety of exercise options and equipment that you can use to perform this movement pattern. To perform rows you can use gym machines, cable, barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, TRX, sandbags, resistance bands and more. You can do bilateral or unilateral exercises.
Body Rows
The body row is a great horizontal pull exercise to include in your routine. It’s an excellent way to build strength and can also help you on your journey to unassisted pull-ups. If you are new to this exercise, start in a more upright position and focus on learning to engage your lats to pull your body up. You can also bend your knees.
Gradually you want to become more parallel to the floor which will make the exercise a bit more challenging every time. Straightening your legs will also increase the difficulty. Focus on maintaining the tension throughout your body as you would in a plank position during this exercise. You can use either TRX or a bar for this exercise, however, TRX is going to be more joint-friendly and is a great place to start.
Bent-over rows
The bent-over row is a popular horizontal pull exercise. However, make sure that you have a good hinge pattern and can brace your core.
Dumbbells rows
Remaining in a bent-over position for the duration of a set can be challenging if you have weaknesses in your core and this can affect your form. Instead, you can try chest supported rows. It’s a great horizontal pull exercise that takes the pressure off your lower back.
Single-arm rows can help you develop balanced muscular development between left and right sides. You can perform single-arm rows in either knee supported position or a 3 point stance. Using dumbbells or kettlebells for your rows will be generally easier on your lower back as you can keep them closer to your body. On the other hand, holding a barbell in front of you will put more pressure on your lumbar spine.
Cable/resistance band rows
Finally, you can perform seated rows by using a specifically designed machine, cable or resistance bands. You can also perform this exercise using different stances, for example, half-kneeling, squatting or even standing up.
Vertical pull
During a vertical pull movement, you are moving the weight towards your chest on a vertical path. When it comes to vertical pulling exercises, you can either pull the weight down (pulldown variations) or pull yourself up (pull-ups, chin-ups variations). Pulldowns can be performed using lat pulldown machine, cable or resistance bands. For pull-ups, you can use an assisted pull-up machine, a bar or rings.
Pull-ups
It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that pull-ups are a very challenging exercise. If you are new to this exercise and lucky enough to have an assisted pull-up machine in your gym – that’s your best option. Assisted pull-up machines allow you to “take the weight off” your body weight. For example, if you weigh 70kg and you set the machine for 40kg, you will be performing a pull-up as if you were only 30kg thus making it significantly easier. As you get stronger you can reduce the weight you take off your body weight until eventually, you can do a full pull up.
A self-assisted pull-up is another way to perform a vertical pulling movement if you can’t do an unassisted pull-up. For this exercise, you will need to set up a bar in a squat rack approximately at neck level. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width. Your feet should be positioned in front of the bar. Lower yourself while bending your knees until your arms are fully extended. Pull yourself back up with the help of your legs. The further away you place your feet in front of you the more you will have to use your back muscles.
You can build strength for performing a pull up by doing negative reps. This means you will only do the lowering part of a pull up so your starting position will be at the top of a bar. Either use a bench or jump to the top of the bar. Then lower yourself under control.
Pulldowns
Unlike pull-ups, the lat pulldown is a vertical pull exercise suitable for all levels. It can be performed using a lat pulldown machine, any cable or resistance bands. During home workouts, you can use a stability ball instead of a bench thus making the exercise more challenging for your core.
Adding pulling movements to your programme
Ideally, you want to include a pull exercise for every push exercise regardless of your training split. For example, a simple approach to an upper-body session would include an exercise for horizontal and vertical pull and push movements. This can be assisted chin-ups (vertical pull), overhead press (vertical push), dumbbell bench press (horizontal push), single-arm dumbbell rows (horizontal pull). If you are training at home, make sure to invest in some resistance bands or a pull-up bar to be able to perform vertical pull exercises.
Our current lifestyle can easily result in a weak posterior chain. This will subsequently lead to muscle imbalances, bad posture and joint pain. Including pulling exercises in your routine will ensure you have a balanced programme and will strengthen very important muscles.