Pull Workout | Bodyweight
| Parts | Exercises | Sets | Reps/Duration | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | Light Mobility - Joint # | 1 - 2 | 5 - 30 | none - 2 min |
| Warm-Up Set/s | 1 - 2 | 1 - 8 | 2 - 5 min | |
| Primary | Pull Exercise (1-2) | 2 - 3 | 4 - 8 / near failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Secondary | Pull Exercise (0-3) | 1 - 2 | 4 - 8 / near failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Parts | Exercises | Sets | Reps/Duration | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | Light Mobility Drill | 1 | 10 - 20 | none - 2 min |
| Warm-Up Set | 1 | 1 - 8 | 2 - 5 mins | |
| Primary | Australian Pull-Ups (Lats-biased) | 2 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Secondary | Australian Pull-Ups (Traps-biased) | 1 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Ring Curls | 2 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Parts | Exercises | Sets | Reps/Duration | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | Light Mobility Drill | 1 | 10 - 20 | none - 2 min |
| Warm-Up Set | 1 | 1 - 8 | 2 - 5 mins | |
| Primary | Chin Ups | 2 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Secondary | Australian Pull-Ups (Traps-biased) | 2 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Ring Curls | 1 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Parts | Exercises | Sets | Reps/Duration | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | Light Mobility Drill | 1 | 10 - 20 | none - 2 min |
| Warm-Up Set | 1 | 1 - 8 | 2 - 5 mins | |
| Primary | Wide Grip Pull-Ups | 2 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Secondary | Australian Pull-Ups (Lat-biased) | 1 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
| Australian Pull-Ups (Traps-biased) | 1 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins | |
| Ring Curls | 2 | 4 - 8 / Near Failure | 3 - 5 mins |
Workout Information:
Description:
This is a bodyweight pull workout routine that involves bodyweight exercises that primarily work the pulling movement muscle groups. It includes muscle groups such as the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and biceps brachii. You can also change the priority of each routine by simply changing the order of the exercises, like doing traps first before the lats.
Most importantly, this routine prioritizes stimulus and fatigue management, ensuring you can recover for the next training session while removing unnecessary work and further limiting fatigue.
Workout Sample 1: For lats, traps, and biceps. Uses relatively easier horizontal pulling movements for both the lats and traps, suited for those who cannot do vertical pulls due to either lack of strength or equipment.
Workout Sample 2: For lats, traps, and biceps.
Workout Sample 3: For lats, traps, and biceps. Allows biasing. The primary exercise works the lats in the transverse plane, which biases the lower portion of the lats, and the secondary lat exercise works the lats in the sagittal plane, biasing the upper portion of the lats.
Warm-Up:
To properly warm up for this routine, you simply need to warm up the muscles around the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints by moving them around with intent or doing some named mobility movements. Then, do some warm-up sets for your primary/earlier exercise. Later exercises generally do not need warm-up sets as you're most likely warmed up enough from prior exercises. For example:
Light Mobility Drill: Shoulder Circles -> Shoulder Corkscrews -> Elbow Circles -> Wrist Circles for a round or two with enough reps for you to feel them working.
Warm-Up Set/s: You can either do an easier variation or modified version of your first exercise or do your exercise with some reps far from failure.
Just make sure that whatever you do is just enough to work and warm up your muscles, not tire them, so you can perform your best in your working sets.
Exercise Selection:
Above all, make sure that the exercise is primarily working the target muscle group. Then, determine if you can perform the exercise and go near or until failure within the recommended rep range while also considering the stability aspect of the exercise. While it is okay to use an exercise where you can perform higher rep ranges, it's not advisable nor efficient if your goal is hypertrophy—a major limitation of purely bodyweight training.
If you're strong enough to go far beyond the recommended rep range, you can do a harder variation or do many of them weighted, such as with an ankle weight or dip belt with weights. However, if you don't have the option to change the exercise at the moment or prefer not to, you can continue using it and go near or until failure, just like when performing it within the specified rep range. Just know that there will be some unwanted differences in terms of growth stimulus and fatigue.
Proximity to Failure:
While it is okay to go until failure, especially at the start when you don't yet know what that feels like and want to avoid undertraining, it's generally recommended to use it sparingly and instead leave 1-2 repetitions in reserve (RIR).
Training Frequency:
Depending on your recovery rate, you can perform this routine 2-3 times a week or every other day. If possible, opt for a higher training frequency.