ALL LEVELS / pull strength workout / 25 minutes
Equipment: Lat pulldown machine, seated row machine, dumbbells, preacher curl machine, cable machine
After last week’s push workout, following up with a pull workout made sense. If pushing is about moving something away from you, pulling is like opening the fridge door — using strength to bring something closer. That’s why pull workouts focus on the muscles responsible for those motions: the back, biceps, and forearms.
Those are the muscles you’ll target in this pull strength workout. It includes 5 exercises, performed over 3 rounds with decreasing reps — 12, 10, and 8 — as the weight increases. Take 1 minute of rest between each exercise and each round. The whole session should take around 25 minutes to complete.
- Lat pull-down
- Seated row
- Dumbbell bent-over row
- Preacher curl
- Cable bicep curl
Ready? Let’s do this!
WORKOUT SETUP
- 5 exercises
- 12, 10, and 8 reps
- 3 rounds
- 1-minute rest between reps and rounds
- 25 minutes
- Equipment: Lat pull-down machine, seated row machine, T-Bar, preacher curl machine, cable machine
WORKOUT EXERCISE LIST
3 rounds
1 – LAT PULL-DOWN
12, 10 and 8 reps
- Adjust the pad on your legs to reduce the movement.
- Grasp the bar above your head with a wide grip. Keep looking forward with your torso upright.
- Engage your shoulder blades, then pull the bar down before you, at upper chest level.
- Squeeze your lats at the bottom of the move and avoid leaning back too much to facilitate the movement.
- Slowly return up and repeat.
2 – SEATED ROW
12, 10 and 8 reps
- Adjust the seat so the handles are level with the top of your shoulders.
- Set the chest pad so you can reach the handles with your arms extended.
- Grab the grips (narrow or wide), pull the handles toward your sides, and squeeze your back muscles.
- Slowly return to the starting position without letting the weights touch the stack.
- Repeat.
3 – DUMBBELL BENT-OVER ROW
12, 10 and 8 reps on each side
- Place your left knee and left hand on a flat bench for support, keeping your back straight and core engaged.
- Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, arm fully extended toward the floor, palm facing in.
- Pull the dumbbell toward your waist by bending your elbow and keeping it close to your body.
- Squeeze your shoulder blade at the top, then slowly lower the weight back down.
- Complete your reps, then switch sides.
4 – PREACHER CURL
12, 10 and 8 reps
- Sit and adjust the seat so your upper arms rest flat on the pad and your armpits are just over the top edge.
- Grab the handles with an underhand grip, arms fully extended.
- Curl the weight towards you, bending your elbows and keeping your upper arms on the pad.
- Squeeze at the top, then lower the weight back down slowly.
- Repeat.
5 – CABLE BICEP CURL
12, 10 and 8 reps
- Stand tall facing the cable machine with a straight bar attached to the low pulley.
- Grab the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your elbows close to your sides and curl the bar toward your shoulders.
- Squeeze your biceps at the top, then slowly lower the bar back.
- Repeat.
Have you finished this pull strength workout? Scroll down and pick your next one:
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