Rack Pulls
Also works: Forearms · Glutes · Hamstrings · Traps
A partial deadlift started with the bar resting on power rack pins, set anywhere from just below the knee to mid-thigh. Shortening the range lets you handle loads well above your full pull, which is useful for training lockout and grip — and misleading if you log it as a deadlift.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Set the pins so the bar sits just below your kneecap unless you have a specific reason to go higher.
- Load the bar on the pins with the plates resting fully — never with one side hooked and the other free.
- Stand with the bar over mid-foot, feet hip width, and take a grip just outside your shins.
- Push your hips back and let your shins come to the bar so you start in a hinge, not a half squat.
- Use a mixed grip, hook grip or straps. Grip should not be the reason a lockout set ends unless you are training grip deliberately.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Breathe in and brace with the bar still on the pins, hold through the pull, exhale at the top. Pull with intent, lower over 2 seconds, and reset the brace on the pins before each rep.
Before you load it
- Set the pins level on both sides and check the bar sits fully on them. An uneven pin means the bar tips sideways as you break it loose.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
From below-knee pins, start at roughly 100-110% of your deadlift working weight and build. Above the knee you may handle 120-140%, which is why that height rewards ego more than progress. Add weight when you can hold a locked-out finish for a full second on every rep without your shoulders rolling forward.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Drop the pins to just below the knee and reload the bar accordingly. Judge the lift by how much hip travel it demands, not by the plates on the sleeve.
Lock out by squeezing your glutes and standing straight. Stop the moment your hips are through — leaning back loads your lumbar spine and adds nothing.
Set the bar down, pause for a full second, re-brace, then pull. Each rep should start from a dead stop with the same tension as the first.
Log it as a partial with the pin height written next to it. Test your full pull from the floor if you want to know what your deadlift is.
Why bother
The hardest part of a deadlift for most people is the break from the floor. Starting above that removes the limiting segment, so the bar weight can climb by 20-40%. Your traps, upper back and grip get exposure to loads they would otherwise never see, and the top half of the pull gets practised at a weight that actually challenges it.
Be honest about the trade. Pins set at mid-thigh turn this into a shrug with a long lever and very little hip work, and a big rack pull is not evidence of a big deadlift. Set the pins just below the knee — where the bar still has 30-40 cm to travel — and it stays a training lift rather than a party trick.
Where it fits
As a secondary pull after squats, or as the heavy pull in a week where a full deadlift would cost too much recovery. Once a week is the ceiling. If you are already deadlifting heavy from the floor twice a week, adding rack pulls is how you accumulate back fatigue with nothing to show for it.
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Asked and answered
Are rack pulls easier on my lower back than deadlifts?
Not automatically, and people get this backwards. You skip the range where the spine sees the longest lever, but you do it with 20-40% more on the bar, so peak compressive load at the top can end up higher than a full pull. What rack pulls genuinely spare is the hip and hamstring fatigue of the floor break. If your back is the reason you cannot deadlift, fix that with lighter full-range pulls, not with a heavier partial.
Do rack pulls build a bigger deadlift?
Only if your deadlift fails above the knee. If the bar dies on the floor, the extra load in a range you are already strong in does nothing for the range you are weak in — train deficits or paused pulls instead.
Are rack pulls good for building traps?
Yes, and it may be the best case for them. Holding 150-200 kg at lockout loads the upper traps isometrically at a weight no shrug variation reaches. Just do not add heavy shrugs in the same session.
Should I use straps?
Yes, on your heavy sets. The whole reason to rack pull is to overload the back and hips, and stopping sets because your fingers open up defeats that. Train grip separately with holds or farmer's walks.