Pull Day Workout: Build a Bigger Back and Biceps

Pull Day Overview

A pull day targets all the muscles involved in pulling movements: lats, rhomboids, rear delts, traps, biceps, and forearms. In a Push/Pull/Legs (PPL) split, pull day is arguably the most important session for building an impressive, balanced physique.

A well-developed back creates the V-taper that makes your waist look smaller, your shoulders look wider, and your overall physique look more athletic. It's also critical for posture and shoulder health.

Exercise Selection

An effective pull day should include movements that target the back through different angles and planes:

• Vertical pulls (lat pulldowns, pull-ups): Target the lats, emphasizing width
• Horizontal pulls (rows): Target the mid-back, emphasizing thickness
• Hip hinge pulls (deadlift variations): Target the entire posterior chain
• Isolation work (curls, face pulls): Target biceps and rear delts directly

The Workout

Here's a complete pull day routine optimized for hypertrophy:

1. Barbell Row — 4×6–8

Start with your heaviest compound movement while you're fresh. Keep your torso at roughly 45°, pull the bar to your lower chest, and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top. Control the eccentric.

2. Weighted Pull-Ups — 3×6–8

If you can do more than 12 bodyweight pull-ups, add weight. Full range of motion: dead hang at the bottom, chin over bar at the top. Can't do pull-ups yet? Use a lat pulldown at the same rep scheme.

3. Seated Cable Row — 3×10–12

Use a neutral grip attachment. Focus on retracting your shoulder blades and keeping your chest up. Don't use momentum — a slow, controlled tempo builds more muscle.

4. Face Pulls — 3×15–20

Set the cable at face height. Pull toward your face with external rotation at the end position. This is a rear delt and rotator cuff exercise — keep it light and controlled.

5. Barbell Curl — 3×8–10

Stand with your back against a wall to eliminate cheating. Full range of motion, squeeze at the top, 2-second eccentric on the way down.

6. Hammer Curl — 2×10–12

Neutral grip targets the brachialis and brachioradialis, building arm thickness that standard curls miss. Don't swing the weight.

Progression Strategy

For hypertrophy-focused training, use double progression:

1. Start at the bottom of the rep range (e.g., 3×6 for barbell rows)
2. Add reps each week until you hit the top of the range (3×8)
3. Increase weight by 5 lbs and drop back to 3×6
4. Repeat

This ensures you're progressively overloading without jumping weight prematurely.

Mind-Muscle Connection

Research from Schoenfeld & Contreras (2016) shows that focusing on the target muscle during an exercise can increase muscle activation by up to 20%. For back training, this is crucial because it's easy to let your biceps take over.

Cues that help:

• "Pull with your elbows, not your hands"
• "Squeeze your shoulder blades together like you're pinching a pencil"
• "Imagine your hands are hooks — they just hold the weight"

Sample Weekly Split

Here's how pull day fits into a full PPL rotation:

• Monday: Push (chest, shoulders, triceps)
• Tuesday: Pull (back, biceps)
• Wednesday: Legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes)
• Thursday: Push
• Friday: Pull
• Saturday: Legs
• Sunday: Rest

Running PPL twice per week hits each muscle group with optimal frequency (twice per week) for hypertrophy, which research consistently shows is superior to once-per-week training.