Deadlifts and Rack Pulls
Deadlift – known as the “king of the lifts”. It is a great compound movement that works the majority of your posterior chain.
Learn how to deadlift the comprehensive guide
Rack pulls are a deadlift accessory mainly used to help individuals focus on the upper portion of the lift. Furthermore, rack pulls are a great accessory if you struggle with the lockout portion of your lift.
Is it okay to deadlift and rack pull on the same day?
If you are smart and careful with your programming, you will be able to do both exercises on the same day. Although I wouldn’t recommend making both exercises a priority on the same day. For example, if you are doing regular deadlifts with an rpe above 8 for multiple sets or you are nearing your 1 rep max. It might not be the best idea to use the same intensity for your rack pulls right after. The reason being is it will be very taxing on your central nervous system. Which can cause you to burn out or limit your potential for gains.
I would recommend if you wanted to do both exercises on the same day choose one to be the priority which you will do at a higher intensity. The other variation use a lower intensity (rpe around 7) to help manage the workload and make sure you are not pulling your self out of pocket.
How to do a rack pull?
The first step is to set up the height of the rack. Around knee level (just below or above are common rack pull heights) it can be adjusted depending on your training focus.
When you have adjusted the height of the rack the same form rules of the deadlift will apply.
- Brace your core
- arms shoulder width apart
- assume same foot stance as regular deadlift
- engage your lats, keep shoulders back
- Lift and lower the weight in a controlled manner
Do Rack pulls work?
Long story short… Yes rack pulls work. Like the conventional exercise rack pulls will target your posterior chain. Helping to strengthen your hamstring, glutes and back muscles. Additionally, they are great for helping to improve grip strength. Lastly as mentioned earlier they are a great accessory movement for lifters trying to improve their deadlift lockout!
Summary
Deadlift and rack pull same day? Yes with proper planning and load management!
