Rack Pull: How to Do It, Muscles Worked and Mistakes

By Alex Lawrence · Updated 4 November 2026

Primary muscles: Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower back
Secondary muscles: Traps, Upper back, Lats, Forearms
Equipment: Barbell

A rack pull is a deadlift started from pins or blocks around knee height, so you only do the top half of the lift. It trains your glutes, hamstrings and back with heavier weight than a full deadlift, and it’s a favourite for building the traps and upper back.

What muscles do rack pulls work?

Rack pulls work your glutes and hamstrings to drive your hips forward, your lower back to hold your spine still, and your traps, upper back, lats and grip to hold the bar. Your gluteus maximus is the main hip extender, and your hamstrings extend the hip alongside it. Your traps keep your shoulders from being dragged down by the load.

Because the bar starts higher, your knees do less work than in a full deadlift, so your quads play a smaller part. It’s the deadlift with the first chapter skipped: same ending, less build-up.

How to do a rack pull

Set the bar on pins at the height you want, hinge down to it with a flat back, and stand up by pushing your hips forward.

Set the pins. Just below the knee is the most common height. Higher pins shorten the lift and let you go heavier. Use the safety pins of a power rack or stack plates on blocks.
Stand close. Feet hip-width apart, the bar touching or nearly touching your legs.
Hinge and grip. Push your hips back with a soft knee and grip just outside your legs. Double overhand, or straps once your grip limits you.
Brace. Take a big breath into your belly, tighten your trunk, and pull the slack out of the bar so it’s tight against the pins before it leaves them.
Stand up. Push your hips forward until you’re standing tall. Keep the bar against your legs.
Lower under control. Hinge back down and set the bar on the pins. Don’t drop it onto them from a height.

Form cues that help

The most useful rack pull cue is “push the hips through, don’t lean back”: the lift finishes when you’re standing straight, not bent backwards.

Flat back throughout. If your lower back rounds, the weight is too heavy.
Bar stays close. Let it brush your thighs all the way up. A bar that drifts forward loads your back much harder.
Shoulders down and back at the top. Don’t shrug unless you’re doing it on purpose as a separate rep.
Pull the slack out first. Tighten up against the bar before it moves, so it doesn’t jerk off the pins.

It works like getting a heavy suitcase off the bed: hips back, hold it close, stand up. Swinging it out at arm’s length is how backs get tweaked.

Common rack pull mistakes

The most common rack pull mistake is ego loading: using so much weight that your form breaks down at the top.

Mistake	What it looks like	Fix
Leaning back at the top	Hips pushed past the bar, shoulders behind	Finish standing straight, glutes squeezed
Rounding the lower back	Back bends as the bar leaves the pins	Lower the weight; brace before you pull
Bar drifting forward	Gap between the bar and your thighs	Start closer; pull the bar into your legs
Jerking the bar off the pins	Loud clang, bar bends	Pull the slack out first, then drive
Pins set too high	Lift moves only a few centimetres	Start just below the knee

Safety: rack pulls let you lift very heavy loads. Work up in small jumps, stop a set when your back starts to round, and use the rack’s pins rather than blocks that can tip. If you have a back injury or back pain, get advice from a physio or doctor first.

Sets, reps and weight

For strength, 3–5 sets of 3–6 reps works well; for muscle, 3–4 sets of 6–10. The ACSM position stand puts heavier, lower-rep work at the strength end and moderate loads for growth.

Start around your deadlift working weight and add load slowly. The 1RM calculator gives you an estimate to plan percentages from, and the plate calculator tells you what to put on each side.

Rack pull alternatives

Any heavy hip hinge trains the same muscles as a rack pull.

Deadlift: the full lift from the floor. More leg drive, lighter loads.
Romanian deadlift: start standing and lower to mid-shin with soft knees. Great for hamstrings.
Block pull: the same as a rack pull, with the plates resting on blocks. Feels more like a deadlift.
Hip thrust: trains the glutes hard with little load on the back.
Shrug: if you rack pull for traps, shrugs hit them directly.

Rack pulls feature in our trap workout guide. Log them in Get Gains to track the weight and see your estimated one-rep max over time.

Working out your weights? Put a recent set into the 1RM calculator to estimate your one-rep max for the rack pull and get a percentage table.