9 Effective Vertical Pull Exercises at Home for a Stronger Back

Vertical Pulling Exercises at Home – Introduction

What are the best vertical pull exercises you can do at home to build a stronger back?

Every human movement can be classified based on the plane of motion and joint action.

Thankfully, exercises can be put into large groups, which makes designing effective workouts much easier.

These movement groups are:

• Knee dominant, e.g., squats and lunges
• Hip dominant, e.g., deadlifts
• Horizontal pushing, e.g., push-ups
• Horizontal pulling, e.g., seated rows
• Vertical pushing, e.g., overhead presses
• Vertical pulling, e.g., the subject of this article!

To create a balanced workout, the training volume for each of these groups should be pretty similar.

So, for every set of horizontal pushes you do, your weekly training program should contain an equal number of sets of rowing exercises.

This ensures all your major muscles are developed equally, enhancing your appearance and joint health.

Of course, some muscles don’t fall neatly into these categories, such as the abs, biceps, triceps, and calves.

But, in most cases, these muscles are involved in the main movement patterns, so they are trained indirectly anyway.

But, if you DO choose to train these smaller muscles, e.g., your biceps, you should train your triceps, too, ensuring both muscles are equally developed.

So, back to the topic of this article – vertical pull exercises at home.

Keep reading to discover the best vertical pulling exercises you can do at home, and don’t forget to check out our all-new vertical pulling workout at the end!

What Muscles Are Trained During Vertical Pull Exercises? 

Vertical pulling exercises are back exercises.

However, there are lots of muscles involved in these movements:

Latissimus dorsi

Known as the lats for short, these large muscles are located on the sides of your upper back.

Their functions are shoulder adduction, extension, and medial rotation.

Latissimus dorsi muscle

Trapezius

Your traps are a large diamond-shaped muscle that covers most of your upper back.

There are three sets of trap fibers: upper, middle, and lower.

All three are involved in vertical pulling exercises, but the middle and lower fibers are by far the most active.

Trapezius muscle

Rhomboids

Located between your shoulder blades, the rhomboids are small but powerful muscles that pull your shoulder blades together.

They act as stabilizers during most vertical pulling exercises.

Rhomboid muscles

Deltoids

The delts are your shoulder muscles.

Like the traps, there are three sets of deltoid fibers, which are often called heads.

The three deltoid heads are anterior (front), medial (side), and posterior (rear).

All three deltoid heads are active during vertical pulls, but the posterior head is most active.

Rear and front deltoids

Biceps

Most vertical pulling exercises are compound in nature.

That means they involve movement at your shoulders and your elbows.

As such, most vertical pulling movements involve your back muscles AND your biceps.

The biceps are responsible for the flexion of your elbows.

Bicep muscles

Core

Vertical pulling exercises often involve your core, which is the collective term for the muscles of your midsection.

You use your core to stabilize your lumbar spine, and the rectus abdominis at the front of your abdomen is usually the most active.

Core muscles

List of the Best Vertical Pull Exercises at Home

• Pull-ups
• Chin-ups
• Resistance band pull-ups and chin-ups
• Negative pull-ups and chin-ups
• Isometric pull-ups and chin-ups
• Scapular pull-ups and chin-ups
• Resistance band lat pulldowns
• Resistance band straight arm pulldowns
• Dumbbell pullovers

9 Best Vertical Pulling Exercises at Home – Descriptions

Build your back workouts around these pulling exercises to build a bigger, more muscular back and develop your V-taper.

Unless stated, the following vertical pulling exercises use all the muscles listed in the previous section. 

#1. Pull-ups 

The pull-up is the king of vertical pulling exercises.

While you need to be strong enough to lift your entire bodyweight using just your arms, it’s rare to find someone who can do ten or more pull-ups who doesn’t have a muscular back and bulging biceps.

How to do it: 

1. Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand, slightly wider than shoulder-width grip.
2. Your feet should be clear of the floor.
3. Pull your shoulders down and back, and engage your abs.
4. Bend your arms, drive your elbows down and back, and pull your upper chest up toward the bar.
5. Lower yourself down smoothly and with control, and then repeat.

#2. Chin-ups 

Chin-ups and pull-ups are very similar.

Where pull-ups are done with an overhand or pronated grip, chin-ups are done with a supinated or underhand grip.

This puts your biceps in a slightly more advantageous position, so some people find chin-ups easier than pull-ups.

However, for all intents and purposes, these exercises are interchangeable and equally effective.

How to do it: 

1. Hang from a pull-up bar with an underhand, slightly closer than shoulder-width grip.
2. Your feet should be clear of the floor.
3. Pull your shoulders down and back, and engage your abs.
4. Bend your arms, drive your elbows down and back, and pull your upper chest up toward the bar.
5. Lower yourself down smoothly and with control, and then repeat.

#3. Band-assisted pull-ups/chin-ups 

As effective as pull-ups and chin-ups are, they’re far from easy, especially for beginners or overweight people.

Using a resistance band helps offset some of your body weight to make pull-ups and chin-ups more manageable.

Start with a strong band and then progress to a weaker one as you get stronger.

Eventually, you should be able to do pull-ups or chin-ups without assistance.

How to do it: 

1. Hang your resistance band over the middle of your pull-up bar and thread it through itself.
2. Pull the loop down and then kneel or stand in it.
3. Grip the bar with an underhand (chin-up) or overhead (pull-up) grip with your arms straight, shoulders down and back, and abs engaged.
4. With the band assisting you, pull your chin up and over the bar and then lower yourself down smoothly and with control.
5. Repeat for the desired number of sets.

#4. Negative pull-ups/chin-ups 

You are stronger eccentrically than you are concentrically.

This means you can lower more weight than you can lift.

Use this mechanical advantage to build sufficient strength to do pull-ups and chin-ups.

How to do it: 

1. Place a bench or step beneath your pull-up bar.
2. Stand on your raised platform and grip the bar with an overhand or underhand grip as preferred.
3. Engage your arms, lats, and abs, and position yourself at the top of the rep.
4. Lift your feet.
5. Using just your arms, slowly lower yourself down until your arms are straight.
6. Climb back up and repeat.
7. Continue until you can no longer control your descent.

#5. Isometric pull-ups/chin-ups 

Leading on from exercise #4, you are stronger isometrically than you are eccentrically.

This means you can statically hold more weight than you can lift or lower.

Use this mechanical advantage to build sufficient strength to do pull-ups and chin-ups.

How to do it: 

1. Place a bench or step beneath your pull-up bar.
2. Stand on your raised platform and grip the bar with an overhand or underhand grip as preferred.
3. Engage your arms, lats, and abs, and position yourself at the top of the rep.
4. Lift your feet.
5. Hold this position as long as you can, flexing your muscles as hard as possible while you do so.
6. Take your weight on your feet, rest a moment, and repeat.
7. Experiment with static holds at different joint angles, e.g., at 90 degrees of arm flexion.

#6. Scapular pull-ups/chin-ups 

Scapular pull-ups/chin-ups are one of the few vertical pull exercises not to directly involve your biceps.

Instead, this move is more for your lats, lower traps, and rhomboids.

This is a good exercise for increasing shoulder joint stability.

How to do it: 

1. Hang from a pull-up bar with an underhand, slightly closer than shoulder-width grip.
2. Your feet should be clear of the floor.
3. Engage your abs.
4. Without bending your elbows, shrug your shoulders down and back, and then let them lift again.
5. This is a subtle movement and takes some practice to master; however, you should feel it between and below your shoulder blades.

#7. Resistance band lat pulldowns 

If you go to a gym, the most common vertical pulling exercise is the lat pulldown machine.

However, unless your gym is very well equipped, you probably don’t have access to one of these machines at home.

Don’t worry; you can still do lat pulldowns at home using nothing but a simple resistance band.

This is a good option if you aren’t yet strong enough to do chin-ups or pull-ups.

How to do it: 

1. Attach your resistance band to an overhead anchor, e.g., a ceiling joist, pull-up bar, or doorway.
2. Hold one end of the band in each hand and then kneel down facing the anchor point.
3. Extend your arms overhead with your palms facing inward, forward, or backward as preferred.
4. Bend your arms and pull your hands down to your shoulders.
5. Bring your shoulders back and together and lift your chest as you pull.
6. Extend your arms and repeat.
7. You can also do this exercise sitting on a bench or in a chair if kneeling is uncomfortable.

#8. Resistance band straight arm pulldowns 

While this exercise might not look like a vertical pull exercise, it really is one.

You won’t be using your biceps to do straight arm pulldowns, but your lats, traps, rhomboids, and deltoids are every bit as active.

How to do it: 

1. Attach your resistance band to an overhead anchor, e.g., a ceiling joist, pull-up bar, or doorway.
2. Hold one end of the band in each hand and extend your arms out in front of you so your hands are slightly above head height.
3. Lean forward slightly and engage your abs.
4. Keeping your elbows straight, sweep your arms down, and take your hands behind your hips.
5. Raise your arms and repeat.

#9. Dumbbell pullovers 

Most dumbbell back exercises are rows, which are horizontal pulling exercises.

The dumbbell pullover is a vertical pull exercise, even though you do it while lying on your back.

How to do it: 

1. With a single dumbbell in your hands, lie on a flat exercise bench with your feet planted firmly on the floor.
2. Hold the weight over your chest, arms extended but slightly bent.
3. Without bending your elbows more, lower the weight back and over your head until your biceps are next to your ears.
4. Pull the dumbbell back up and over your chest, and repeat.
5. You can also do this exercise with a dumbbell in each hand.

Vertical Pull Workout 

The best way to get the most from these exercises is to put them into a logical routine.

To save you from having to create your own, here is an at-home vertical pulling workout for your back and biceps.

Do it 1-2 times per week as part of a balanced training program that also includes your legs, vertical pushes, horizontal pushes, and horizontal pulls.

Before you begin, spend a few minutes preparing your muscles and joints for what you’re about to do.

Start with some light cardio followed by dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises for your shoulders, elbows, and lower back.

Fit Apprentice® Vertical Pull Workout

* You can do either pull-ups or chin-ups as preferred. But, if you do pull-ups for exercise #1, do chin-ups for #4, or vice versa.

AMRAP = As Many Reps as Possible, so just do as many as you can with good form.

9 Best Vertical Pull Exercises at Home – Closing Thoughts 

It’s not always easy to think of vertical pulling exercises you can do at home.

After all, you probably won’t have access to the most widely performed vertical pulling exercise – lat pulldowns.

However, regardless of whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced exerciser, there are plenty of vertical pulling movements you can choose from and include in your home workouts.

Some, like pull-ups and chin-ups, are challenging and maybe beyond you right now, but there are others that are much more beginner-friendly.

While horizontal pulling exercises, such as dumbbell rows, are probably a little more accessible, vertical pulls take your muscles through a larger range of motion and deserve a place in your back-building workouts.

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