Your First Pull Day: A Beginner's Guide to Building a Stronger Back
This session is for you if you are brand new to lifting and want to start building strength in your back, biceps (the muscles on the front of your upper arm), and shoulders. We'll walk you through a simple, safe routine that teaches your body how to PULL — a skill that carries over into everyday life, like opening doors, carrying groceries, and lifting things off the floor. Stick with this, and future-you will feel the difference.
What the research says
Most of the available studies on pulling movements like pull-ups come from research done on CrossFit athletes — people who already train regularly at a high level. What those studies found is that upper-body pulling strength (being able to do more pull-ups, for example) was linked to better performance on certain high-intensity workouts. This tells us that pulling strength matters, even in challenging settings. The research does not yet tell us the best way for a complete beginner to build that strength — but it does show clearly that the ability to pull your own body and external weights is a real, measurable part of physical fitness worth developing.
The available research is limited to CrossFit athlete populations and does not directly study beginners doing a standard pull day — so treat these findings as useful background context, not a blueprint built specifically for you.
A 2021 study of 15 recreational CrossFit athletes found that the maximum number of pull-up repetitions a person could complete showed a moderate correlation with their performance on the 'Fran' workout (r = -0.58), meaning athletes who could do more pull-ups tended to finish the workout faster.
View study →A 2017 study of 34 healthy participants found that a gymnastics-style CrossFit session that included pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats produced significant reductions in jump height, average power, and maximum velocity — measures of muscular fatigue — by the end of the session (P < 0.01).
View study →A 2020 study of 15 male CrossFit competitors used principal component analysis to classify performance variables and identified three components characterizing CrossFit competitor performance: 'strength and muscle mass,' 'adiposity,' and 'aerobic capacity.' Maximum pull-ups (mean 18.87 ± 5.05) was among the variables measured, alongside 1RM squat, 1RM bench press, skinfolds, sit-ups, peak power, VO2max, and WOD completion times.
View study →The routine
Warmup
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. This will be your starting position. Keeping your arms straight, swing them straight up in front of you 5-10 times, increasing the range of motion each time until your arms are above your head.
Main
Holding a barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing down), bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward, by bending at the waist, while keeping the back straight until it is almost parallel to the floor. Tip: Make sure that you keep the head up. The barbell should hang directly in front of you as your arms hang perpendicular to the floor and your torso. This is your starting position. Now, while keeping the torso stationary, breathe out and lift the barbell to you. Keep the elbows close to the body and only use the forearms to hold the weight. At the top contracted position, squeeze the back muscles and hold for a brief pause. Then inhale and slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Put weight on one of the ends of an Olympic barbell. Make sure that you either place the other end of the barbell in the corner of two walls; or put a heavy object on the ground so the barbell cannot slide backward. Bend forward until your torso is as close to parallel with the floor as you can and keep your knees slightly bent. Now grab the bar with one arm just behind the plates on the side where the weight was placed and put your other hand on your knee. This will be your starting position. Pull the bar straight up with your elbow in (to maximize back stimulation) until the plates touch your lower chest. Squeeze the back muscles as you lift the weight up and hold for a second at the top of the movement. Breathe out as you lift the weight. Tip: Do not allow for any swinging of the torso. Only the arm should move. Slowly lower the bar to the starting position getting a nice stretch on the lats. Tip: Do not let the plates touch the floor. To ensure the best range of motion, I recommend using small plates (25-lb ones) as opposed to larger plates (like 35-45lb ones). Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions and switch arms.
With a dumbbell in each hand (palms facing your torso), bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward by bending at the waist; as you bend make sure to keep your back straight until it is almost parallel to the floor. Tip: Make sure that you keep the head up. The weights should hang directly in front of you as your arms hang perpendicular to the floor and your torso. This is your starting position. While keeping the torso stationary, lift the dumbbells to your side (as you breathe out), keeping the elbows close to the body (do not exert any force with the forearm other than holding the weights). On the top contracted position, squeeze the back muscles and hold for a second. Slowly lower the weight again to the starting position as you inhale. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
With a dumbbell in each hand (palms facing each other), bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward, by bending at the waist, while keeping the back straight until it is almost parallel to the floor. Tip: Make sure that you keep the head up. The weights should hang directly in front of you as your arms hang perpendicular to the floor and your torso. This is your starting position. While keeping the torso stationary, lift the dumbbells to your side as you breathe out, squeezing your shoulder blades together. On the top contracted position, squeeze the back muscles and hold for a second. Slowly lower the weight again to the starting position as you inhale. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Grab the pull-up bar with the palms facing your torso and a grip closer than the shoulder width. As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, keep your torso as straight as possible while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position. Tip: Keeping the torso as straight as possible maximizes biceps stimulation while minimizing back involvement. As you breathe out, pull your torso up until your head is around the level of the pull-up bar. Concentrate on using the biceps muscles in order to perform the movement. Keep the elbows close to your body. Tip: The upper torso should remain stationary as it moves through space and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work other than hold the bar. After a second of squeezing the biceps in the contracted position, slowly lower your torso back to the starting position; when your arms are fully extended. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement. Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Cooldown
Lie on your side, with your upper arm against the foam roller. The upper arm should be more or less aligned with your body, with the outside of the bicep pressed against the foam roller. Raise your hips off of the floor, supporting your weight on your arm and on your feet. Hold for 10-30 seconds, and then switch sides.
Sit upright on a chair. Bend to one side with your arm over your head. You can hold onto the chair with your free hand. Hold for 10 seconds, and repeat for your other side.
Set and rep ranges are general starting suggestions based on this guide's level — adjust to your own experience, and progress gradually.
This entry is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice — if you have any pain, an existing injury, or a health condition, please check with a qualified health professional before starting this or any exercise routine.