The Pull-Up Is Overrated. A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Shares 6 Exercises to Do Instead.

Ah, the pull-up. For many outdoor athletes, this classic bodyweight exercise can feel like a “gold standard,” says Jess Gresho, a Colorado-based strength and performance coach for mountain athletes. “They always want to get their first pull-up, and think it’s a benchmark of some sort that puts them at a different level.”

That belief, perpetuated by the exercise’s long-standing place in grade-school fitness tests and recent popularity on social media, isn’t entirely off-base: many people can’t do a single pull-up, so managing even one rep with good form is a feat worth celebrating.

Pull-Ups Are Overrated. Here’s Why.

While pull-ups do offer a bunch of legit benefits, including improved grip and forearm strength, core stability, and overall upper-body force production, they aren’t the holy grail exercise that social media makes them out to be. “They do have a lot of limitations,” Gresho says.

For example, they’re not accessible to people who struggle with grip strength or shoulder issues.

Plus, there aren’t many ways to make them more beginner-friendly. You can, of course, start with dead hang variations or assisted pull-ups with a band. But actually doing the full pull-up motion is a “pass-fail test,” says Marc Hoffmeister, a Colorado-based certified strength and conditioning specialist and endurance coach. You’re either strong enough for it…or you aren’t. He compares that to other exercises, like a chest press, deadlift, or bent-over row, for example, which newbies can do in totality off the bat using light dumbbells before progressing to heavier loads.

Additionally, pull-ups have you working in just one direction. “There’s absolutely zero rotation to [the movement], so you’re training in a very linear pattern,” Hoffmeister adds. “In almost every sport you name out there, whether it’s hiking, climbing, or running, you have all types of rotational forces that a pull-up doesn’t even touch.” This means for many outdoor sports, the pull-up isn’t your best bet for building functional back strength.

With that in mind, we asked Hoffmeister for six alternative back exercises that better prepare outdoor athletes for the demands of outdoor activities.

6 Exercises Every Outdoor Athlete Needs for Better Back Strength

When doing these exercises, Hoffmeister recommends doing enough reps in each set so that you finish feeling like you could only manage one to two more reps. “If you feel like you can do five or six more, then you haven’t created enough stimulus in the muscle to actually benefit,” he says. Complete three sets.

How Many Reps and Sets Should You Do of Each Back Exercise?

• Reps: Do as many reps as you can just before you feel fatigued. For example, if you start to feel the movement becomes intense by rep 8, do two more until you hit 10 reps.
• Sets: Do three sets of each exercise.

Even though we indicate which type of outdoor athlete each move is best for, you can follow the routine in its entirety regardless of your sport.

Equipment Needed:

To do these exercises, you’ll need the following pieces of equipment:

• Resistance band or rope
• A set of dumbbells
• A kettlebell
• A barbell (optional)
• Access to a fixed bar at a gym or at-home gym (for the Inverted Row)
• Access to a cable machine (for the Face Pull and Single-Arm Cable Row)

1. Suitcase Carry

Best for: Runners and trail runners

This exercise is great for runners, especially trail runners, who have to stay balanced as they move across uneven terrain, Hoffmeister says. It involves holding a weight in one hand, which will naturally cause your body to rotate and lean towards the weighted side. You’ll need to engage a number of core and back muscles, such as the quadratus lumborum, obliques, spinal erectors, and upper traps, to stay upright and prevent that from happening, he says. This exercise mimics the core instability that trail runners face.

How to Do It:

• Stand tall and hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in one hand. Engage your core to maintain good posture. (Don’t let your torso rotate or lean sideways toward the weight.)
• Keeping your core tight, walk about 50 to 100 feet in one direction.
• Set the weight down, rest for a few moments, then pick it up with the other hand and walk another 50 to 100 feet.
• Make sure you use a weight heavy enough that, by the end of the 50-foot walk, you feel you couldn’t go more than 4 or 5 additional steps before fatigue sets in.

Make it more challenging by walking like you’re on a tightrope, closing your eyes, walking backward, and/or lifting your knee with each step and holding it for a moment.

2. Renegade Row

Best for: Mountain bikers

This challenging plank variation is a great exercise for mountain bikers, Hoffmeister says. That’s because it trains your shoulders and lats to pull a load while maintaining core stability. This translates to the demands of constantly steering, braking, pulling, and pressing your handlebars while maintaining a braced yet relaxed core actively responding to the shifting terrain and obstacles.

How to Do It:

• Place a set of dumbbells on the ground. Get in a high plank position with feet about hip-width apart, shoulders over wrists, and one hand gripping each dumbbell. Engage your core so your body forms one long, straight line from your head to your heels. This is the starting position.
• Holding your body still and hips level, do a row by slowly pulling your left elbow up and back, keeping your elbow close to your body the whole time (don’t let it flare out to the side). Stop when the weight reaches your ribcage, then slowly extend your arm to return to the starting position.
• Now do a row on the right side to complete one rep.
• Continue alternating sides.

To make it easier: drop to your knees, or ditch the weights and do plank shoulder taps.

To make it harder: add a push-up between pulls, or place your support hand on a BOSU ball.

3. Romanian Deadlift

Best for: Backpackers

In the Romanian deadlift, you’re engaging your entire posterior chain (the backside of your body) as you hinge at the hips and maintain a flat back. That translates well to backpacking, since the deadlift motion trains your ability to safely carry a heavy load on your back while walking up and down uneven terrain, which involves constantly moving in and out of a hip hinge, Hoffmeister says

How to Do It:

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, keeping a soft bend in the knees and core engaged. Hold a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell in each hand, with the weights resting at the front of your thighs. This is the starting position.
• Engage your core and hinge at your hips as you push your glutes back. Keeping your back flat, slowly bring your torso down as you lower the weights along your shins. You’ll feel a stretch in your hamstrings as you lower down; stop before the stretch becomes painful or restrictive.
• Keeping your core engaged, press through your heels to stand up straight and return to the starting position.
• Keep the weight close to your legs as you pull up and keep your legs straight as in the starting position.
• Pause at the top and squeeze your glutes to complete one rep.

4. Face Pull

Best for: Road and gravel cyclists

Hoffmeister recommends this move for road or gravel cyclists, who spend a lot of time in a forward-rounded position that pulls the shoulder blades apart and lengthens the mid- and upper-back muscles. The face pull directly counteracts this positioning by contracting these muscles, helping to restore balance and symmetry in your back.

How to Do It:

• Attach a rope handle to a cable machine so that it’s at about eye level. (Alternatively, you can use a resistance band; just wrap it around a stable anchor point.) Stand facing the cable machine with feet about hip-distance apart and a soft bend in your knees. Grip the rope with both hands and step far enough away to create tension in the cable. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back. This is the starting position.
• Pull the rope (or resistance band) straight back toward your face as you squeeze your shoulder blades together and drive your elbows behind you.
• Stop when the rope (or resistance band) is close to your face, then straighten your arms to return the rope (or resistance band) to the starting position. Make sure the rope (or resistance band) stays at about eye level the whole time. This is one rep.

5. Single-Arm Cable Row with Rotation

Best for: Watersports involving rowing and paddling

This exercise trains your shoulders and lats to properly activate and stabilize while you rotate your torso, which has a lot of carryover into paddling. “Your back has to go through thousands of rotations when you’re paddling without getting tired, so having that stability is important, and getting that rotation is important,” Hoffmeister explains.

How to Do It:

• Attach a rope or resistance band to a cable machine so that it’s at about chest level. Stand facing the cable machine with feet about hip-distance apart and a soft bend in your knees. (Alternatively, you can stand with your legs offset, one forward and one back.  The back leg side is the same as the pulling arm. This will allow for an increased range of motion.)
• Grab the rope with your left arm, rotate your torso slightly to the right so you’re reaching forward with your left arm, and step back far enough to create tension in the rope or resistance band.
• Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back. You’re now in the starting position.
• Pull the rope back toward your ribcage as you rotate your torso to the left and drive your left elbow behind you.
• Rotate back as far as you comfortably can, then pause for a moment.
• Now straighten your arm and rotate your torso to the right to return the rope to the starting position. This is one rep.

6. Inverted Row

This move is an accessible, beginner-friendly way to build up strength in the same muscles a pull-up targets. Hoffmeister recommends it for climbers wanting to increase upper-body and core strength but aren’t quite able to perform a pull-up.

How to Do It:

• Get beneath a fixed bar (you can also use parallel bars or TRX suspension straps) with your back facing the ground and grab the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from your body). Wrists are at chest level, and arms are straight. Extend your legs straight and place your heels on the ground, toes pointed up. This is the starting position.
• Draw your shoulder blades together, engage your core, and, keeping your body straight, bend your elbows to pull yourself up.
• Lift your chest to the bar; pause. Slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position. This is one rep.

Make it easier by bending your knees and placing your feet flat on the ground, or by adjusting your body angle to be more upright.

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