Horizontal pull exercises are one of the most important exercises that should be included in your training schedule and you should never miss them because they help you build strong back muscles and will make you feel more flexible and it will be difficult to break your back in the office while working or when picking up heavy objects from the ground and so on.
If you suffer from a bowed back, suffer from back injuries, or you are facing problems with bending your back, then you are in the right place. This post will help you learn about the most powerful horizontal pull exercises and how they help you make your upper back muscles more flexible and solid.
Let’s follow together to learn about 10 horizontal pulling exercises that you can rely on as basic exercises to improve the functions of the upper back muscles and stimulate them to activity and gain muscle mass.
What are horizontal pull exercises
All exercises in which the movement of the hand is pulling towards the body, it is called horizontal pull, and unlike it there are horizontal pushing exercises, that is, when you push the weight with your arms away from your body.
Bodybuilders often rely on horizontal pulling exercises in order to operate the back muscles, the lats and the back shoulder muscles, when you pull the weight horizontally towards your chest or sides of your body, this makes you press the back muscles.
You can target specific muscles such as the lat muscle by doing the lat pulldown exercise, or you can target the upper back muscles with cable pull to the chest exercises.
Horizontals Pull Exercises : Effect
Horizontal Pull Exercises Muscle Worked
Horizontal pull exercises primarily target the muscles in the upper back. The major muscles worked during horizontal pulls include:
Latissimus Dorsi (Lats):
These are the large muscles that span the width of the back, and they are responsible for the V-shape appearance.
Rhomboids:
Located between the shoulder blades, the rhomboids assist in scapular retraction and stabilization.
Trapezius (Middle and Lower Fibers):
The middle and lower fibers of the trapezius help control scapular movement and provide stability.
Posterior Deltoids:
The rear part of the shoulder muscles is activated during horizontal pulls.
10 Best horizontal pull exercises for upper back and lats
The exercises contained in this list were provided by specialized trainers, they are safe if you do them correctly, and they can help you target the muscles of the back and put pressure on them well and help increase their size and strengthen them.
1- Standing lat pulldown
We start with the first exercise, which is standing lat pulldown, one of the most important exercises that target the lat muscles mainly so that the muscle is subjected to stretching and contraction on a larger range, so that the cable is pulled horizontally in the direction of the torso to squeeze the lat muscles back.
Perhaps there is no exercise that targets the lats as effectively as the lat pulldown with a straight arm, as the muscle stretches with the movement of the shoulder while extending forward, and pulling the cable from a point far in front of your body and pulls the cable directly into the torso, and this creates a contraction of the lats muscles and keeps them under pressure with each repetition.
You can also use the rope grip to press the muscles more and keep the elbows close to the body while pulling, and you can use a wide grip on the bar if you want to increase the size of the lats muscles.
Standing Lat Pulldown Setup
- Adjust the cable machine to an elevated position.
- Two steps away from the cable machine.
- Extend your arms and shoulders straight up in the direction of the cable.
- Bend your back straight about 40 degrees, extend your hips back, and bend your knees slightly.
- Pull the cable with a straight arm toward the torso muscles and squeeze the lat muscles back on each repetition.
2- Seated cable row
When we want to rely on horizontal pull exercise to target the muscles of the back, we must include this exercise mainly, because the seated cable row is one of the strongest horizontal pull exercises that target a large group of back muscles.
The seated row exercise mainly engages the lats, rhomboids, traps, and biceps muscles. It is also one of the best exercises that stimulates the muscles of the back to be active and increase muscle mass. This exercise gives you a greater range of motion to squeeze your shoulders and back muscles, and even the lats.
Seated Cable Row Setup
- Sit on the bench, adjusting the cable machine directly in front of your stump or slightly downward.
- Hold the cable hold and pull until the cable is taut (use a narrow bar grip).
- Keep your back straight, your chest pushed forward and your shoulders slightly back.
- Place your feet on the inclined barbell in front of you, keeping your knees slightly bent.
- Pull the cable straight toward the torso and squeeze the shoulder blades back with each repetition.
- keep your elbows close to your body sides.
3- Single arm cable row
This is another high-quality horizontal pull exercise that mainly targets the lats muscles, as it depends on pulling the arm straight in the direction of the lats muscles and squeezing it back well and keeping it tense throughout the exercise.
Bodybuilders rely on this exercise to achieve muscle hypertrophy. This exercise also allows you to target the muscles individually and this makes you focus more on movement and benefit from the exercise greatly.
The single-arm pulling motion helps you get more focus and induce neuromuscular contraction all over the side of the body.
Single Arm Cable Row Setup
- Sit on the bench, and set the cable machine straight in front of your torso or slightly down.
- Hold the cable and pull it until the cable is taut (use a hammer grip).
- Keeping your back straight, push your chest forward and your shoulders slightly back.
- Place your feet on the inclined plate in front of you, keeping your knees slightly bent.
- Pull the cable straight to the side of the stump and press the shoulder blades back with each repetition.
- Keep your elbows close to the sides of your body.
4- Face Pulls
Face pull exercises are one of the strongest exercises that rely on horizontal pull directly in the direction of the face so that the movement of the elbows back during the pull plays a role in the pressure of the middle and upper back muscles, and bodybuilders rely on this type of exercise to strengthen a group of muscles located in the upper back.
This exercise targets the upper back muscles as it targets the posterior delts, middle traps and rhomboids. It is considered an effective exercise that improves shoulder functions and targets the middle back muscles that are difficult to target with other exercises.
You can rely on this exercise at the end of the upper body training so that you will benefit from a good boost of strength to compress the back shoulder muscles and traps and stimulate them to activity and growth.
Face Pulls Setup
- Adjust the cable machine to an elevated position.
- Stand one step away from the cable machine.
- Stand straight, keeping your back straight and your muscles engaged.
- Grasp the rope grips and keep your arms outstretched forward at eye height.
- Slowly pull the rope toward your face.
- Stop when your elbows are straight with your shoulders at the sides.
- Stretch your arms forward well, squeeze your shoulder muscles back with each repetition and feel the tension of the middle back muscles.
5- Machine high row
If the machine is available in the gym, you can get the best horizontal pull exercise to train the back muscles through the high-row machine, so that you will get a comprehensive training of the back muscles because the machine will provide you with the perfect grip and weight that will engage the back muscles and keep them tense throughout the exercise.
This exercise operates a group of muscles, (lats, rhomboids, traps, teres minor and major, and biceps), bodybuilders rely on this exercise to squeeze and isolate the back muscles and stimulate them to grow and activity, so it is a good horizontal pulling exercise .
Machine High Row Setup
- Choose the weight you will go with on the high row machine.
- Sit on the bench, keeping your feet firmly on the ground.
- Keep your back straight, your chest pushed forward, and your muscles working well.
- Extend your arms up high, grip the machine’s fists tightly.
- Begin to pull to the sides of your body and squeeze your shoulder muscles back with each repetition.
6- Chest supported row
Also, this is another horizontal pulling exercise that works the lats, traps and rhomboids muscles. This exercise is good and effective on the machine as it allows you to have a good range of motion and you can control more of the movement path and squeeze your muscles well.
This exercise provides you a boost of strength and stimulate your muscles to grow and be active and gain some muscle mass. There are those who prefer to do it using a bar or cable machine if the machine is not available. You also can do that. You are not forced to kill yourself to do it using a machine you can count On the bar as well and get almost the same results.
Chest Supported Row Setup
- Choose the weight you will pull on the machine, it is better if it matches your fitness level.
- Sit on the bench and support your chest on the bench pillow.
- Push your chest forward, keeping your back straight and working your back muscles well.
- The grips of the machine should be in front of your chest, about the same distance as your arms.
- Extend your arms and press your shoulders down and grab both grips of the machine.
- Pull straight to your chest.
- For each pull, keep your elbows at a 40 or 50 degree angle with the sides of your body, squeeze your shoulder muscles back a little and try to feel your muscles tense.
7- Single arm dumbbell row
This is perhaps one of the most famous horizontal pull-up exercises, and many athletes rely on it to target the lats muscles individually and put pressure on them, so that the dumbbell grip and the available weights allow you to get a strong exercise that ignites the lateral muscles of the back and keeps them under tension throughout the exercise.
You can rely on this exercise to gain strength, improve posture, improve the functions of the back muscles, as well as reduce back pain and back injuries because it helps you build and strengthen the lats muscles to get a large and strong back.
One of the specialized trainers recommends supporting your hand on an inclined bench because you can feel more muscles than the opposite of the horizontal bench.
Single Arm Dumbbell Row Setup
- Choose dumbbells with a weight that matches your fitness level.
- Stand next to the inclined bench, put one hand on the bench completely straight with your shoulder, put your knee on the bench and keep the other leg straight on the ground.
- Bend your back straight, working your muscles well.
- Hold the dumbbell with your other arm, keeping it straight with your shoulder down.
- Pull your elbow toward your lat muscles and squeeze your muscles back. With each pull, let your elbow go slightly back.
8- Seated low row machine
The low pull exercise is one of the exercises that depends on the basic horizontal pull that targets the muscles of the middle back.
There are few exercises that can perform the same role that this exercise plays. There are few options.
This is what makes this exercise one of the essentials when we want to target the middle and lower traps.
You can rely on this type of exercise during strength training for the upper body to increase the size of the middle back muscles and stimulate them to grow. It is a really good exercise. This exercise also gives you a greater range of movement and presses your muscles well throughout the exercise.
Seated Low Row Machine Set Up
- Choose a weight that matches your fitness level.
- Sit on the bench, keep your back straight, and support your chest on the pillow.
- Extend your arms straight in front of the pelvis and then grab the two grips of the machine.
- Stretch the shoulder muscles forward well.
- Then start pulling at you and squeeze your shoulder muscles back with each repetition.
- Try to feel the tension of the middle back muscles and press them throughout the exercise.
Takeaway
If You reach this part I think You’re Ready to redefine your upper body strength, so dive into our top-notch horizontal pull exercises – the secret sauce for a sculpted back.
From lats to rhomboids, we’ve got your muscles covered. Embrace the V-shape, boost your strength, and level up your fitness journey. Your powerhouse back awaits – let’s conquer it together!
FAQ
What is the best horizontal pull exercise?
Bent-over rows are widely considered among the best.
What muscles do horizontal rows work?
Lats, rhomboids, traps, posterior deltoids, and erector spinae.
Is horizontal pulling necessary?
Yes, for balanced upper body development and posture.
Is deadlift a horizontal pull?
No, deadlifts are primarily a hip hinge movement, not a horizontal pull.
Useful Links
Here you can find more upper body exercises and more squatting exercises. These links will help you learn more about compound exercises and isolation exercises for the upper body muscles, and will help you achieve your gains, whether related to increasing muscle size, strength or endurance.
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Fully target your back with the strongest bent over row alternatives
