Advanced Pull Day Workout: Build Serious Back and Bicep Strength
This session is built for advanced lifters who already move well, understand how to brace and hinge, and want to push their pulling strength further. If you've got a solid foundation in rows and vertical pulls and you're ready to tackle demanding unilateral and bodyweight movements, this is your session. We'll walk you through a structured pull day that targets your lats, rhomboids, rear delts, biceps, and brachialis — the full pulling chain.
What the research says
The research we're drawing from comes largely from CrossFit performance studies, which offer useful data on pull-up capacity and its relationship to broader strength metrics. One study on CrossFit athletes found that whole-body strength was strongly correlated with performance on compound workouts involving pull-ups and barbell lifts. A separate study examining the Fran WOD — which includes pull-ups as a primary movement — found that maximum pull-up repetitions showed a moderate to strong correlation with overall workout performance. These findings suggest that pull strength, especially the capacity to sustain it under load, matters. Separately, a study measuring muscular fatigue after gymnastics-style sessions (which included pull-ups) found significant reductions in countermovement jump variables — jump height, average power, and maximum velocity — following that type of session, indicating real neuromuscular fatigue was produced. Recovery research from a CrossFit Murph study (a workout involving 100 pull-ups among other movements) explored cold-water immersion and massage for delayed-onset muscle soreness, giving us a relevant lens on what recovery might look like after high-volume pulling work.
Moderate — the studies are small (14–34 participants), mostly conducted on CrossFit athletes rather than general strength trainees, and focus on performance predictors and fatigue rather than exercise selection for hypertrophy or strength; findings are directionally useful but not directly prescriptive for this session design.
A study of 14 CrossFit Open or Regional athletes found that whole-body strength (measured by CrossFit Total: 1RM back squat, overhead press, and deadlift combined) was the only variable to survive prediction regression for both Grace and Fran WOD performance, accounting for 77% of the variance in Grace performance and 42% in Fran performance.
View study →A study of 15 recreational CrossFit practitioners found that maximum pull-up repetitions showed a moderate to strong correlation with Fran WOD performance (r = -0.58).
View study →A study of 34 healthy subjects found that a gymnastics-style WOD consisting of pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats produced significant reductions in countermovement jump variables — including jump height, average power, and maximum velocity — measured before and after the session (P < 0.01), indicating neuromuscular fatigue was present following that session type.
View study →A randomized trial of 30 individuals following the CrossFit Murph workout (which includes 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and two 1-mile runs) compared massage therapy and cold-water immersion as recovery interventions for delayed-onset muscle soreness, assessing outcomes with pain questionnaires, algometry, and thermographic imaging.
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
Place two kettlebells on the floor about shoulder width apart. Position yourself on your toes and your hands as though you were doing a pushup, with the body straight and extended. Use the handles of the kettlebells to support your upper body. You may need to position your feet wide for support. Push one kettlebell into the floor and row the other kettlebell, retracting the shoulder blade of the working side as you flex the elbow, pulling it to your side. Then lower the kettlebell to the floor and begin the kettlebell in the opposite hand. Repeat for several reps.
Using a spacing that is just about 1 inch wider than shoulder width, grab a pull-up bar with the palms of one hand facing forward and the palms of the other hand facing towards you. This will be your starting position. Now start to pull yourself up as you exhale. Tip: With the arm that has the palms facing up concentrate on using the back muscles in order to perform the movement. The elbow of that arm should remain close to the torso. With the other arm that has the palms facing forward, the elbows will be away but in line with the torso. You will concentrate on using the lats to pull your body up. After a second contraction at the top, start to slowly come down as you inhale. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions. On the following set, switch grips; so if you had the right hand with the palms facing you and the left one with the palms facing forward, on the next set you will have the palms facing forward for the right hand and facing you for the left.
For this exercise, start out by placing a towel around a chin up bar. Grab the chin-up bar with your palm facing you. One hand will be grabbing the chin-up bar and the other will be grabbing the towel. Bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.v Pull your torso up until the bar touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. 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 on the contracted position, start to inhale and slowly lower your torso back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched. Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions. Switch arms and repeat the movement.
Lie on a flat bench with a barbell using a shoulder grip width. Hold the bar straight over your chest with a bend in your arms. This will be your starting position. While keeping your arms in the bent arm position, lower the weight slowly in an arc behind your head while breathing in until you feel a stretch on the chest. At that point, bring the barbell back to the starting position using the arc through which the weight was lowered and exhale as you perform this movement. Hold the weight on the initial position for a second and repeat the motion for the prescribed number of repetitions.
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.
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 session includes advanced unilateral and loaded movements — the one-arm chin-up in particular places significant demand on the elbow and shoulder joint; if you have any history of elbow, shoulder, or lower back injury, get clearance from a qualified health professional before attempting this session, and ALWAYS prioritize a full range of motion you can control over load or rep count.