Athletes of all abilities can have trouble with bodyweight pull ups. Quite often I’m forced to come up with alternative back exercises to replace pull ups. Over the years I’ve built up a list of my favorite exercises to develop upper back strength, and muscle mass. In this article I will review my favorite pull up substitute exercises, and show you how to incorporate them into your fitness program. Keep reading for more.
Even very fit athletes can have trouble with pull ups. Conversely, I’ve also seen athletes that are very strong on pull ups limit their back strength, because they aren’t incorporating enough exercise variation into their back training.
Pull ups are a very good upper back exercise, but they aren’t enough to build a strong back. You need to include heavier loads, and different pulling angles, to balance out your upper back muscles. It’s with this in mind, that I’ve included this list of the 7 best alternative back exercises to replace pull ups.
7 Best Alternative Back Exercises to Replace Pull Ups
- Lat Pull Down
- Inverted Barbell Row
- Single Arm Dumbbell Row
- T-Bar Row
- Seated Cable Row
- Barbell Pendlay Row
- Weighted Eccentric Pull Ups
It’s obvious that many of these exercises require some specific gym equipment. It’s ok if you don’t have access to all of these machines. You should still be able to do 4 of the 7 exercises in almost any type of gym. All you’ll need is some dumbbells, a barbell, and a place to do pull ups.
Now that we’ve covered some of the preliminary info, let’s quickly review what the scientific literature has to say on pull ups, and other back exercises. As you’ll see, the small details of different attachments, and things like grip width don’t make as much of a difference as you might think.
Upper Body Pulling Strength Research
I find it ironic that many athletes tend to neglect muscle groups that they can’t see in the mirror. For example, you see way more bench presses, than you do lat exercises. It seems that researchers are guilty of the same sin.
As I was doing my research for this article, there really wasn’t a whole lot of information available on the best alternatives to replace pull ups. Similarly there wasn’t much data on how to get you to your first pull-up. Not to worry, I did locate some relevant research. I’ll highlight the important parts here.
Grip Width for Back Exercises
For years gym bros have preached that a wide grip on back exercises increases back width. Research confirms that, to a certain extent, they’re right. This research paper examined the electrical activity in your lats, traps, and biceps on different grip orientations / widths on the lat pul down.
As it turns out, it’s not the grip width that increases lat usage, it’s actually overhand or pronated grips that increases lat activation. They found that standard lat pulldowns, in front of your face, with an overhand (palms facing away) grip elicited the most muscle activity. There was no difference for the traps or biceps with different grip orientations (underhand grip or overhand grip). Now let’s compare the pull up to the lat pull down.
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Grip Width for Back Exercises
In this research study, they compared determinants of performance between pull ups and lat pul downs. They split the subjects into those that could do a lot of pull ups (standard pull-up bar), and those that couldn’t. They then compared their performance on various lat pull down tests.
Surprise, surprise, they found that those that are strong on pull ups, were good at the lat pulling tests. Interestingly enough, they found that bodyweight played a big role in pull up test. As you might expect, pull up performance increased with less fat mass, but it also increased with less overall muscle.
This highlights the dual nature of lat pull downs in the gym. Newer athletes can greatly benefit from them, until they can do a significant number of bodyweight pull ups. Moreover, advanced athletes can also benefit from them because you can go above body weight on most lat pull down machines. This highlights that the way you use the exercise is just as important as the exercise itself.
To summarize the research, it’s safe to say that standard exercises can replace pull ups. As a coach, I think it’s important to vary the grip orientation from time to time, even if there’s no significant benefit from doing so, from a scientific perspective. As long as you work hard at these alternative exercises, you’ll gain strength and muscle.
7 Best Alternative Back Exercises to Replace Pull Ups
This list of the 7 best alternative back exercises to replace pull ups is really a list of my favorite back exercises. I tend to use these in my programs, and I’ve found them to be very effective for a wide variety of athletes. This doesn’t mean that these are the only back exercises you should do.
I generally recommend rotating exercises every 3-4 weeks, but that can be constrained by your gym. If you don’t have a cable machine to row, then you won’t be able to throw that one in the rotation. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you include vertical pulling exercises, and horizontal pulling exercises.
You cannot develop a strong back if you neglect one complete range of motion. I also recommend that you add in single arm and two arm exercises as well. This allows you to focus on moving more weight with the correct muscles, and it’s a great way to build strength. Now, on to the first of our 7 best back exercises to replace pull ups.
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Lat Pull Down
I’ve included this one because it’s one of the most common back exercises available. It’s also a great alternative back exercise for new and experienced athletes. One of the primary ways to increase pull up performance is to strengthen the muscles using the same full range of motion that you use in pull ups. You simply can’t get any closer than using the lat pulldown machine
It is important to do this exercise with proper form. Don’t go to heavy and then use your lower back to cheat the weight down. You might do this on the final rep or two, but if you do this on all of your sets, then you’re just making a great latissimus dorsi exercise into a low back (spinal erector) exercise. Now on to my favorite bodyweight exercise to replace pull ups.
Inverted Barbell Row
The inverted barbell row is my go to exercise for athletes scaling for pull ups. Most CrossFit gyms will use ring rows to do this. If you think about it, ring rows are actually fairly different than pull ups. Your hands are neutral, and both rings move independently.
This exercise is a bodyweight row, done by hanging underneath a bar, like a ring row, and pulling your chest to the bar. This inverted row is a strict movement, done with a rigid core, and no lower body assistance. Because the bar doesn’t move, I find that athletes can focus on pulling harder than they can with gymnastics rings.
It also has the added benefit on not requiring you to purchase more gym equipment. If you’re reading this then you have access to a rack and a barbell. I tend to recommend setting the bar at the same height you would use for bench press. Ideally, you want your back to be close to parallel to the ground, when you start.
You can increase the difficulty of the workout by elevating your feet on a bench. Or you can actually anchor an elastic band to the ground, running it along your chest. This has the added benefit of increasing the resistance as you get closer to the bar. I really like this variation of the exercise. Now let’s discuss one of the best exercises for unilateral back training.
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Single Arm Dumbbell Row
This is my favorite single arm back exercise. I tend to use a bench to support the rest of my body as I complete the horizontal pull with one arm. It’s important to really feel your back working with dumbbell rows, and not just pull with your biceps. I tend to cue athletes to start the move by retracting their shoulder blade, and finish it by driving the elbow behind them. This is another exercise to avoid using momentum to cheat with.
Depending on your fitness goals, this is one back exercise where using straps to assist your grip strength is ok. I only recommend using straps on your heaviest sets, but they will definitely allow you to lift heavier than you could without them. Don’t get addicted to straps, as they shouldn’t be used as a substitute for a strong grip. Next, on to a great old school back exercise to replace pull ups.
T-Bar Row
The T-Bar row is a great choice for athletes that need to build lat strength, and arm strength. It allows you to use heavy weight, with good form. Realistically any back exercise that supports your chest is always a good choice for building strength. As you’ll see you can do T-Bars with or without chest support.
Without chest support you run the risk of cheating the weight up with your lower back muscles (erector spinae). Sure, it’s ok to occasionally use a little momentum on the last reps of an exercise, but that’s not good for every rep.
The other benefit to the T-Bar row is that you can often find machines with several handle placements. While you’re only slightly altering the muscles usage patterns, it does allow you to find a more comfortable starting position. Ultimately, pulling from a position that feels good should allow you to use extra weight safely. Next, we’ll talk about one of my favorite cable movements.
Seated Cable Row
The seated cable row is a great movement, that provides a lot of flexibility to your back training. I tend to favor a narrow grip attachment. It allows you to pull through a longer range of motion, and it’s significantly different from most of the other pulling exercises where you have a wider, double over hand grip.
As I mentioned above, you do want to avoid using excessive lower back assistance with this exercise. I always coach my athletes to initiate back rowing exercises by pulling their shoulder blades back, and then finishing with a strong arm pull. You want to work the lats as hard as possible. While this does tax the biceps, it isn’t an arm exercise. Next we’ll talk about my favorite barbell row variant.
Pendlay Barbell Row
The Pendlay row is named after renowned olympic weight lifting coach Glenn Pendlay. For these bent-over rows, you’ll keep your upper body almost parallel to the floor while you perform the barbell row. This allows you to use a longer range of motion. Most importantly it minimizes the amount of cheating your can do on this exercise.
If I had a dime for every time I’ve seen a newish lifter doing barbell rows, in an almost upright position, with a 6 inch range of motion, I’d be richer than Jeffy Bezos. Standard barbell rows are rarely done with any kind of strict form, because it’s so easy to use momentum and change your torso angle to make it an easier exercise. Obviously, this isn’t ideal for building muscle mass, and strength.
Ideally you should be able to Pendlay row what you can bench press. I know that sounds crazy to many athletes, but they have weak backs, and we don’t have listen to their opinions. Be strict with your form, and you’ll find that you can build a lot of strength with this exercise. It also has the added benefit of only requiring a barbell and plates. Now, let’s talk about a great way to build your way to strong pull ups.
Weighted Eccentric Pull Ups
Most new athletes have heard of doing eccentric pull ups, or negative pull-ups. In this exercise you start with your chin over the bar, and slowly lower yourself down. This is a great exercise, as you can build muscle mass and strength with eccentric movements. The research is clear, you alway have much more strength lowering a weight compared to lifting it. Don’t believe me, give it a shot.
The weighted eccentric takes this principle to the next level. You can use a weight vest, hold a dumbbell between your feet, or use a dip belt to add load to the standard eccentric pull up. You’ll find that this version allows you to build more strength than relying on your body weight alone.
This is a good exercise for combat athletes. Often times grapplers need to be able to flex their back and arm muscles for extended periods of time. This is a great way to build muscular endurance in a very similar way. I recommend using a load that allows you to get at least 10-15 seconds per lowering phase of the rep. If you go too heavy, you run the risk of injury.
Now that we’ve covered a lot of great back exercises, I’ll provide some fitness plans in the next section. As you’ll see, I’ve got programs for just about everyone.
Programs to Build Strength, Mass, and Functional Fitness
I’ve been writing programs and workout plans for many years, and I have something for just about everyone. In this section I’ve put together a quick list of my most popular muscle building programs. If you want to see which order I recommend following for each of the programs, then check this article out.
- The 8 Week Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 6 Weeks of Muscular Growth for Functional Fitness Athletes Program
- 12 Week Free Bodybuilding Program
- 10 Week Functional Power Building Program
- The 11 Week High Intensity Bodybuilding Program
- The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program
- The 6 Day Split Pure Power Strength Plan
Some of these programs are designed for functional fitness athletes who want to build muscle, and maintain their conditioning. Other programs, like the 12 Week Free Body Building Program, are traditional hypertrophy focused programs without any metcons in sight.
I recommend following a few of these links to see which plans are aligned with your goals. If you’re the type of athlete that really enjoys having all the details, like percentages, specific warm ups, and coaching advice, then check out some of my premium programs.
Final Thoughts
Before I sign off, I want to review a few things that are important to remember. While the research doesn’t indicate a huge change by altering grip widths or orientation, you do need to vary this in your workout routine. This variation allows you to avoid overuse injuries.
It also keeps training fresh. We’ve all had days where we just couldn’t stomach doing the same old movements we always do. Rotating movements every few months will ensure that you keep your training interesting. I recommend checking out the programs I’ve listed above, as I’ve already taken care of exercise rotation, and much more. Now get out there and get training.
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