Pull Through

What it is

This compound exercise is performed with a cable machine and focuses on strengthening your posterior chain. It primarily targets your gluteal muscles, with significant engagement of your hamstrings and lower back as secondary muscles. You initiate the movement from a bent-over position, pulling the weight forward by extending your hips to stand tall.

Technique tips

• Straddle the cable, positioning your feet wide apart.
• Hinge at your hips, reaching the handle between your legs.
• Maintain a slight bend in your knees throughout the range.
• Power through your hips to stand upright and tall.
• Keep your arms straight; do not pull with your shoulders.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.