How to Improve Your Deadlift Lockout with Rack Pulls

'Blimey'... definitely a Belfast lad! lol. Hang in there. The results come quick on these.

I find my upper traps get really sore after rack pulls. Is that normal or am I shrugging the weight?

Normal. You're holding a massive amount of weight in your hands. Your traps are working overtime just to keep your arms from being pulled out of their sockets.

Just don't start intentionally shrugging it. That's a great way to tear a bicep if you aren't careful.

Solid advice. Keep the arms like ropes—straight and tensioned. The movement should be all back and hips.

What do you guys think about the 'sumo rack pull'? I pull sumo from the floor, so doing conventional rack pulls feels a bit weird.

Sumo rack pulls are tricky because of the bar hitting the pins where your hands are. If you have blocks, sumo is great. Off pins, it's a finger-crushing hazard.

Learned that the hard way in my flat/garage gym. Conventional rack pulls are much safer for the equipment and your digits.

Even if you pull sumo, conventional rack pulls will build that raw posterior strength that helps everything.

Good to know. I pull conventional anyway. One last thing—do you do these on your main deadlift day or a separate day?

I do them as an accessory after my main floor pulls. If I did them on a separate day, I'd never be recovered enough for my heavy squats.

Same here. Floor pulls first, then 2-3 sets of rack pulls to finish the back off. Then go home and eat everything in the fridge.