Pull Hypertrophy Workout - 20min Intermediate
Focus on total back development and arm thickness with this efficient pull session. You will leverage Tonals constant tension to maximize muscle fiber recruitment and metabolic stress. This workout is designed to deliver a massive upper body pump in under 20 minutes.
Intermediate lifters looking to increase upper body width and thickness. This is ideal for climbers or swimmers wanting to improve their pulling power through focused hypertrophy.
Equipment
Workout Plan
Rest 90 seconds between heavy lat pulldown sets. Reduce rest to 60 seconds for rows and flies, and keep it to 45 seconds for the bicep finisher.
Single Arm Bent Over Row
Back, Biceps, Abs
Keep your back flat and use Tonals digital weight to resist the pull on the descent.
Reverse Fly
Back, Shoulders
Maintain a slight bend in your elbows and focus on pulling the handles apart using your rear delts.
Biceps Curl
Biceps, Forearms
Keep your elbows pinned to your sides to isolate the biceps and avoid using momentum.
Neutral Lat Pulldown
Back, Biceps, Abs
Drive your elbows toward your hips and squeeze your shoulder blades at the bottom.
Why this order
We start with the Neutral Lat Pulldown to recruit the most muscle mass while you are fresh. Transitioning to unilateral bent over rows fixes imbalances, followed by higher-rep isolation work for the rear delts and biceps to maximize the hypertrophic stimulus.
Want this personalized for you?
This is a template workout. Connect your Tonal and the AI coach adjusts weights to your strength scores, swaps exercises around injuries, and progresses you week over week.
Start Free with AI CoachFrequently Asked Questions
What weight should I start with for the pulldowns?
Choose a weight where you can barely complete the 8th rep with good form. Tonal will automatically adjust the resistance based on your power output.
Can I use the Smart Bar for this workout instead?
This session is specifically programmed for handles to allow for the unilateral row and the specific grip required for Neutral Lat Pulldowns.
How do I maximize the hypertrophy benefit on Tonal?
Enable Burnout Mode or Eccentric Mode on the last set of each exercise to push your muscles to failure and increase time under tension.
How often should I perform this specific pull routine?
For best results, aim for twice per week with at least 48 hours of rest between sessions to allow for muscle repair.