Pulling t-grip in the incline: exercise technique, what muscles are working

fitness trainer

“The t-grip incline pull is a basic strength training exercise to work the broadest muscles of the back, trapezius muscle, posterior fascicles of the deltoids, round and diamond muscles. Some of these are part of the posterior chain muscles and support spinal health and proper posture.”

This exercise can be used as a lead-in to the barbell waist pull, as they are similar in biomechanics. It is suitable for both beginners and experienced lifters.

You will be able to change the weight of the weight to suit your fitness level and choose a comfortable grip. Different handles and grip widths allow you to focus on the right muscle groups.

Table of Contents

Why do t-bar pulling in an incline?

Prevent back pain. Pulling exercises strengthen your upper body muscles, helping to prevent back pain. The exercise also engages the posterior chain muscles, making them strong, which also helps with lower back discomfort.

Muscle growth and strength. The t-grip incline pull engages a large number of muscle groups, which helps to increase overall physical strength and muscle volume. To increase strength, we recommend 4-8 repetitions per lift and 8-12 repetitions per lift to increase muscle mass.

Reducing the risk of injury. The exercise helps to build strong broad back muscles, posterior deltoids, round muscles, trapezius. Strong muscles keep the shoulder joint healthy and protect it from injury. This happens by increasing strength, improving stabilization of the humerus in the joint, and maintaining normal range of motion in the joint.

Formation of correct posture. The exercise tones the muscles of the back and arms, which are involved in the formation of correct posture and a healthy spine. Strong arm and back muscles make it easier to perform everyday tasks, relieving the neck and lower back, which are often under strain.

Improved strength endurance. The t-bar pull, like any other strength training exercise, allows you to develop your strength endurance. To do this, it is necessary to perform a large number of repetitions. We recommend short sessions of 15-20 reps. You will develop the body’s ability to resist high-intensity fatigue.

Joint Health. Exercise promotes joint health by improving nutrient metabolism and mobility in the joint. However, exercise technique must be followed to gain this benefit.

Overall health and physical fitness. The exercise engages multiple joints and muscle groups, which helps increase blood circulation over a large area of the body. More oxygen and nutrients are delivered to organs and tissues, benefiting the entire body.

An auxiliary exercise for pulling the bar to the waist and pull-ups. Firstly, the broadest muscles of the back are strengthened. Secondly, grip strength increases. Thirdly, the feeling of control of the back muscles in pulling movements improves, which allows you to better feel them in pull-ups and barbell pulls.

Technique of performing the t-grip pull in an incline

There are different variations of execution. Choose the appropriate grip width, depending on your individual characteristics and tasks.

Approach the machine and place your feet firmly on the floor or platform. Bend your legs at the knees, keep your pelvis back and tilt your body forward.
Keep your back straight with a natural lumbar flexion, shoulder blades together and down, chest forward, neck straight, eyes on the floor.
Grasp the handle at shoulder width. There are no strict regulations here, so choose as you feel comfortable. The grip can be closed or open.
As you exhale, pull the handle toward you, in the abdominal area. Bend your elbows and take them behind your back, pressing them against your body. Take a short pause. Exhale always at peak load.
As you inhale, smoothly straighten your arms at the elbows to a straight position. Try to keep your shoulder blades together throughout the exercise.

Perform three approaches of 10-15 repetitions depending on your training goals. Rest between approaches – one to two minutes.

Variations of the t-grip pull

Both variations of the t-grip pull have their advantages and can be included in the training program.

T-grip pull without a stop. The absence of a stop actively engages the gluteal muscles and the muscles of the lower back to maintain the correct body position. This variation of the exercise can be more challenging and requires better coordination skills. If you have lower back pain, we recommend choosing a safer version of the exercise.

T-bar pull with a chest rest. The chest rest allows the lifter to better focus on the broadest muscles of the back. It also helps control the movement and prevents incorrect body positioning. This variation takes the strain off the lower back muscles.

Recommendations for execution

Master the correct technique. Learn how to keep your back, use a different grip, put your feet, breathe. You will protect yourself from injury and will be able to use the exercise effectively.

Pay attention to your breathing. Correct breathing during the exercise allows you to improve blood circulation and oxygen delivery to muscles, organs and tissues. For this exercise, exhale at peak effort, when pulling towards yourself, and inhale when pulling the projectile away from yourself.

Warm up before exercising. This helps prepare the nervous system, muscles, joints and ligaments for the upcoming load. Body temperature rises, muscles warm up, ligaments become more elastic. The efficiency of the exercise increases, allowing you to work with more weight, and the risk of injury is reduced. As a warm-up, do one or two approaches of t-bar pulling in an incline for 10 reps with 40-60% of the single-rep maximum, and then start working.

Change your grip. Alternate between wide and narrow grip when performing the exercise. This will allow you to engage all segments of the back muscles, developing them harmoniously and proportionally.

Common mistakes

Round back. Try to keep your back straight during the exercise. First, with a round back, you risk injury. Secondly, when the spine is straight, the broadest muscles work in full amplitude. This allows you to qualitatively train the musculature.

Cheating. Sometimes lifters deviate from technique to lift more weight or perform more repetitions than they are capable of in proper technique. This is called “cheating. In the barbell pull-down, they use excessive body swinging and overuse their arm muscles when pulling the bar toward themselves. This redistributes the load to other muscles, causing the broadest muscles to receive less load.

Fast movements. There are two phases of movement in the exercise: concentric (positive), when the projectile moves toward the torso, and eccentric (negative), when the projectile moves away from the body. Often athletes drop the weight or do reps quickly, losing some of the load. We recommend moving at a measured pace to eliminate inertia.

Over-involvement of the biceps. A common mistake in training beginners is to perform the exercise by bending the arms at the elbows instead of putting them behind the back. When bending the arms at the elbow, the biceps muscles of the shoulder are loaded, not the back. If you want to pump up your arms, use other, more effective exercises.

Short Amplitude. Training in a small amplitude of movement is a common mistake. It is usually due to the desire to lift too much weight. If we are talking about exercises for strength and muscle mass growth, the full amplitude of muscle movement is more effective than a short one.

Contraindications

Training has a positive effect on human physiology and the musculoskeletal system, but everyone can have contraindications.

It is recommended to consult a doctor before an intense workout to determine if there are any restrictions. Especially if you have heart and cardiovascular disease, spine disease, joint problems, pregnancy, obesity, diabetes and neurological conditions.

Limit performing the t-grip incline pull if you have:

acute shoulder pain;
acute spine and neck pain;
infectious diseases;
high body temperature;
exacerbation of chronic diseases.

How to include t-grip pull in the incline in the training program?

Everything will depend on the training system you are going to follow.

Fullbody. The “fullbody” system involves working all muscle groups in one workout. We recommend that you include this exercise in your program no more than once a week and combine it with basic exercises for other muscle groups.

Example of training: dumbbell bench press, twists for abs, t-grip pull with a stop, squats with a barbell.

Split. The split training system involves working a specific muscle group in one session. We recommend including t-grip pulling in an incline on a back training day.

Example workout: t-bar pull, pull-ups on the bar, crossover pullover from the upper block.