Pull Through
The pull-through is a cable exercise where you face away from the stack, hinge at your hips to reach the rope between your legs, then drive your hips forward to standing. It teaches the same hip hinge pattern as a deadlift or a good morning but with constant cable tension and a much lower learning curve, which makes it a solid choice for beginners building glute and hamstring strength.
Why it works
The pull-through isolates hip extension, straightening your hips against resistance, without asking you to also stabilize a barbell or coordinate a complex lift. Because the cable pulls you backward the whole time, your glutes and hamstrings have to fight that tension continuously rather than just at the top or bottom of the movement, which builds both strength and a clear feel for driving through your hips instead of your lower back.
Set up
- Attach a rope handle to a low pulley, then step over the cable so it runs between your legs and turn to face away from the weight stack.
- Walk forward until there's tension on the cable, then grab the rope with both hands between your legs.
- Set your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and keep that knee bend steady throughout the set.
- Stand tall to start with your shoulders back and your core braced.
How to do it
- Push your hips back while keeping your knees at the same slight bend, letting the rope travel back between your legs as you hinge forward.
- Keep your back flat and your chest up as you reach as far back as your hips comfortably allow.
- Reverse the movement by driving your hips forward hard, squeezing your glutes as you return to standing.
- Finish standing tall with your hips fully extended, then control the rope back down to start the next rep.
- Keep the motion happening at your hips the whole time, not your lower back rounding and unrounding.
Form cues
- Push your hips back first, like closing a door with them, rather than bending forward from the waist.
- Keep a soft, unchanging bend in your knees throughout the rep.
- Squeeze your glutes hard at the top of each rep rather than just letting momentum bring you upright.
- Keep your shoulders pulled back so your upper back doesn't round as you hinge.
Breathing: Inhale as you hinge back and let the rope travel behind you, exhale as you drive your hips forward to stand.
Common mistakes
Bending the knees more as the set gets harder, turning the hinge into a squat.
Fix: Keep your knee bend fixed from the first rep to the last; the movement should come from your hips folding, not your knees dropping.
Rounding the lower back at the bottom of the hinge to reach further back.
Fix: Stop the hinge as soon as your lower back wants to round; range of motion should come from hip mobility, not spinal flexion.
Using momentum to snap upright instead of squeezing the glutes.
Fix: Drive the hips forward deliberately and pause briefly at the top with your glutes tight, rather than letting the cable's rebound do the work.
How to program it
- This is a compound but joint-friendly movement, so three to four sets of ten to fifteen reps works well for building glute and hamstring endurance and strength.
- It's a good movement to place early in a lower-body session to groove the hip hinge pattern before heavier hip-hinge lifts like a deadlift, or later as a finisher to fatigue the glutes directly.
- Two sessions a week fits most programs, since the constant cable tension makes it fatiguing without needing heavy loads to feel effective.
Safety notes
- Keep the range of motion within what your hips can control; going deeper than your hip mobility allows just shifts the stress onto a rounding lower back.
- Choose a weight that lets you keep your back flat for every rep rather than one that forces you to round to complete the set.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Pull
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
How many sets and reps of pull-throughs should I do?
Three to four sets of ten to fifteen reps is a common range, since the constant cable tension makes higher reps effective without needing heavy weight.
Can I do pull-throughs without a cable machine?
Yes, a resistance band anchored low behind you works the same hip hinge pattern if a cable stack isn't available.
What's the difference between a pull-through and a Romanian deadlift?
Both train the same hip hinge, but a pull-through uses constant cable tension and a rope you don't have to balance, which makes it easier to learn the pattern before loading it with a barbell in a Romanian deadlift.
Why do I feel this more in my lower back than my glutes?
That usually means the lower back is rounding during the hinge instead of staying flat. Shorten the range of motion so you stop the hinge before your back wants to round, and focus on squeezing your glutes at the top.