Pulls & Posterior-Chain Exercise Library
Build the resources. Preserve the pulling skill.
Fifteen pulling and posterior-chain options, organized through PCS. A heavier partial or a harder hinge is useful only when its task and recoverable cost fit the plan. Keep a competition-lift anchor and distinguish technical, positional, muscular, and readiness constraints.
PCS classes, methods, phases & selection rules → · Comprehensive Deadlift Guide →
Browse: conventional · sumo · pause · deficit · block · rack · Romanian · stiff leg · good morning · back extension · reverse hyper · GHR · inverse curl · Nordic · leg curl.
01 / Conventional Deadlift
PCS role: CE if meet style; otherwise close variation · HE, DE or justified ME
Equipment: Barbell, full-size plates and collars
Purpose: Practice the actual pull and establish a direct strength anchor.
Execution: Set the feet and grip, brace, connect to the bar, and push through the floor with long arms. Finish standing under control and rebuild the setup for dead-stop repetitions.
Watch for: Yanking into slack, lowering the hips into a pose they immediately abandon, or comparing bounced sets with dead stops.
Progress & verify: Record grip, starting height and repetition style. Preserve the assigned effort and finish standard; compare the same task over time.
02 / Sumo Deadlift
PCS role: CE if meet style; otherwise SDE · HE, DE or RE
Equipment: Barbell, full-size plates and stable surface
Purpose: Practice a wider-stance pull or test a deliberate style change.
Execution: Select a width and toe angle that let you maintain pressure and knee tracking. Grip inside the legs, brace, connect to the bar, and stay patient as it leaves the floor.
Watch for: Widening beyond a stable stance, hips escaping backward, or deciding the style is better after one unfamiliar maximum.
Progress & verify: Log separately from conventional. Compare repeatability and the actual target lift after sufficient practice.
03 / Paused Deadlift
PCS role: SDE · technical or positional work, HE or RE
Equipment: Barbell and plates
Purpose: Practice maintaining a defined position under load.
Execution: Pause at the assigned height without setting the plates down, hold the brace and bar position, then complete the lift. Establish the same pause point each rep.
Watch for: Pausing at a different height, resting the bar on the thighs, or relaxing tension to survive the pause.
Progress & verify: Standardize pause height and duration before load. Check whether the competition pull preserves that position more reliably.
04 / Deficit Deadlift
PCS role: SDE · HE or RE; experienced positional practice
Equipment: Stable platform beneath the feet, bar and plates
Purpose: Extend the pull and examine the changed starting demands.
Execution: Use a modest elevation that allows a controlled setup. Establish balance and tension, then pull without treating the extra range as permission to jerk.
Watch for: Stacking unstable plates, making the deficit too large to preserve the intended strategy, or copying normal deadlift weights.
Progress & verify: Record deficit height and stance. Increase loading only while the task remains intact; retest the normal-height pull.
05 / Block / Mat Deadlift
PCS role: SDE · HE or RE; justified ME for practiced setups
Equipment: Stable, equal-height blocks supporting the plates
Purpose: Train a documented starting height and positional demand.
Execution: Center both plates on secure supports, rebuild the brace at the elevated start, and pull to a controlled finish. Keep stance and grip consistent.
Watch for: Unstable stacks, changing the height to reach a record, or assuming shorter range means negligible fatigue.
Progress & verify: Record block height and bar type. Progress this exact variant while monitoring recovery and full-range deadlift performance.
06 / Rack Pull
PCS role: SDE · HE or RE; experienced, justified overload
Equipment: Rated rack pins or straps, suitable barbell
Purpose: Train a selected start with the bar supported by the rack.
Execution: Set supports level, establish the grip and brace, take tension, then lift from the documented pin position. Keep the bar centered and lower deliberately.
Watch for: Bouncing from pins, loading beyond the rack rating, or treating rack pulls and plate-supported block pulls as identical.
Progress & verify: Log pin setting and setup. Monitor the whole weekly pulling cost; check transfer to the full pull rather than celebrating only an overload number.
07 / Romanian Deadlift
PCS role: SPE · RE or controlled HE
Equipment: Barbell or dumbbells; straps optional by purpose
Purpose: Develop a loaded hinge and posterior-chain capacity.
Execution: From standing, brace and move the hips backward with a slight knee bend. Keep the load close and lower only through a controlled range before returning to standing. Dave Tate emphasizes hips-back initiation and close bar contact.
Watch for: Turning it into a squat, reaching lower by losing the intended trunk position, or leaning backward at the finish.
Progress & verify: Record range, implement and grip assistance. Progress controlled repetitions before load; monitor posterior-chain fatigue and the competition pull.
08 / Stiff-Leg Deadlift
PCS role: SPE · RE
Equipment: Barbell, plates; starting height chosen deliberately
Purpose: Train a hinge with less knee bend than your usual pull.
Execution: Keep a small, consistent knee bend and long arms. Use a manageable start or range that lets you hinge and maintain the chosen trunk position. Define whether each rep resets.
Watch for: Forcing locked knees, using competition-pull loads automatically, or treating it as interchangeable with every RDL.
Progress & verify: Log starting height and knee strategy. Progress the defined movement, then check whether muscular work and recovery support the intended lift.
09 / Good Morning
PCS role: SPE · RE or controlled HE; advanced variants need coaching
Equipment: Barbell or appropriate specialty bar, rack and safeties
Purpose: Train a bar-supported hinge and sustained trunk control.
Execution: Set the bar securely, brace, keep a consistent slight knee bend, and send the hips backward. Reverse within a range you can control. Dan Green’s explanation emphasizes bracing and hinging back rather than merely bending down.
Watch for: Chasing torso depth after the hinge is lost, unstable bar placement, or maxing an unfamiliar suspended variation.
Progress & verify: Record bar, stance and range. Add load only when the same hinge repeats; judge a pull-building hypothesis against actual deadlift performance.
10 / 45-Degree Back Extension
PCS role: SPE · RE
Equipment: Back-extension bench with secure foot support
Purpose: Add controlled posterior-chain work with a supported setup.
Execution: Adjust the pad to allow the intended hip movement, secure the feet, lower deliberately, and return to your chosen finish. Start with bodyweight before adding resistance.
Watch for: Swinging through the movement, changing pad height, or exaggerating the top with an uncontrolled lean.
Progress & verify: Record pad setting, load position and range. Increase useful repetitions or load within the fatigue budget; review next-session trunk readiness.
11 / Reverse Hyper
PCS role: SPE · RE
Equipment: Purpose-built reverse-hyper machine; model-specific setup
Purpose: Train hip-extension and posterior-chain work in a distinct supported movement.
Execution: Learn the machine’s strap and mounting procedure, support the torso, and move the legs through a controlled range appropriate to the setup. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Watch for: Uncontrolled swinging, incompatible attachment placement, or treating it as a guaranteed treatment for back pain.
Progress & verify: Log machine, load and execution style. Begin with manageable work and assess tolerance, fatigue and relevant lift performance.
12 / Glute-Ham Raise
PCS role: SPE · RE
Equipment: Adjusted GHR with secure feet; assistance if needed
Purpose: Develop knee-flexion and posterior-chain capacity.
Execution: Set the pads and footplate for your dimensions. Maintain a controlled body line as you lower and return, using measured assistance if you cannot complete the intended range.
Watch for: Folding sharply at the hips to bypass the task, forcing unassisted reps before control exists, or inconsistent pad settings.
Progress & verify: Track assistance, range and reps. Reduce assistance gradually only while the movement repeats; verify the intended resource and lift response.
13 / Inverse Curl
PCS role: SPE · RE
Equipment: Inverse-curl machine with appropriate adjustment
Purpose: Use adjustable assistance for a demanding knee-flexion task.
Execution: Set the machine according to its design and choose assistance that permits controlled repetitions. Maintain the body position and use the same range each set.
Watch for: Using so much assistance that the target task disappears, or interpreting more counterweight as more resistance.
Progress & verify: Record assistance separately from external load. Reduce help or add repetitions conservatively; monitor the response instead of borrowing another lifter’s setting.
14 / Assisted Nordic Curl
PCS role: SPE · RE; controlled eccentric emphasis when assigned
Equipment: Secure ankle support, knee padding and reliable assistance
Purpose: Train a demanding knee-flexion movement with scalable assistance.
Execution: Secure the ankles, maintain the intended body line, and lower under control. Use the hands, a band or a purpose-built device to assist the return as planned.
Watch for: Unverified anchors, dropping the final part of the descent, or adding maximal volume because bodyweight seems light.
Progress & verify: Log assistance and controlled range. Start with a small dose; increase only when the same quality and acceptable recovery remain.
15 / Seated / Lying Leg Curl
PCS role: SPE · RE
Equipment: Leg-curl machine with correct pad and pivot settings
Purpose: Train knee-flexion capacity directly.
Execution: Set the machine, stabilize the torso or pelvis, curl through a chosen range, then return without dropping the stack. Seated and lying versions are separate comparisons.
Watch for: Lifting the hips, jerking into the curl, or changing settings to obtain more repetitions.
Progress & verify: Keep machine, settings and range consistent. Progress the assigned volume or resistance and account for hamstring fatigue before heavy pulling.
Use the Exercise to Serve the Lift
Write purpose, dose, allowable fatigue, evidence trigger, and next decision before adding work. Class and method tags are options, not a complete prescription. Introduce unfamiliar movements with manageable loads. Keep the competition task in view, and seek qualified help when symptoms or complex setups require it.
Independent Iron Brotherhood educational synthesis, aligned with PCS Draft 1.36. Source links provide additional coaching context; external coaches do not endorse this library. Reviewed October 2026.