Ep 73 | Fix Your Posture with These 5 Essential Pulling Exercises
Combat desk slouch and strengthen your back with these trainer-approved movements
Do you find yourself slouching at your desk, hunched over your computer in what can only be described as a "cashew shape"? If you're nodding your head (hopefully with good posture), you're not alone. Poor posture from prolonged sitting is epidemic in our digital age, leading to back pain, neck pain, and shoulder discomfort that can affect both your work life and exercise performance.
The good news? You can fight back against bad posture with targeted pulling exercises that strengthen your back muscles and restore proper alignment. As a personal trainer, I've seen these movements transform my clients' posture and reduce their pain levels significantly.
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Jayd (00:00):
Do you have a habit of slouching when you are sitting down at work? If so, you probably also experience back pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain, and one of the best ways that you can combat bad posture and poor alignment is to practice where called pulling exercises or poll based exercises. So let's take a look at some of my favorite polling exercises to use for my clients and to help myself to strengthen the back and improve posture. Welcome to the Coaching Corner podcast. I'm Jayd Harrison. I'm a personal trainer and I have created this podcast to help you to get lean, get strong without shame and without burnout. In today's episode, we're going to be going over a variety of exercises that you can do to develop your back strength, improve your posture, and reduce your neck and back pain. These exercises are listed in order of most beginner friendly to more advanced variations with heavier weights.
(01:05)
So if you would like to improve your posture and you would like to reduce your stiffness and pain in your neck and in your back, this is a great podcast episode to listen to. Before we get into the episode, make sure to like this video if you are watching on YouTube and subscribe to my channel so that you always get new videos whenever they drop. If you're listening to this podcast, thank you so much. Make sure that you follow the show so that you always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. And keep in mind that I am currently onboarding new clients into my fat loss transformation program. In this 90 day program, I'm going to show you how to burn fat and keep it off for good. I'll give you a customized training program as well as a customized meal plan and step-by-step coaching and guidance along the way you are interested in this. Make sure to click the link that's in the show notes or in the video description below, or you can go to my website Jaydigains.com. That's J-A-Y-D-I-G-A-I-N-S.com. And without further ado, let's get into the episode.
(02:13)
When you are working at your computer for so long, it's very common to begin to hunch forward, and before you know it, you're sitting in kind of like a cashew shape. Now this is not only really bad posture, but it's also really bad for your health. When you're sitting like this, it puts a lot of strain on the muscles in your back, especially the spinal erector muscles as well as your trapezius and rhomboids. A lot of people also tend to round their shoulders forward while they're sitting like this, which can also weaken the back of the shoulders and make the front of your shoulders really tight. So when you go to do exercises like bench press or pushups or some kind of overhead press, you might experience shoulder pain because your body is just so used to being in a position of being rounded forward and out of alignment that when you go to perform other exercises, you may not realize that you're performing them out of alignment, which can cause pain and strain in the muscles.
(03:11)
So let's learn how to fix this posture so that you can build up your back, sit with a better posture and experience less pain and reduce your risk of injury while exercising. One of the best ways that you can combat bad posture and poor alignment is to practice what are called polling exercises or poll based exercises. So let's take a look at some of my favorite exercises to use for my clients and to help myself to strengthen the back and improve posture. Number one, the most beginner friendly pulling based exercise is a seated row, either with a cable machine or with a band. Performing this exercise from a seated position allows you to really focus on engaging the right muscles in your back. Whenever you're performing pulling based exercises, it's really important to sit with a nice tall posture with your shoulders stacked right over your hips and your head forward.
(04:08)
You also want to actively push your chest forward and draw your shoulders down away from your ears. When you pull the resistance back, you should pull it straight to your sternum while squeezing your armpits and pushing your chest forward. This is going to give you maximal engagement in all of those back muscles, the lattisimus, doci, the lower and mid trapezius muscles as well as your spinal erectors, and it's also a good idea to practice keeping your chest pushed forward even as you reach the weight back to the starting position. Practicing keeping this posture while the weight is in motion is a great way to train yourself to sit with a nice tall posture and keeping your body in alignment. This is really the best way for you to sit regardless of whether you're exercising or working at your computer, sitting with your shoulders stacked over your hips allows for your belly to make room for your diaphragm to expand so you can get nice deep breaths.
(05:05)
You're also placing a lot less strain on your lower back and spine. And when you feel like you're ready to advance this exercise, the next step would be to take out the bench or the seated position and perform this exercise from a standing position. This will force your core to work a little bit harder because after all, one of the most important things to developing good healthy posture is developing a strong core. So when you perform exercises that make you engage your core to stay stable, when you're performing the exercises from an unstable position that helps you to engage your core and better train that posture, you perform the exercise exactly the same, keeping your chest forward, your shoulders down, away from your ears, and trying to keep that alignment even as you reach the weight back forward. You can do this from a staggered stance position, which I find helps a lot with balance, or you can keep both of your feet together and lean back a little bit depending on the amount of weight that you're using.
(06:07)
Both of these exercises are incredibly beginner friendly, so I would start with them before graduating to more advanced and unstable variations. If you don't have access to a cable machine or to bands, you can also perform this exercise from an incline bench using dumbbells. Now, one thing that's really important here is that this exercise is focused on the lats. We call it a lat row. You want to avoid flaring your elbows out too much because that turns the exercise into a rear del row, which is important to practice as well. But here we really want to focus on getting those lats engaged. Once you've mastered the form for any of these variations of the lat row, then you can start to add some instability and different stances to make the exercise more difficult and to challenge your core strength. One of my favorite variations of this is the single arm row, which you can practice leaning on a bench because you have the weight loaded in only one hand.
(07:04)
This is going to force your core muscles to have to work harder, to stabilize you, to keep you in this position. When you are doing the single arm row from the bench like this, it's really important that you are actively pushing your hand into the bench and avoid sinking into the shoulder of the hand that's on the bench. You want your whole body to stay kind of active, to keep you stable here. Another important tip to keep in mind here is that when you pull that weight up, you're going to pull it toward your hip rather than just straight up and down. So the starting position of the exercise, the weight should be right below your shoulder, but then as you lift it up, it should come toward your hip and then move forward again as you reach the weight down toward the floor. Another variation of the single arm row that I really like using the bench is the modified gorilla row.
(07:51)
For this, you have both of your hands on two weights that are resting on the bench, and you'll alternate pulling the weight up in a lat row to either side. Because of the way that you're standing, the weight is going to come more toward the inside of your hip rather than the outside of the hip. One of my favorite ways to advance this exercise is to use kettlebells and bring the weights to the floor, which you can do once you have developed mobility in your hamstrings and the confidence in this exercise to be able to do it in this position. There's nothing wrong with starting with the weights on the bench. The gorilla row is one of my favorite exercises for practicing core stability as well, because as you're alternating lifting the weight up from one side to the other, your abdominals and your obliques have to engage to keep you in the same place and keep your torso rigid.
(08:41)
So again, this is another one that's really great for helping you to not only train your back muscles, but to also train your core, which is another part of having good posture. Then number five, one of my favorite variations of the row to practice once you have developed the strength as well as good hip hinge technique, is the barbell reverse grip row. This is one of the most difficult variations of the row, but it is so great for helping you to develop back strength in all of the muscles in your back, including your lats, your spinal erectors, your rear delts, and many other muscles have to work to stabilize you as well like your glutes and your hamstrings as well as your abdominals. But before you try this variation, you want to make sure that you are really good on your hip hinge technique, that you can perform R DLS or Romanian deadlifts with good technique, that you have the core strength to be able to maintain a good position throughout the exercise.
(09:40)
You want to be able to lift the weight up and back down without rounding your spine and losing engagement in your glutes or in your core. This is also one of the best exercises for helping you to develop grip strength, which is super important if you want to be able to lift heavy. Of course, in addition to LA rows, there are many other exercises that you should be practicing for developing your back strength, like back flies, rear dealt rows, where you keep your elbows a little bit more flared out to the side, to bias the rear delts as well as the other muscles in the back of your shoulders. But if you're short on time in the gym and you only have time for a few exercises, doing some variation of a lat row will do the trick for engaging and training and strengthening the muscles in your back if you have time to do other exercises.
(10:27)
This will go even further toward helping you to improve your posture. You can add in things like back flies from the incline bench, dumbbell wise from the incline bench as well, and lap pullovers. So give these exercises a try, and of course, as always, you want to make sure that you listen to your body. It's totally normal and it's actually a good thing if you feel the target muscles burning, but what we want to avoid is any kind of sharp pains, especially in your joints. If you have any questions about these or any other exercises, leave them in the comments below this video if you're watching on YouTube. And as a little heads up, I am going to be very soon launching my all new Body Sculpt Coaching program where I will go much more into detail about a lot of different exercises, including the rows, and just like with my Fat Loss transformation program, you'll get a custom training plan as well as a custom meal plan and step-by-step coaching for the entire 90 days of the program. If you'd like more information on that, click on the link below this video on YouTube or in the show notes.
(11:35)
Thanks so much for watching this episode of The Coaching Corner Podcast. Again, I'm Jayd Harrison, AKA Jaydigains. You'd like more information on me or the services that I offer. Head to my website, Jaydigains.com. That's J-A-Y-D-I-G-A-I-N-S.com. And make sure to follow me on my socials, which are linked in the show notes or the video description below. And also make sure to like this video if you found it helpful, and subscribe to my channel so that you never miss new videos. If you're listening to the podcast, make sure to follow the show so that you always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. I'll be back again later this week with another new episode of The Coaching Corner Podcast. In the meantime, make sure that you eat your veggies, eat your protein, drink your water, and take care of yourself, and I will see you soon.
Why Your Posture Matters More Than You Think
When you sit hunched forward for hours, you're putting tremendous strain on several key muscle groups:
Spinal erector muscles - which support your spine
Trapezius and rhomboids - the muscles between your shoulder blades
Posterior deltoids - the back of your shoulders
This forward head posture and rounded shoulders don't just look unprofessional—they create a cascade of problems. Your front shoulder muscles become tight while your back muscles weaken, creating an imbalance that can lead to injury during exercises like bench press, pushups, or overhead movements.
The Solution: Strategic Pulling Exercises
Pulling exercises (also called "pull-based" exercises) are your secret weapon against poor posture. These movements strengthen the muscles that pull your shoulders back and help maintain spinal alignment. Here are my top 5 exercises, arranged from beginner-friendly to advanced variations.
1. Seated Cable Row or Band Row (Beginner)
Why it's perfect for beginners: The seated position allows you to focus entirely on proper muscle engagement without worrying about balance or core stability.
How to perform:
Sit tall with shoulders stacked over hips
Keep your head in neutral position
Push your chest forward and draw shoulders down away from your ears
Pull the resistance straight to your sternum
Squeeze your armpits and maintain chest position throughout the movement
Focus on keeping good posture even as you return to the starting position
Pro tip: Practice maintaining this chest-forward, shoulders-back position even when you're not exercising—this is how you should sit at your desk too!
2. Standing Cable Row (Intermediate)
Once you've mastered the seated version, remove the bench support to challenge your core stability.
Progression benefits:
Forces core engagement for better overall posture development
Mimics real-world functional movements
Can be performed in a staggered stance for better balance
Key form cues: Maintain the same upper body positioning as the seated version while engaging your core to stay stable.
3. Incline Dumbbell Lat Row (Equipment Alternative)
Don't have access to cables or bands? No problem. This variation uses an incline bench and dumbbells.
Important note: Keep your elbows relatively close to your body to target the lats effectively. Flaring your elbows turns this into a rear delt exercise (which is also valuable, but different).
4. Single-Arm Row Variations (Advanced Stability)
These unilateral exercises force your core to work overtime to prevent rotation and maintain stability.
Bench-supported single-arm row:
Place one hand and knee on the bench
Pull the weight toward your hip (not straight up and down)
Keep the supporting arm active—don't sink into that shoulder
Start with the weight below your shoulder, pull to your hip
Modified gorilla row:
Both hands on weights resting on a bench
Alternate pulling each weight up toward the inside of your hip
Great for core stability as your obliques work to prevent rotation
Can progress to floor-level with kettlebells once you develop the mobility
5. Barbell Reverse Grip Row (Advanced)
This is the most challenging variation and requires excellent hip hinge technique before attempting.
Prerequisites:
Solid Romanian deadlift (RDL) technique
Strong core stability
Ability to maintain spine neutrality under load
Benefits:
Targets multiple back muscles simultaneously (lats, spinal erectors, rear delts)
Develops grip strength
Engages supporting muscles like glutes, hamstrings, and abs
Safety note: Only attempt this after mastering hip hinge movements and ensuring you can maintain proper form throughout the entire range of motion.
Beyond the Basics: Additional Back Strengtheners
While lat rows are incredibly effective, a complete posture-improvement program should also include:
Back flies from an incline bench
Rear delt rows (with elbows flared wider)
Lat pullovers for additional lat development
Exercise Tips for Success
Listen to your body: Muscle fatigue and a burning sensation in the target muscles is normal and beneficial. However, sharp joint pain is a red flag—stop immediately if you experience this.
Progress gradually: Start with the seated variations and master the form before advancing to more challenging positions.
Consistency is key: These exercises work best when performed regularly as part of a balanced fitness routine.
The Bigger Picture: Posture as a Lifestyle
Remember, exercise is just one piece of the posture puzzle. The way you sit at your desk, the ergonomics of your workspace, and your daily movement habits all play crucial roles. Think of these pulling exercises as your daily antidote to the forward head posture and rounded shoulders that modern life encourages.
When you sit with proper alignment—shoulders over hips, chest forward, shoulders down—you're not just improving your appearance. You're creating space for your diaphragm to function properly, reducing strain on your lower back and spine, and setting yourself up for better breathing and less pain.
Ready to Transform Your Posture?
Start with the seated cable row or band row, focus on perfect form, and gradually progress through the more advanced variations as your strength and stability improve. Your back (and your future self) will thank you for taking action against the slouch today.
Remember: If you have any existing back or shoulder injuries, consult with a healthcare professional or qualified trainer before beginning any new exercise program.
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