Rack Pull Video Question

[Michael Liao]

These instructional video's are greatly appreciated.....Thank you Mark.
There is a lot of silly bullshit out there and I feel very fortunate to have a legitimate resource.
Please keep jabbering about these simple movements.

Hi Coach Rip, likewise as with the above! Your videos and resources help stave off the danger of idle time & self-destruction... Or, maybe I just have more problems than most? Anyhow, I consider your work a torch of enlightenment & worthy toil. Happy holidays from Hawaii!

[Eric K]

Haltings are next.

It almost seems like you planned it that way... Weird...

[Mark Rippetoe]

Are rack pulls supposed to be done heavier than standard deadlifts because of the shorter range of motion?

Yes. I found that I could deadlift for a 3rd attempt at a meet what I could rack pull for 5.

[davidM]

Hi Mark,
I'm new to this exercise. How's the carryover to the regular deadlift? I mean, if I can pull a heavier load from the knees it's likely that I'll use a greater load from the ground? I guess it should be but I'd like to know.
I tried it once and it's a very tough exercise: maybe one could think the movement is somehow "easy" just because you lift from where usually the sticking point is and ....it's not. It's damn difficult to pull from there, I felt it more in my hamstrings and traps. Just to say...

[Mark Rippetoe]

As I said in the video -- in which I manage to jabber for 15 agonizing minutes about a relatively simply movement, beating the shit out of all available minutia, for the express purpose of answering questions like this -- rack pulls alternate each week with the halting deadlift. Haltings work the part of the movement from floor to knees.

[reactiontm]

Let's say you deadlifted 420 for 3 sets of 5 yesterday.

How do you calculate the appropriate number for rack pulls?

[SmokingSnake]

Thanks for all the nice videos Rip, even though I would assume you probably felt like a truck hit you after those agonizing 15 minutes, you still can take the crap out of 95% of the 20 year old "healthy" trainees, so don't slap yourself around too much.

Anyways thanks again

[Randle McMurphy]

Rip, thank you for this video. You are truely a fantastic teacher.

I have a slight question:

In our gym there is only one power rack where you can rack pull from - I normally use this.

We also have 'pulling blocks', they look like this:
54259_b.jpg
By standing on a plate, the height of the barbell on the pulling blocks is EXACTLY the same as in the rack.

Sometimes, if someone is squatting in the rack I am forced to use the blocks.
Will this make any difference?

many thanks,
R P McMurphy

(p.s. The girl in the background was a total distraction. Despite not really being able to see her properly, the fact that she was squatting well made her more attractive - I think this obsession with lifting may have gone too far.
Christ, thinking about it, it could of been a guy with long hair for all I know. It was a girl, right?)

[Mark Rippetoe]

Let's say you deadlifted 420 for 3 sets of 5 yesterday.

How do you calculate the appropriate number for rack pulls?

You don't necessarily calculate the load, since everybody is a little different in how they pull from different positions. You know it will be heavier than your deadlift, so just start a little above it for a set of 5 (after a warmup), and titrate it up over the next few workouts.

Blocks work fine, just make sure they are set at the correct height. And Shelley does squat nicely. I'll tell her you approve.

[mlentzner]

She's in the DVD, right?

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