Work the Entire Back Side of the Body at Once: Pullup-Inverted Row-Hip Thruster Combo

If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time then you know I’m a huge fan of bodyweight exercises. I’m also a big into training the back side of the body (i.e. the posterior chain). I love pullups, inverted rows, and anything that goes after the glutes and hamstrings. Last but certainly not least, I like exercise economy, meaning I exercises that kill a whole bunch of birds with one stone.

With that in mind, here is a pretty sweet exercise I’ve been toying around with. As is typical of me, I have no clue what to call, so I’ll give a cop out: Pullup-Inverted Row-Hip Thruster Combo. If you have any better ideas, I’m all ears.

Regardless of what you want to call it, it definitely meets me criteria for awesomeness. Here it is.

Big bang for your buck? Check

This will pretty much smoke the entire back side of the body at once. Up top, it starts off as a vertical pull and finishes with a horizontal pull. On the lower half, it addresses both the glutes and hamstrings through hip extension as well as knee flexion.

Bada bing, bada boom, wham bam thank you ma’am

Joint-friendly? Check

Hip thrusters are generally easy on the lower back and knees, and using the TRX adds in a very shoulder-friendly pull.

I actually remember seeing a pullup-inverted row combo from my friend James Smith of Diesel Strength and Conditioning a few years back that he aptly called “Diesel Rows,” so this is an extension of that great exercise with the hip thruster added into the mix.

You’ll need something higher than a standard bench to get the full effects of the hip thrusters, so keep that in mind. Ideally, I like having the feet elevated to should level at the start of the movement with the knees bent slightly.

Add this to your toolbox of badassery and let me know what you think.

Also, please remember to check out yesterday’s For Your Viewing Pleasure video compilation.