The majority of people who work out avoid pulling exercises because pressing is way more sexy and fun. How many times have you heard the question how much do you bench? People always want a big chest and well defined shoulders because it is easy to see on individuals. It is much harder to tell if someone has a well-defined back unless they are not wearing a shirt.
Not only are pulling exercises good for protecting your shoulders but a strong back is excellent for posture and can be used for most lifts. You should be able to push as much as you can pull. 99% of the people I see for the first time can push way more than they can pull. Your back is one of the least sensitive areas so learning how to activate those muscles is part of the process. Learn how to pinch your scapula’s (shoulder blades) together as your pull. A good exercise for this is having someone stick their finger between your scapula’s and try and pinch their finger performing protraction and retraction.
For those of you doing enough pulling exercises (climbers) disregard this article but for the majority of people start adding pulling exercises to your program. Some great pulling exercises are pull ups, rows, 1 arm rows, high pulls, and lat pull downs.
