Lat pulldown
Muscles worked : Latissimus dorsi · Biceps, trapezius
How to do it
- Sit facing the machine, thighs braced under the rollers if the machine has them.
- Grip the bar wider than your shoulders, arms extended.
- Pull the bar down to your upper chest, keeping the torso upright, elbows dropping toward the hips.
- Rise back up with control to full arm extension.
Common mistakes
- Leaning far back to help pull the bar down.
- Pulling the bar behind the neck instead of to the front of the chest.
- Rising back up too fast, without controlling the load.
Where you should feel it
The work should be felt in the middle and lower back, down under the armpit. Tension in the upper trapezius or neck signals the shoulders rising instead of staying down.
Range of motion
Pull until the bar touches the upper chest, elbows dropping alongside the body. Rise back to full arm extension to use the whole range.
Tempo and breathing
One to two seconds to pull, two to three to rise while controlling the load. Exhale pulling, inhale rising.
What works, precisely
The latissimus dorsi adducts and extends the shoulder, the rhomboids and middle trapezius draw the shoulder blade toward the spine, the biceps assist by flexing the elbow. It’s the vertical-pull equivalent of a pull-up, guided and progressively loadable.
Movement mechanics
Shoulder adduction and extension in the sagittal plane, combined with shoulder blade depression and retraction, on a machine-guided path.
Benefits
- Builds the vertical pulling strength needed to progress toward a pull-up, a movement bodyweight alone makes hard to access.
- Lets the load be dosed precisely, unlike a bodyweight pull-up where only total body weight can be adjusted.
- Strengthens the back as a mirror to the pushing movements already present in most sessions.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Reduce the load, or use a narrower grip to shorten the lever arm.
- Harder : Increase the load, or pause for one second at the bottom of the movement.
- Move on when : When three sets of ten go by without the torso leaning back.
Precautions
Always pull the bar to the front of the chest, never behind the neck: that older variant puts the shoulder in a risky position for minimal gain.