The lat pull-down machine is the most important equipment for training the back muscles! In the lat pull-down, the trapezius, teres major, teres minor, rhomboids, biceps, and brachioradialis of the back are also trained at the same time. If your gym doesn't have such equipment or someone else is using it, the power rack with pulley system can also be used for high pulldowns, but you need to adjust the pulley height and change the handle.
The biggest feature of the lat pull-down action is: safety, high efficiency, and strong applicability; because of this action, whether it is a beginner who is weak in the latissimus dorsi and cannot do pull-ups (the weight starts from 5 kg, it can be done step by step), or it is relatively Thin friends (adjustable to a slightly heavier load), or even more advanced bodybuilders (variable angles, multi-stimulation, adjustable weight), are very suitable.
The lat pull-down is divided into front neck / wide grip / narrow grip / forehand / backhand /, and other positions. Which position stimulates the latissimus dorsi the most and has the best training effect?
Difference
Wide-Grip lat Pull-down: A wide-grip lat pull-down with the palms facing forward can better focus on the upper back muscles, so it can better increase the width of the upper back.
Close -grip lat pull-down: The main difference between wide-grip and close-grip pull-downs is the muscles used. A close-grip pull-down will target the traps and rhomboids more, while a wide-grip pull-down will target the lats more.
Neutral grip pull-down: This grip makes the pull-down closer to a rowing motion, increasing both width and thickness of the back muscles.
Reverse Grip lat Pull-down: Unlike a palm-forward grip, a lat pull-down with a palm-back grip focuses on the lower back muscles. Many people lack width and thickness in their lower backs, and the reverse-grip lat pull-down can improve those weaknesses.
Straight Arm Pull-down: This is a relatively rare single-joint back exercise. Since the biceps are not involved in the effort during this exercise, the back muscles are better isolated and stimulated. Like the reverse-grip lat pull-down, this exercise also focuses on the lower back muscles.
How to do
Wide-Grip lat Pull-down
Sit down at the pull-down machine with the bar attached to the top pulley, make sure you adjust the knee pad to fit snug against your legs. Grip the bar with the palms of your hands facing forward. Both of your arms should be extended above you, holding on to the bar. Lean your torso back slightly to create a small curvature in your back and stick your chest out. This will be your starting position.
Now exhale and bring the bar down until it lightly touches your upper chest. As you pull the bar down, squeeze your shoulder blades back and down. Your upper torso should remain stationary during this movement and only your arms should move. After a brief pause at the bottom contracted position, exhale and slowly raise the bar back to the starting position with your arms fully extended and your lats stretched.
Close -grip lat pull-down
Make sure you adjust the knee pad to fit snug against your legs. Those pads will prevent your body from being raised by the weights and allow you to perform the exercise correctly. Grip the bar closer than shoulder width with the palms of your hands facing forward. Both arms should be extended in front of you, holding on to the bar. Lean your torso back about 30 degrees to create a small curvature in you back and stick your chest out. This is the starting position.
Now exhale and bring the bar down until it nearly touches your upper chest. Draw your shoulders and upper arms back to do this. Once you reach the bottom contracted position, concentrate on squeezing your back muscles. Your upper torso should remain stationary during the movement and only your arms should move. Also make sure to use your forearms only to hold the bar and not to pull it down. After a brief pause at the bottom contracted position,inhale and slowly raise the bar back the starting position with your arms fully extended and your lats stretched.
Neutral grip pull-down
Make sure you adjust the knee pad to fit snug against your legs. Those pads will prevent your body from being raised by the weights and allow you to perform the exercise correctly. Attach the lever with handle to the lat pull-down machine. Grasp the handle on the end of the lever so that your palms face each other. Let your arms extend fully up so your lats feel a slight stretch. This is the starting position.
Begin the exercise by contracting your lats while pulling the weight down onto your upper chest.
At the end of the move, bring your shoulder blades together, your elbows back, and your lats close to your chest.
Slowly reverse the movement back to the starting position. This completes a rep.
Reverse Grip lat Pull-down
Sit down on a pull-down machine with a wide bar attached to the top pulley. Adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your height. These pads will prevent your body from being raised by the resistance attached to the bar.
Grab the pull-down bar with the palms facing your torso (a supinated grip). Make sure that the hands are placed closer than the shoulder width.
As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.
As you breathe out, pull the bar down until it touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the fully contracted position and keep the elbows close to your body. The upper torso should remain stationary as your bring the bar to you and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work other than hold the bar.
After a second on the contracted position, while breathing in, slowly bring the bar back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched.
Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Straight arm pull-down
Start by grabbing the bar from the top pulley and stepping backwards a few feet. Next, bend your torso forward about 30 degrees at the waist. Your arms should be fully extended in front of you with a slight bend in your elbows. If your arms are not fully extended, then you need to step backwards until they are. Once your arms are fully extended and your torso is slightly bent at the waist,tighten your lats and you’ll be ready to begin.
Now, keeping the arms straight, breathe out and pull the bar down by contracting the lats until your hands are next to the side of your thighs. Then, while still keeping your arms straight, return back to the starting position while breathing in.
