How to do Lat Pulldowns (AVOID MISTAKES!)
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers a comprehensive guide to performing the Lat Pull Down exercise effectively, emphasizing proper setup, grip width, and torso angle to target different back muscles. It explains the importance of the eccentric phase for muscle growth and suggests advanced techniques like pause and partial reps to maximize the exercise's effectiveness. The script also promotes further learning through a link to a full program and encourages viewers to subscribe for more fitness content.
Takeaways
- 🏋️♂️ The Lat Pull Down is a highly effective and scalable back exercise, suitable for both beginners and advanced lifters.
- 🔧 Proper setup of the pad is crucial for counterbalancing and allowing for heavier weights to be lifted.
- 🦵 The pad should be adjusted so that there is contact with the knees but enough room for heel lift, providing flexibility during the exercise.
- 🤏 Grip width is determined by the type of bar used, with a straight bar typically being the best for targeting the lats effectively.
- 📏 The ideal grip is found by lining up the elbow under the wrist, ensuring a natural pulling angle that avoids undue stress on the forearms or teres major muscle.
- 🧍♂️ Torso angle is key to targeting different areas of the back; a more upright position focuses on the lats, while leaning back emphasizes the upper back.
- 🤔 To maximize lat engagement, pull the bar down to the upper chest and ensure the elbows are tucked in, mimicking the motion of a pull-up.
- 🔄 The return of the bar to the top is critical for applying tension and promoting muscle growth, with a slow and controlled movement being most effective.
- 🔒 Maintaining proper body positioning and avoiding momentum is essential for the effectiveness of the exercise, especially during the eccentric phase.
- 🚀 Advanced lifters can increase intensity by pausing in the stretched position or performing partial repetitions to further stress the lats.
- 📚 For a comprehensive workout program and additional exercise guidance, the script suggests visiting athleanx.com and subscribing for updates.
Q & A
What is the Lat Pull Down exercise and why is it considered beneficial for back training?
-The Lat Pull Down is an exercise that targets the latissimus dorsi muscles in the back. It's beneficial because it's one of the most scalable back exercises, allowing individuals of varying skill levels to perform it effectively and safely.
Why is setting up the pad correctly important for the Lat Pull Down exercise?
-The pad is crucial as it creates the leverage needed to counterbalance the weight being pulled down, allowing for a more effective exercise and preventing strain on the body.
What is the recommended pad height for the Lat Pull Down exercise?
-The pad should be set high enough to allow knee movement but with enough room for some heel lift off the ground, providing a 'give' as the bar goes back up on each rep.
How does the type of bar used affect the grip width in the Lat Pull Down exercise?
-Different bars, such as a V handle or a neutral bar, will naturally dictate a narrower or wider grip. A straight bar allows for a grip width that is determined by aligning the elbow under the wrist, which is usually at the turn of the bar.
Why is it not advisable to grip the bar too narrowly or too widely during the Lat Pull Down exercise?
-Gripping too narrowly forces more work onto the forearms, while gripping too widely shifts the focus away from the lats and onto the teres major muscle, which can detract from the intended muscle group being targeted.
What is the correct torso angle for targeting the lats during the Lat Pull Down exercise?
-To target the lats, one should maintain an upright posture, as this mimics the pull-up motion and effectively engages the lat muscles.
How should the elbows be positioned to maximize the engagement of the lats during the Lat Pull Down?
-The elbows should be tucked into the front pockets, flaring the lats and pulling in a more vertical direction to maximize lat engagement.
What is the target point for the bar during the Lat Pull Down exercise, and why is it important?
-The target point is the upper chest. This ensures that the bar travels in the correct path, engaging the back muscles effectively and promoting proper form.
Why is the return of the bar to the top an important part of the Lat Pull Down exercise?
-The return of the bar to the top, or the eccentric portion of the lift, applies a stretch to the lats, which is key for muscle growth and maintaining tension throughout the exercise.
What advanced techniques can be used to increase the effectiveness of the Lat Pull Down exercise?
-Advanced techniques include pausing in the fully stretched position to apply tension and performing partial repetitions to increase intensity and muscle tension, especially when fatigued.
How can watching additional exercise tutorials, like the Hanging Leg Raise, benefit someone looking to improve their fitness routine?
-Additional exercise tutorials provide detailed instructions and insights into proper form and technique, helping to prevent injury and maximize the effectiveness of each exercise.
Outlines
💪 Proper Setup for Lat Pull Down Exercise
This paragraph focuses on the importance of correct setup for the Lat Pull Down exercise to maximize its effectiveness. It begins by emphasizing the correct height of the pad to create the necessary leverage and counterbalance for heavy weights. The pad should be set so that there is contact with the knees but with enough room for slight heel lift, which is crucial for a deeper eccentric movement. The grip width is determined by the type of bar used, with a straight bar being the most common. The ideal grip is found by aligning the elbow under the wrist, avoiding too narrow or wide grips that could shift the focus from the lats to the forearms or teres major muscles. The paragraph also discusses the torso angle, suggesting an upright position for targeting the lats and a more leaned-back position for the upper back, with detailed advice on how to position the elbows and engage the back muscles effectively.
🏋️♂️ Advanced Techniques for Lat Pull Down
The second paragraph delves into advanced techniques to enhance the Lat Pull Down exercise. It advises on the importance of the return of the bar to the top, emphasizing the eccentric portion of the lift as a key to muscle growth. The paragraph suggests keeping the body anchored properly to create the necessary separation for the lats to stretch. For those looking to push their limits, the script recommends pausing in the fully stretched position to apply tension, which is a proven muscle growth stimulator. Additionally, it encourages the performance of partial repetitions to increase intensity and deliver more tension into the muscle, especially when fatigued. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to explore more exercise tutorials and subscribe to the channel for regular updates.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Lat Pull Down
💡Scalability
💡Leverage
💡Counterbalance
💡Eccentric
💡Grip
💡Teres Major
💡Torso Angle
💡Upper Back
💡Eccentric Portion
💡Partial Repetitions
💡Applied Tension
Highlights
The Lat Pull Down is identified as one of the best back exercises and is highly scalable.
Proper setup begins with the pad height to create leverage and counterbalance for heavier weights.
The pad should allow knee contact with room for heel lift to enable a deeper eccentric movement.
Grip width is influenced by the type of bar used, with a straight bar being the most common.
The ideal grip is found by aligning the elbow under the wrist for a natural pulling angle.
A narrower grip engages the forearms more, while a wider grip shifts focus to the teres major muscle.
Torso angle is crucial and varies depending on whether you aim to target the lats or upper back.
For lat focus, maintain an upright posture, while a lean back targets the upper back.
Elbow positioning dictates the muscle focus, with tucked elbows for lats and pulled back elbows for upper back.
The bar should be pulled to the upper chest, regardless of torso angle, to maximize muscle engagement.
Opening the rib cage facilitates elbow travel and better engagement of back muscles.
The return of the bar to the top is critical for applying stretch to the lats and promoting muscle growth.
Maintain hip stability and arm separation during the eccentric phase for optimal muscle stretch.
Advanced users can enhance the exercise by pausing in the stretched position to increase tension.
Partial repetitions can be used to increase intensity and deliver more tension into the muscle at fatigue points.
For a comprehensive workout, consider combining the Lat Pull Down with other exercises like the Hanging Leg Raise.
For a full workout program, visit athleanx.com and subscribe for regular updates.
Transcripts
The Lat Pull Down, possibly one of the best back exercises you can do. It's also one of
the most scalable, but you got to do it right. Today, I'm going to show you how to do it,
whether you're a beginner or advanced to get the most out of every single repetition. And
before you even grab a bar, it actually starts down here at the pad and setting up the right
height. Because this pad actually creates the leverage that you need to give you that
counterbalance to pull that extra weight down. As a matter of fact, if you don't have this set up,
try to lift more than 75% of your body weight. Go ahead, I dare you.
So how high should it be? Well, it can't be high enough that you have enough room to move
your knees up and down. What you want is to be in contact with your knees, but enough room to have
some heel lift off the ground. Because that heel lift is going to give you some give as the bar
goes back up to the top on every rep. Without that give If it's down too far and your foot is flat,
you don't have the ability to extend into a deeper eccentric and you're going to want that.
Now, when it comes to your grip, it's actually going to be determined a lot by the type of bar
you use. If you use a V handle like this, of course you're going to be forced into a more
narrow grip. If you use a neutral bar like this, you're going to be having a wider grip. That being
said, most of you are gonna be doing it with a straight bar just like this. So how wide do
you want to go? You can find it by actually stepping yourself up to the bar and lining
up your elbow underneath your wrist. Once you find that angle, that's going to be your best
natural pulling angle to be at. That's usually going to happen right around the turn of the bar
for most of us. If you go any narrower than that, you're going to start to force more of the work
to be done by the forearms and the muscles in the forearm. If you force your grip wider than that,
you're going to take the focus a little bit more away from the lats and put it more onto a muscle
called the teres major. It's a lat helper, but again, it's a latch you're trying to build,
so go for that perfect angle right here in line with the elbow and wrist.
So, now that your pad set and your grip right, where do you go from here? Well, we got to
talk about our torso angle because this is where people screw it up. Are you supposed to be leaning
back or are you supposed to be upright? Well, it depends on what you're trying to hit. If you're
trying to hit your lats, then you're going to want to be as upright as you possibly can be. Because
remember, this is sort of a substitution for the Pullup that was too heavy for you to do, right?
You're unweighting a portion of your bodyweight with this exercise. If you want to shift the focus
to your upper back, you're going to be allowed to lean back more, so you pull the bar back more
at an angle. If you're thinking more lats, then think about front pockets. In other words, try to
tuck your elbows into your front pockets this way. And by doing that I'm actually flaring my lats but
pulling more in that vertical direction. If I want to get more of that upper back or mid back, then
think about elbows pulling back. They're going to wind up flaring out a little bit, but that's fine
because you want to get that elbow back behind the body if you want to optimize those middle scap
upper back pulling muscles, even the rear delts. But it's not enough to know what angle to pull at,
you also want to know where you're pulling to. And the good news is it's going to be the same point
whether you're leaning back or doing it more upright, and that is to your upper chest.
If you're going to do this to hit your lats, guys, you're not going to want to lean back to open up
the upper chest. You're going to want to open up the upper chest as you pull down. In other words,
don't just bring the bar down towards you and sink in, remember to attack that bar with your
upper chest, lift your sternum up as you pull down. That will effectively hit those lats again,
getting those elbows tucked in front of your body. If you're trying to hit more of that upper back,
then what you're going to do is just do that lean back but still target that upper chest. The
reason why we do this is because opening up the rib cage is going to allow the elbows to travel
back behind the body more easily and to engage those back muscles a lot more effectively. So,
now you follow the steps, and you got the bar to where it should be here on your chest,
so you think you're good, right? Well, you're only half good because the other half of the exercise
is going to dictate how effective the exercise is. Because this might be the most effective
part of the exercise, and that is the return of the bar to the top. Because the eccentric portion
of this lift is going to apply that stretch to the lats if you've done everything else right.
That's going to key some new muscle growth. But it all starts back here having your knees
anchored properly again under the pad. Because if you start to use momentum or if your body is not
anchored properly and you start to follow the bar back up, you're not creating the separation that
you need between the origin and insertion of the lats to create that stretch, you're just
allowing the hips to follow it. You got to make sure you keep those two points as far apart as
possible. Hips stay down, arm travels up and as you get that stretch, go nice and slow because
the slower you go here, the more tension you apply, the better gains you're going to see.
Now, if you're more advanced and want to squeeze a little bit more out of the exercise, you can do
that too and there's two ways to do it. The first thing I'd like you to do is just pause in that
fully stretched position. We know from the recent work of Brad Schoenfeld that applied tension in
the stretch position is a good key stimulator for muscle growth. So, at the end of the rep,
I talked about how important the eccentric is hang out there for one or two seconds and a pause style
and then go back down into your next repetition. The next thing you can do is work your way to
partial repetitions and I mean to, in other words, perform all of your repetitions through full range
of motion until you feel like you can't get another full range rep. But don't stop just
there because the intensity can go higher and higher by performing whatever your lats will
allow you to at this point. Meaning small little partials, even a half a rep or a quarter rep,
even an eighth of a rep. Whatever you can do to get a little bit more range of motion
without it becoming strictly based on momentum, that's going to deliver more tension into that
muscle, especially at that point of fatigue to help to push it to new potential for growth.
And just like that, you've got the perfect Lat Pulldown. If you guys are looking for more of
how to do certain exercises, make sure you watch how to do a Hanging Leg Raise. It can be tricky
if you don't know what you're doing. Also, if you're looking for a full program, guys,
we have them over at athleanx.com. Make sure you click Subscribe and turn on your Notifications so
you never miss a video when we put one out. All right, guys, see you soon.
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