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Overview
Lat pull-downs are great for developing the width of the upper lats. This exercise also emphasizes the rear shoulders (posterior deltoids), biceps, and forearms. While pull-downs are not a replacement for doing wide-grip chin-ups in your workout, one great advantage is that you can easily vary the weight to enable you to perform a greater number of reps.
Setup
The pull-down machine has an adjustable seat and knee restraints to help hold you down as you lift heavy weights. Adjust the seat up or down as needed so that knee restraints hold firmly against your thighs when you are seated. Place a pull-down bar on the end of the cable, take a wide grip on the bar, and sit down with your thighs beneath the restraints. Allow the weight on the bar to pull your shoulders upward and stretch out your lat muscles, and be sure to keep your back arched throughout the movement.
Movement
Pull the bar directly downward while keeping your back arched throughout the movement. Allow your elbows to travel downward and to the rear until the bar almost touches your upper chest. Hold in this position for a moment before slowly allowing the bar to raise back up to the starting position. Let the weight stretch your lats for a moment before repeating this movement.
Tips From the Trainer
This movement can also be performed by bringing the bar behind the neck until it touches the top of your shoulders. This will place greater stress on the rear delts and the upper portion of your lats. This variation of the exercise is generally considered dangerous, however, and behind-the-neck pulldowns aren't necessarily more effective in helping you to achieve your goals.
There are a variety of different attachments that can be used when performing pull-downs. Be sure to experiment with these different attachments and incorporate them into your workout. Each attachment positions the hands differently and hits your back muscles from a different angle. Some may point your palms forward while others point the palms inward using narrow, medium, and wide grips. By using these different attachments, a wide variety of exercises are available using the lat pull-down machine.
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