What's up guys, Jeff Cavaliere, ATHLEANX.COM
Another ATHLEAN-XPRESS video for you, today we're going to breakdown the Lat Pulldown.
You go into any gym, you'll see guys doing this exercise so many different ways but there's
a reason for that.
There's a lot of different things you can do to make the exercise look and feel different.
First of all, we have a lot of different options. You see I can do this exercise with a rope
and a really narrow grip.
Or I can do this exercises with a straight bar, like I'm showing you here. Or I can even
do this exercise with separately controlled dual handles, like I'm showing you here.
But that's not all, I can also change the direction of where I pull these things. I
can pull them behind my head, as I'm showing you here.
Or I can pull them in front of my body or I can pull them through my body, as I show
you here, right in line with my ears.
Lastly, the angle of my body can be different, I can be pulling this thing with my body upright
or I can be pulling whatever implement it is with my body leaned back.
Or even in some cases guys move forward to back during each and every rep.
The thing is, Which One is Right?
Well that's why we made this video and I want to make sure I cover that here for you, so
you can identify specifically for you next time you do it.
Ok, let's start by showing one thing we don't want to do so we can eliminate one of the
options. And that guys is the Behind the Neck version.
I've discussed before when we've talked about the Behind the Neck Shoulder Press, the troublesome
position that that type of exercises puts your shoulder joint in.
Remember we have a scapular plane, which is a little bit in front of our body, that our
arms like to be elevated in.
Whether they're going up or whether they're coming down, they're still moving in this
joint and they're moving the same way.
We want to try to get those arms in that position. So putting our arms way back behind our head
to do a Lat Pulldown is directly going against what we're recommending.
And it's the same thing as I said that applies to Behind the Neck Shoulder Press. So first
of all, get rid of that option. That makes things a little bit easier.
What's left are we have the version in front of our body or the version through our body.
And that is determined by What is Your Goal?
You see when you are more upright, your Lats are at a more advantageous position to do
the work, ok.
And your Lats are going to want to pull down, abduct, bring your elbows down into your body.
If we want to get more of the upper and mid back, you can see as I show you here, the
upper Traps, the Rhomboids, the lower Traps, all of them are actually doing more work when
I start leaning my body backwards.
It's almost like a Reverse Incline Bench. If you thought about what the Incline Bench
works, it obviously works right here, about this level of muscle here on our upper body.
Well when we start to do the exact opposite, like we are where the Lat Pulldown done that
way, then we're working the same muscles back on the other side around the same level.
So we want to make sure that if we're trying to target the mid back, you do it with a little
bit more of a leanback position.
But if you're going after Lat size and definition guys, then you need to be more upright.
So that brings us to the third part of the equation here. And that's what bar should
you be using, or what attachment should you be using?
For me, again if you're looking for Lat development, you need one that allows you to stay upright
and therefore pull down and through the head.
So as I show you here, I'm pulling down and through my head, only, optimally, with the
dual handle attachments.
Because I can actually pull them right in line with my ears and keep them right down
the midline of my body.
Something I'm not going to be able to do with a bar unless I have one of those special bars
that have the bend over the top of my head.
You probably won't find that in most commercial gyms.
If we're trying to work, again, mid back, it's ok to use either the dual handles or
a rope or the straight bar attachment.
Because it really doesn't matter, it's still all going to fall in front of your body. And
all three of those will work just as well as the others.
So there you have it guys. We don't just tell you what the exercises are, we tell you why
you should be doing them and what the reason should be for you to make that decision.
That's what ATHLEANX is about. It's about putting the science back behind the strength
so you guys have a different appreciation and understanding for what it is for when
you're in the gym.
If you want to get a complete program that trains you and shows you exactly what you
should be doing and why.
Then head to ATHLEANX.COM right now and grab our 90 day training program.
In the meantime guys, if you found this video helpful, make sure you leave a thumbs up.
And if you want to see me break down more of these exercises in this way, then let me
know what it is you would like me to go over and I'd be happy to do that in a future video.
Alright guys, I'll be back here soon. In the meantime, I'll see you guys at ATHLEANX.COM.