Hey, what's up guys?
I'm Scott from muscularstrength.com and today we're going to continue the
versus series by comparing the lat push down to the dumbbell pull over.
Now if you've missed any of the videos in this series,
I'll post the link to the entire playlist at the end of the video.
And as always, if you have a suggestion for a future versus series video,
you can let me know by commenting below.
So this topic came up because I was recently training at a 24 hour fitness while
at the LA fit expo and I met a subscriber who was training back and we both
arrived at the cable machine at the exact same time and we had that awkward
moment where we're both like you're going to use that, we can jump in together.
Okay, cool.
But luckily we both had the same exercise in mind anyways and we ended up
training together and during the sets we started chatting about different back
exercises and he asked me if I ever do the dumbbell pullover.
Essentially he was asking which exercise would produce the most gains or a bigger
and thicker back. And that's what brings us here.
So to properly answer that question,
we first need to talk about the differences between the two exercises.
But before we get started, Jed North has just released a new line.
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so first up is the lat push down. Now to perform a lat push down,
you need access to a cable machine and a straight bar attachment,
then step a few feet away from the machine. So even that, the starting position,
there's constant tension on your back.
Next while maintaining a slight bend in your elbows. Bend your knees,
keep your chest up and arch your back to create as much of a stretch as possible
in your lats. Once in place,
push the bar towards your hips without changing the angle of your elbows and as
the bar reaches your thighs,
continue to stick your chest up and flex your back.
Then return to the starting position while controlling the negative and repeat for
reps, but some key notes guys,
make sure you're bracing your abs throughout the entire set and don't bend your
elbows more than just slightly. Also,
don't grab the bar too wide because this will reduce the overall range of
motion, restricting the effectiveness of the movement.
Now this exercise primarily targets the lats, posterior deltoids,
major and triceps.
The lats are responsible for extending and immediately rotating the upper arms
in towards your body. The posterior deltoid is on the back of the shoulder.
It helps pull your arm down and back during the movement.
The major is a small muscle that spans from the bottom of your
shoulder blade to the side of your arm and helps extend the shoulder and the
triceps helped bring your arms down, aiding your lats.
As for the dumbbell pullover,
this exercise can be executed in two different laying positions.
The first is by laying flat on a bench,
and the second is by laying off to the side of the bench with just your upper back
on the pad. However,
the dumbbell pullover is very unique in that it can be used to target chest or
back,
and your starting position is going to help in determining which muscle you're
targeting. So if we're trying to isolate more lats,
you would want to use the second starting position and also focus on pulling
with your elbows,
keeping your biceps and grip disengaged as much as you can without dropping the
weight. In fact,
I've actually made a video in the past discussing how to use this exercise for
chest or lats. So if you want to dive a bit deeper into that subject,
I'll drop a link to that video in my pin comment.
But why does a starting position change how we target the muscles with this
exercise? Well,
it's because in the second variation you're actually able to dip your hips and
extend your lower back a lot more,
which will allow you to get a better stretch and contraction on the lats.
So really try to let your hips sink below the surface of the bench when doing
this exercise.
So then which one should you incorporate into your next back workout? Well,
it's a pretty cut and dry case, right? Well there's a twist, it's neither guys.
In fact,
I would suggest that we combine elements of both exercises such as the hand
positioning of the dumbbell pullover with the overall form of the lat push down
and you get the straight arm lat pull down.
Now you'll activate your abs a bit more for stability with this exercise,
specifically speaking your trunk flexors or the rectus abdominis and external
obliques and your triceps will engage a bit more as well because you'll need to
contract them to keep your elbow straight.
But in terms of overall stretch,
lat activation and mind muscle connection benefits,
this exercise is going to be the real winner for the versus series video and for
a few really good reasons. Number one,
it offers greater range of motion than lat push downs. Number two,
if you have limited overhead shoulder mobility,
you won't be able to perform the dumbbell pullover.
And number three because of the movement pattern,
you will feel more overall lat activation,
especially in the lower and middle part of the muscle.
But one last thing before you run off to the gym to try this exercise.
None of these exercises guys are what I would consider to be a mass builder,
okay?
They're more like assistant mass builders and what I mean by that is exercises
like pull-ups bent over rows or tee by rows should be stables in your
programming as they will allow you to lift the most weight and produce the best
gains. However, exercises like the lat push down straight arm
pull down or dumbbell pullover should be utilized as either the first exercise
on your back training day to pre fatigue your back.
For better mind muscle connection throughout your workout or as a finisher to
push more overall volume into your workout or maybe your full body training.
It might be a good idea to toss these exercises in as a superset on your high
volume days, but no matter how you plan to incorporate the exercises,
I would still stick with a straight arm pull down using a rope to maximizing the
efficiency of trying to target the lats.
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comment below to the quiz and as always more good stuff coming soon.
Hey guys,
as promised over here is the link to the entire playlist of my versus series
videos. And if my program select a tool peaked your interest,
just click the link down here to be brought directly to it.
No BS or fluff training guys,
just programming around exercises and training principles that drive results.
See you next time.