Exercise Spotlight - The Lat Pulldown

​The Lat Pulldown is an upper body compound exercises that targets the pulling muscles of the back and arms. Pretty much every gym has one of these and that means pretty much everyone will have tried it. That means that like the Bench Press it is most often performed poorly or with little thought. The loadable nature of the Pulldown makes it perfect for total beginners as you can put on any weight you like, this overhead pulling motion is normally lacking and is very difficult to train outside of a gym setting unless you can do chin-ups (which very few can!). As the motion exactly replicates the pulling motion for a chin/pullup it is perfect for getting in higher volume muscle and strength work to assist with building towards your first bodyweight pullup.

Exercise Suitability:
Beginners: ✔️
Advanced: ✔️

What are the key technique points?

• Sit tall on the seat, brace your abs and lean back very slightly so you can pull the bar towards your shoulders without hitting your head
• Before you start pulling, squeezing your shoulders down and back so that when you finish the movement your shoulders are in normal posture and not excessively shrugged
• Lead with the elbows, pulling them straight down until the bar gets to around chin or shoulder height
• Return the weight to the top by controlling the movement on the way up.

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