Secrets of the lat pulldown uncovered...
Walk into any gym in the world, and there's a good chance you'll
find a lat pulldown machine in there somewhere. The lat pulldown
is a good back exercise for people who can't do chin ups.
There are, however, many conflicting opinions on the "right"
way to perform the lat pulldown. To clear up some of the confusion,
scientists from the University of Miami have tested four variations
of the lat pulldown.
Lat pulldown
Although it's called the lat pulldown because it works the latissimus
dorsi (a large muscle in your back), several other muscles that
produce movement at the shoulder joint are also involved.
The researchers measured muscle activity in the teres major (said
to be latissimus dorsi's little "helper"), the rear deltoid
(the back of your shoulder), pectoralis major (the chest) and the
long head of the triceps (the back of your arm) during the following
variations of the lat pulldown.
Wide
grip front pulldown
Underhand
front pulldown
Close
grip lat pulldown
Wide
grip rear pulldown
For the wide grip pulldown, the hands were spaced roughly one and
one-half times shoulder-width apart. For the underhand front pulldown,
the hands were placed shoulder-width apart (in line with those bony
bits on top of your shoulder). The results showed wide variations
in muscle activity during each exercise.
• The wide grip front pulldown led to the greatest muscle
activity for the latissimus dorsi. There were no major
differences when comparing the underhand front pulldown, the wide
grip rear pulldown, and the close grip lat pulldown.
• Activity in the pectoralis major was greatest during
the close grip lat pulldown, followed by the underhand front pulldown,
then the wide grip front pulldown. The wide grip rear pulldown
produced the least muscle activity in the chest.
• Muscle activity in the rear deltoid was greatest
during the close grip lat pulldown, followed by the wide grip
front pulldown and underhand front pulldown, which both produced
similar levels of muscle activity. There was little activity in
the rear deltoid during the wide grip rear pulldown.
• For the teres major, all exercises produced similar
levels of muscle activity, though it was greatest during the wide
grip front pulldown.
• The long head of the triceps was most active during
the wide grip front pulldown, followed by the wide grip rear pulldown.
It was least active during the close grip lat pulldown and underhand
front pulldown.
Changing your hand position and the type of bar you use makes a
big difference to muscle activation during the lat pulldown. If
you want to train the latissimus dorsi muscle, but you're not strong
enough to do chin ups, the wide grip front pulldown produces the
greatest muscle activity during both the concentric and eccentric
phases of the movement.
About the Author
 Christian Finn holds a master's degree in exercise science, is a certified personal trainer and has been featured on BBC TV and radio, as well as in Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Fit Pro, Zest and other popular fitness magazines.
If you want better, faster results from the time you spend in the gym, click here now for instant access to his step-by-step muscle-building and fat-burning workout routines.
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Reference
Signorile, J.F., Zink, A.J., & Szwed, S.P. (2002). A comparative
electromyographical investigation of muscle utilization patterns
using various hand positions during the lat pull-down. Journal
of Strength and Conditioning Research, 16, 539-546
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