Pull ups are hailed as the ultimate back builder and signal of upper body strength. But what’s the secret to unlocking them? Lat Pulldowns.
Hidden amongst a jungle of cable machines, you could walk straight past the lat pulldown machine without a second glance. But this cable exercise is unmatched in its ability to isolate and strengthen your lats, helping to improve your horizontal pulling strength (essential for pull-ups) and make you stronger in an overhead position when reaching or lifting weight above your head – whether that’s being better able to reach for items in the top kitchen cupboard, feeling more stable during overhead squats or lifting more weight during your overhead press.
If that wasn’t enough, building this large, wing-shaped muscle will add size and shape to your back, giving the illusion of a smaller waist to sculpt that hourglass figure.
But why, then, when the lat pulldown crops up in the middle of your Pull session on The Gymshark Training App, do you struggle to feel it in your lats – or even anywhere in your back? You’ve tried increasing the weight, or maybe you’ve experimented with a different cable attachment – but still, no luck.
If this sounds like you, then you aren’t alone. With likely just a few small tweaks, you can transform this exercise into the ultimate lat builder.
So whether you want to build a back like Ryan Terry, or get your pull ups as strong as Lucy Haldon's, the cable lat pulldown is the machine you don’t want to skip.
What You'll Find In This Article:
What Muscles Does The Lat Pulldown Work?
How To Set Up The Lat Pulldown Machine
How To Do A Lat Pulldown
Mistakes To Avoid
Lat Pulldown Vs. Pull Ups
Lat Pulldown Grip Variations
FAQs
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What Muscles Does The Lat Pulldown Work?
The lat pulldown is famed for building the latissimus dorsi muscles (or ‘lats’), one of the largest muscles of the back, spanning the width of the middle and lower back. They’re superficial muscles, which is good for us because they sit close to the surface of the skin, so building even a little size in the muscle will show under your Muscle Fit Shirt or Vital Seamless Pullover.
Function Of The Lats
These mighty back muscles not only look impressive but also assist with stabilizing the back while the shoulders are extended. Strong lats will help in any motion when your arms are pulling your body up, improving activities such as:
Pull-ups / Chin-ups
Rock climbing
Swimming
The lats also assist with breathing, helping to lift the rib cage when we inhale and decreasing the size of our trunk when breathing out forcefully, such as during a sneeze or cough [1].
Other Muscles Worked By The Lat Pulldown
Teres Major (A muscle of the shoulder that plays a crucial role in the movement of the shoulder and arms)
Pectoralis major (the largest of four muscles in the chest, the pecs major helps with movement of the arms and shoulder)
Trapezius (the ‘traps’ muscle is a fan-shaped muscle on the top of the back, which is fundamental for the movement of the arms and for maintaining good posture).
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How To Do A Lat Pulldown
So you’re feeling ready to try the lat pulldown—but first, what equipment do we need? Well, this is a machine-based exercise, so all you need is the lat pulldown machine (which most gyms have). If you haven’t located it, take a look near the cables; it’s usually located around there.
How To Set Up The Lat Pulldown Machine
There are a number of cable attachments that easily clip on and off the lat pulldown machine, but to start with, attach the regular lat pulldown bar (the longest bar attachment, which has a slight downward bend on either side).
Once this is attached, you’ll want to adjust the thigh pad on the seat. Look for a button that pulls out, then move the pad so that it rests on the top of your thighs when you are seated on the seat with your feet flat on the ground.
Finally, select a weight with which you can complete 12-15 reps with good form (start light if this is your first time using the lat pulldown machine!).
Then, you’re ready to begin the exercise.
This Is How To Do A Regular Grip Lat Pulldown:
Take hold of the bar with hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Puff your chest out and retract your scapular. Rotate your elbows inward and create tension on the bar by pretending you are holding a pencil between your hands that you are trying to break in half.
Pull the bar down (leaning back slightly) by driving your elbows back and down towards your hips. Pinch your shoulder blades together as you pull down, and stop when the bar reaches your upper chest (not down to your belly button!).
Then, when extending the arms back to the starting position, keep the movement slow and controlled, resisting the urge to let the weight quickly pull you up.
Stop when your arms are fully extended before repeating the movement.
Lat Pulldown Alternative: While the most common way to perform the cable lat pull down is on the lat pulldown machine, if the gym is busy, you can also perform the lat pulldown from a regular cable tower in a half kneeling position. This will use the same muscles, with the addition of core and lower body involvement to stabilize your body. It’s a little harder, and you won't be able to lift as much weight, but it’s a great alternative to those packed gym days, which will save you from waiting around!
Lat Pulldown Mistakes To Avoid
Don’t swing and use momentum for this exercise: Keep the movement controlled, using the full strength of your lats to drive the bar down, leading with your elbows throughout. If you can’t do the lat pull down without swinging, then you need to reduce the weight.
Don’t pull the bar too low: The bar should only come down to your upper chest, not anywhere lower, and never to your belly button!
Don’t lean back too far: You’ll need to lean back a little to prevent the bar from hitting your nose when it comes down, but don’t lean back more than necessary.
Don’t skip the top portion of the movement: That means extending your arms fully before starting the pull again.
If you follow these lat pulldown form tips and avoid these common mistakes, you should feel this exercise exactly where you want it—in your lats.
Lat Pulldown Vs. Pull Ups
The lat pulldown uses exactly the same muscles as the pull-up in a very similar motion. The key difference is that you don’t need to have the strength to pull yourself ‘up’ during a cable lat pulldown, but it’s a great way to build the strength to later allow you to do so. This makes it more accessible than a pull-up and often less intimidating, particularly for beginners.
The lat pulldown machine allows you to adjust the weight accordingly and be specific about the weight used. The ability to reduce the weight and perform drop sets to fully fatigue your muscles and build the maximum volume possible – a type of training style that pull-ups don’t easily lend themselves to.
That being said, there are times when a pull-up is more suitable. For example, if you participate in CrossFit, calisthenics, or gymnastics, pull-ups are likely to be a key part of your training. They’re also a very satisfying movement to master, even for regular gym-goers, providing a full-body workout and a lot more core activation compared to the lat pull down.
Ultimately, it depends on your level of training and goals, but quite often, athletes will use a combination of lat pulldowns and pull-ups in their training.
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Lat Pulldown Grip Variations
So we’ve covered the perfect lat pulldown form, but there’s one other important thing we need to cover. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at the box next to the cable machine with loads of weird and wonderful lat pulldown attachments, with no clue what some of them are for, then you’re not alone. The great thing about these lat pulldown attachments is that they unlock different grip positions and cable lat pulldown variations.
These are:
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown (using the regular lat pulldown bar attachment, this grip position is wider than the regular lat pulldown grip, placing your hands towards each end of the bar.)
Close Grip Lat Pulldown (most commonly using the v bar pulldown attachment in a neutral grip)
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown (also known as the supinated or underhand grip lat pulldown, which is performed on the regular lat pulldown bar attachment)
Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown (This lat pulldown variation places hands in a neutral grip (palms facing each other), most commonly using the Mag Grip attachment or v bar pulldown in a close grip position.)
So how do you know which to choose? Well, to be honest, there isn’t an awful lot of difference between the grips, so if one feels more comfortable than the other, then choose that grip.
However, if you do want to get a bit more particular about things, here are some research studies that clarify things for us:
Grip Width
A study by Andersen et al. (2014) used electromyographic (EMG) activity measurements to analyze muscle activation in the close, medium, and wide grip lat pulldown [2].
Similar lat activation was measured across all three grips during the concentric (downward) phase, but higher lat activation was measured for the medium and wide grip during the eccentric (upward phase).
Higher bicep activation was found for the medium and narrow grip lat pulldown vs the wide grip.
Conclusion: If lat activation is your goal, choose a wide or medium grip.
Grip Position
When it comes to pronated vs. supinated grips, Lusk et al. (2010) compared the lat, bicep, and trap activation of four grips using different grip positions [3]. They found that a pronated grip (both wide and narrow) activated the lats 9% more than a supinated grip. No difference was found for bicep or trap activation.
Signorile et al. (2002) backed up these findings, demonstrating that a pronated grip activated the lats more than a supinated grip [4]. Signorile et al. added that a neutral grip lat pulldown activated the pecs more than other variations (however, if you find the neutral grip more comfortable because it keeps the wrists in a better position, then this may still be a reason to perform lat pulldowns with a neutral grip).
Conclusion: For maximum lat activation, use a pronated (overhand grip).
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Master The Lat Pulldown To Unlock Next-Level Lat Strength
If you’re looking to develop elite pulling power, create a sculpted back that turns heads, or master your pull-ups, it’s time to add lat pulldowns to your back workouts.
If you’ve been struggling with this exercise, make sure these cable lat pulldown form tips (and note the mistakes to avoid), and you’ll soon master the movement. Once you’ve got it, things get a whole lot easier—and it becomes just like riding a bike!
So, if you’re ready to get started, download The Gymshark Training App. Choose a back or pull-focused session and get ready to build your back and take your upper body strength to the next level.
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WRITTEN BY: Alex Kirkup-Lee
Alex is an inhouse Content Writer for Gymshark’s Health & Conditioning categories. A qualified Personal Trainer, CrossFit Level 1 and Functional Fitness Coach, Alex is experienced in training clients from a range of sporting backgrounds. With a passion for functional training, her favorite workout is anything that includes deadlifts, rowing, or wallballs.
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References:
Jeno, S.H. and Varacallo, M. (2019). Anatomy, Back, Latissimus Dorsi. [online] Nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448120/.
Andersen, V., Fimland, M.S., Wiik, E., Skoglund, A. and Saeterbakken, A.H. (2014). Effects of Grip Width on Muscle Strength and Activation in the Lat Pull-Down. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(4), pp.1135–1142. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/jsc.0000000000000232.
Lusk, S.J., Hale, B.D. and Russell, D.M. (2010). Grip Width and Forearm Orientation Effects on Muscle Activity During the Lat Pull-Down. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(7), pp.1895–1900. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181ddb0ab.
Signorile, J.F., Zink, A.J. and 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, [online] 16(4), pp.539–546. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12423182/.
Sperandei, S., Barros, M.A.P., Silveira-Júnior, P.C.S. and Oliveira, C.G. (2009). Electromyographic Analysis of Three Different Types of Lat Pull-Down. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 23(7), pp.2033–2038. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181b8d30a.
Durall, C.J., Manske, R.C. and Davies, G.J. (2001). Avoiding Shoulder Injury From Resistance Training. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 23(5), p.10. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/00126548-200110000-00002.
Yip, C.H.T., Chiu, T.T.W. and Poon, A.T.K. (2008). The relationship between head posture and severity and disability of patients with neck pain. Manual Therapy, [online] 13(2), pp.148–154. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2006.11.002.
