Pull-ups are an advanced exercise that targets the muscles of your back. You do a pull-up by lifting your body weight up to a suspended bar. Not everyone has the upper body strength to perform a full pull-up, but you can work your back muscles in the same way by doing a lat pull-down exercise instead.
BioMechanics
To do a pull-up, you pull your body up; for a pull-down, you pull a weighted bar down. However, both exercises have the same movement patterns, mainly shoulder adduction and scapular depression. Shoulder adduction involves moving your upper arms down to the side of your body. Scapular depression involves pulling your shoulder blades down toward the floor. Whether you are pulling yourself up or pulling weights down, your body performs the same movements.
Muscles Worked
Pull-ups and lat pull-downs target the latissimus dorsi muscles. These are the large muscles that cover most of your back, one on each side. The latissimus dorsi attaches to your hip bones and ribs on one end, and your humerus, the upper arm bone, on the other end. Other muscles assist the lats during these exercises, including the biceps muscles and smaller muscles in your upper back.
Lat Pulldown
Stand at a lat pull-down machine, and grab the bar with a wider than shoulder-width, overhand grip. Sit down and slide your knees under the support pads. Start with your arms extended overhead. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down. Pull the bar toward your upper chest. Allow your elbows to move past your sides. Pause for a count when the bar almost touches your upper chest or sternum. Slowly release, extending your arms overhead.
Grip Variation
Pull-ups have several grip variations. You can use an overhand, underhand, wide, narrow or neutral grip. Different grips work your back muscles at varying angles, providing a new feel to each exercise. You can use the same grips for a lat pull-down. With the lat bar, use a wide, narrow, overhand or underhand grip. You can also choose different cable attachments that offer a neutral grip.
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