The lat --- short for latissimus --- pulldown is a compound, multi-joint exercise for your back muscles. The pulldown movement mimics a pullup, except you pull the weight down to you instead of pulling your body up to a bar. You can emphasize different muscles depending on which variation of the pulldown exercise you do.
Execution
To do the lat pulldown exercise, take an overhand grip on the lat bar with your hands just wider than your shoulders. Sit on the seat and slide your thighs under the leg pads. Start with your arms extended overhead, but maintain a slight bend in your elbows to protect the joints from hyperextension. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down. Bend your elbows and pull the lat bar down until it almost touches your chest.
Variations
Change the feel and emphasis of the pulldown exercise by changing your grip. The standard grip is a wide grip --- just outside of your shoulders. With a lat bar, you can also use a close grip, hands inside your shoulders, or a reverse grip, with your palms facing you. A V-handle allows you to use a close, neutral grip --- palms facing each other.
Function
The lateral pulldown exercise works the muscles in your back. The primary mover is the latissimus dorsi, which attaches to your ribs, vertebrae and hipbone. It runs across your back, around your side and attaches on the other end to the humerus, your upper arm bone.
Other muscles assist the latissimus dorsi during the pulldown exercise. These secondary movers include your trapezius, rhomboids, biceps and chest muscles.
Considerations
Changing your grip for the lateral pulldown exercise changes the muscle emphasis. A study published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" used electromyographic equipment to measure muscle activity during the lat pulldown exercise. Researchers found that using a V-bar emphasized the chest muscles more and using a wide grip emphasized the latissimus dorsi more.
The National Council on Strength and Fitness cautions against pulling the lat bar down behind your neck. This places the shoulders in extreme external rotation and forces your neck out of neutral alignment.
References
- ExRx.net: Cable Close Grip Pulldown
- American Council on Exercise: Lat Pulldown
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; A Comparative Electromyographical Investigation of Muscle Utilization Patterns Using Various Hand Positions during the Lat Pull-down; Joseph E. Signorile, et al.; November 2002
- ExRx.net: Latissimus Dorsi
- National Council on Strength and Fitness: Contraindicated Exercises
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