Lat Pulldown

​#The lat pulldown primarily works the latissimus dorsi (lats) muscles, but also engages the teres major, rhomboids, trapezius (traps), rear deltoids,  biceps, and forearms. 

How to do a lat pulldown

• Adjust the pad under your knees, and it’s tight enough that your body won’t lift up
• Grip the bar with an overhead grip. Use straps if needed. You don’t want your grip to be the limiting factor.
• In the top position, your body should be in a vertical position. 
• Pull the bar down to somewhere between your clavicle and sternum. You can lean back approximately 10 degrees, but avoid leaning back to gain momentum.
• At the start of the rep, pull your shoulders down and draw your elbows in toward your body. Don’t yank on the bar using your hands. about pulling from your armpits, then your elbows. As you pull, you can either have a straight back or you can raise your chest
•  Control it on the way up and get a stretch on your lats at the top.

Common Mistakes

• Leaning back too far: While a little lean back is fine, some people lean back so far that they are turning the exercise into a row.
• Using momentum, swinging the bar, using your arms too much, and not controlling the eccentric: You want the lats to be pulling the weight. By yanking the bar with your arms and using momentum, you're taking the tension off the lats and using other muscles to complete the rep. Always control the eccentric. The goal isn't to move the bar from A to B anyway you can. You want to be thinking about using your lats to complete the movement.
• Using too much weight: This often results in the mistakes above. Use a weight that you can control the weight and use the correct form.
• Going too low: Bringing the bar too low and your elbows coming behind your body takes the tension off your lats.
• Not using straps: By using straps, you'll be able to perform more reps with the same weight, as it removes your grip being the limiting factor.