How To Use The Lat Pull-Down Machine Correctly

If you’re serious about building a lean, muscular, powerful physique, you’ll need to ensure that you train all of your major body parts, including those that you can’t generally see without looking in a mirror, I.E the back.

A powerful back can help a physique to look especially aesthetically pleasing, yet for some odd reason, people seem to neglect and slack when it comes to their back training, typically because they can’t see their backs without looking in a mirror at a certain angle.

A solid back routine is absolutely ideal for anybody looking to improve their physique and as far as exercises go, the lat pull-down machine is absolutely ideal, and extremely effective. Here’s how to do this simple yet highly beneficial back exercise.

How To Correctly Use The Lat Pull Down – Explanation guide:

1. Begin by taking a seat and adjusting the leg pad so that it’s comfortable but prevents your legs from moving.
2. Once you’re happy with the position, stand up from the seat, grab the bar with a wide grip, (for this example we’ll be looking at wide grip pull-downs, as they tend to target the lats the best) with your hands wider than your shoulders in an overhand grip, and whilst holding the bar, sit down in the seat and place your legs under the pads.
3. Extend your arms over your head, to form a V shape, keep your abdominals tight, and lean back ever so slightly.
4. Next, keeping your body still, exhale, and slowly pull the bar down to you, so that it just grazes your chest. Your elbows should now be pointing backwards. Breathe in, and extend your arms fully over your head until you feel a deep stretch in your back.
5. The weight stack must not slam, but should come pretty close to touching. Repeat for as many reps as desired.
6. Remember to keep your body straight and to not lean back for momentum. Never bounce the weight off your chest, and always keep your back as straight as you can.