Introduction:
The lat pull down is one of the most effective exercises for building the lats and strengthening the back. It’s also easy to perform and requires minimal equipment, making it an excellent choice for busy exercisers who want to get strong back muscles without investing in new machines or taking too much time out of their day. These 10 best lat pull down workouts will help you build strength and muscle while developing your core as well.
1) Go Back To Basics:
For most people, the back and arms are the most difficult muscle groups to train. Usually because it's a lot of work and few exercises target them as much as they do other body parts. When it comes to building a muscular back, there are tons of options for working your lats, rhomboids, and traps; one of the best is the lat pull down.
2) Do it at the Gym:
Work out your entire back - and improve its health - with just one exercise: the lat pulldown. Lean against a lat pulldown machine, with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees bent. Hold a bar with both hands, palms up, about shoulder-width apart (or wider), on the bar holders above the machine’s arm pads. Stretch your arms out straight in front of you; then bend them at the elbows so that you have pulled yourself down onto the seat and are holding the bar below its arm pads. Squeeze your shoulder blades together as you push yourself back into an upright position until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Return smoothly and forcefully without letting go of tension in your shoulders until they are lowered completely into starting position again.
3) Play it Safe:
By isolating this muscle, lat pull downs are a great way to target your back and strengthen it. Simply using the weight of your body is not enough to keep yourself healthy, so find a lat pull down machine near you or at the gym and start training! Try working up slowly until you can manage 40 pounds on the bar. Always take care when adjusting weights that you don't need help from an instructor or coach first.
4) Hit Both Hands:
Hitting both hands is the most important part of a lat pull down workout. This will allow you to activate more muscle fibers, maximize your time in a workout, and see faster results in your body. The basic idea for hitting both hands is to take both bars and put them over the face with palms facing down. Take the bar on the right side of your face first, then slide it up into position. Next, take the left side of your face and do exactly what you did with the right side (put it over your face and slide it up). Finally, take one bar off of your face at a time by bending at elbows and keeping palms facing down.
5) Use Variation:
Since your upper back will be involved in the lat pull down exercise, it can't hurt to target that muscle group with some of these back exercises. I mean, as long as you're aching for a new back workout!
Lie face down on an incline bench with your arms fully extended and your hands gripping the barbell. Slowly roll the bar over your head while extending and arching your body off the bench until you feel tension at the top of your shoulders. Then slowly roll back down through an arched position until you are lying face-down again. Perform this exercise 5 times before switching to do pushups.
6) Target Your Weaknesses:
It can be tough to know where you should start when it comes to correcting your weaknesses. Here are 10 workouts that will help you do just that: 1) Wide-Grip Seated Cable Row
2) Low-Pulley Underhand Grip Chin-Up
3) Dumbbell Bent Over Rear Delt Raise
4) Lying Dumbbell Flyes
7) Use Equipment For Added Resistance:
Adding weight or resistance bands are the easiest ways to increase the intensity of a lat pull down workout. Adding weight can be achieved by using dumbbells or plates, and adding bands is achieved by stretching them over one end of the bench before resting your feet on the other end. Ensure that you’re using proper form before adding any additional resistance though. For safety reasons, it’s best to avoid throwing weights or big bulky items such as books from a height towards yourself or doing anything else involving head first contact with your body during this exercise.
8) Go Heavy Or Go Home:
Pull downs are a great way to target your back muscles and they also give you a chance to use heavier weights than with other exercises. When you do this exercise, make sure that you keep your body as straight as possible while you're pulling down. This is because leaning forward when doing this exercise can lead to problems in your neck and lower back. So don't be lazy when you do this one! A few other tips for doing pull downs correctly: use a long-handled bar if possible so that the weight doesn't hang in front of your face, put just enough tension on the pulley system so that there's minimal movement at the bottom of the movement (where it has the least effect), and perform two sets of 10 repetitions each day if at all possible.
9) Warm Up Properly:
Start by doing five minutes of easy calisthenics, such as jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches, or lunges. After five minutes of warm up exercises, proceed with your workout and pick two to three different types of lat pull down exercises that you can complete in sets. After every set use a 15 second break before proceeding on to the next set. This will help you work out for a period of 45 minutes and make sure that you are giving your body ample time to recover between each set.
10) Cool Down and Stretch:
The lats are a large muscle group in the back. They connect from the spinal column to the humerus, the top arm bone, and help move you in many directions. To avoid injury, it's important to cool down and stretch after a heavy workout. Here are 10 great lat pull down workouts that will help you become stronger:
-Pull down exercise on an incline bench (5 sets of 8 reps)
-Use a single handle and hold with both hands (3 sets of 12 reps)
-Do wide grips when using both handles (3 sets of 12 reps) -Use a V bar attachment with narrow grip widths or V grip only when using just one handle (3 sets of 12 reps)