The Pulldown

“The pull down is a strength training exercise designed to develop the latissimus dorsi muscle. It performs the functions of downward rotation and depression of the scapulae combined with adduction and extension of the shoulder joint.”(Wikpedia1) The machine that is used is the cable pulldown. The bar that is used on the machine is called the lat bar.  There are several different forms of a pulldown.  The few that I am going to address are the wide grip, narrow overhand  grip, and narrow underhand grip or reverse grip.

The wide grip pull down is the most common pull down. The form of a wide grip pull down is: toes pointed forward planted firmly to the ground, knees locked in a brace that goes over your thighs, back is straight, arms are straight gripping the bar right after the curve on it. The movement of the exercise is, while keeping your back straight, pull the bar right in front of your face.  At the ending position of the exercise your body should form a W shape.  The muscles that are worked in a wide grip pull down are the latissimus dorsi. The purpose of the wide grip is to build more width to your lats.

                

The narrow overhand grip pull down is similar to the wide grip, however, instead of your hand placement being wide, your hands will be thumb's width away from the center of the bar.  The rest of your form will be the same as wide grip.  The muscles worked are mainly the lats along with Rhomboids, Teres Major, and Trapezius. The purpose of this grip is to build a more dense back with more muscle definition.

         

 

The narrow undergrip pulldown mimics the motion of a chin up.  It is the same form as the wide and narrow overhand with your toes pointed forward, feet firmly planted on the ground, thighs braced, and back straight.  The grip on the bar is similar to narrow overhand except you will supinate your hands and grab the bar from the back with your fingers facing you. The muscles worked in this type of pulldown are mainly lats but with the change of grip it also works posterior deltoids, rhomboids, pectoralis and upper and lower trapezius. The purpose of this grip is to widen your lats but also build a more dense upper and middle back.  Since it mimics the motion of a standard chin up, it is a great starting exercise for people that want to chin ups on their own but are not strong enough.  

           

So we went over three different grips on the pull down and their importance. The main muscle we focused on the latissimus dorsi.   Next week we are going to go over bench press, specifically close grip, neutral grip, and wide grip.  

                                                                                                                    

1Pulldown exercise. (2016, September 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:35, September 29, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pulldown_exercise&oldid=738172367

Pictures from

Pulldown exercise. (2016, September 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:35, September 29, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pulldown_exercise&oldid=738172367