#SINGLE ARM LATERAL PULLDOWN HOW TO#

(Follow Cristian on Instagram, Regression The following video, courtesy of Onnit-certified Durability Coach, Cristian Plascencia, is a sample routine you can use before an upper-body or back workout. While the straight-arm pulldown can stretch your lats and increase mobility on its own, you should warm up your upper body before you perform it.

#SINGLE ARM LATERAL PULLDOWN HOW TO#

How To Stretch Before The Straight-Arm Pulldown The movement is isolated to flexion and extension of the shoulders, so it prevents unwanted motion or stress in the lower back. Use it in place of rows or pulldowns if you have a lower-back injury.This will pump an enormous amount of blood into the area, which by itself may be a mechanism for muscle growth. Try it at the end of a workout for 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps.Because it provides an intense lat stretch at the top (starting) position, the straight-arm pulldown is also useful at the beginning of a workout to improve back and shoulder mobility.

Perform the straight-arm pulldown before deadlifts or other back exercises to prepare your lats for the effort and enhance their muscle recruitment.

The ability to keep the bar in contact with your body throughout a deadlift creates a stronger, more stable movement and reduces the risk of injury. The straight-arm pulldown strengthens the lats in the same way that they’re used when deadlifting-pulling the bar tight to your body (“bending” it around the shins at the bottom of the lift/around the hips at the top).

Greater range of motion than standard pulldowns.

Keeping the arms straight prevents the mid-back and biceps from taking over the movement, so you can focus on the lat muscles you’re trying to work more directly. The straight-arm pulldown is ideal for lifters who can’t feel their lats working on traditional pulldown exercises. Muscles Worked in the Straight-Arm Pulldown In any case, it’s important to keep the elbows extended, as any bending will cause the triceps to get involved and reduce the involvement of the lats. You can also do this exercise as a single arm lat pulldown to further work the muscles involved. Another option is to use a band, which will increase tension in the end range of motion, helping you get a greater contraction at the bottom of the movement. If possible, use two rope attachments on the same cable so that you can use a wider grip and get an even greater contraction in the end position. As a result, you’ll get greater muscle activation. The straight-arm pulldown may also be done with a lat-bar or straight-bar attachment, but the rope allows for better shoulder positioning and a slightly greater range of motion. Step 6: Reverse the motion slowly to extend your arms again. Step 5: Slowly drive your arms down to your sides in an arcing motion with elbows locked out, so your hands end up in line with your hips, or just behind them. You should feel a stretch on your lats (the muscles along the sides of your back). Step 4: Step back from the station a bit so that you feel tension on the cable and your arms are fully extended overhead. Bend your hips back until your torso is at a 30–45-degree angle. Your torso should feel like one tight, solid column. Step 3: Draw your ribs down, tuck your tailbone under, and brace your core muscles. Step 2: Draw your shoulder blades back together and down, as if you were trying to stuff them into your back pockets. Grasp an end in each hand and face the cable station. Step 1: Attach a rope handle to the high pulley of a cable station. As a result, it’s a great movement for focusing on lat development.

The straight-arm pulldown trains the latissimus dorsi through a long range of motion, and is helpful for people who have trouble feeling their backs work on conventional pulldown exercises. In this case, you perform the movement standing and keep your elbows locked out the entire time. The straight-arm pulldown exercise is a variation of the classic lat-pulldown.

Single arm lateral pulldown