Whether you should focus on pulldowns or pull-ups can depend on a few factors, including your experience and your goals. From technique, programming, and step-by-step execution, here is everything you need to know about these foundational back-building exercises.

Lat Pulldown and Pull-Up

• Exercise Differences
• Exercise  Similarities
• Technique Differences
• How to Do the Lat Pulldown
• How to Do the Pull-Up
• When to Program the Best Pulling Movement for Your Goal

Exercise Differences

Recognising the differences between the lat pulldown and the pull-up can put you on the fast track for better results. Some key differences involve the equipment used, or lack thereof. Some relatively subtle, but significant, differences in programming can also be found.

Human Body vs. Machine

The major visual difference between the lat pulldown and pull-up is the fact that one is a bodyweight exercise and the other requires a full cable station. This brings with it two major considerations.

The lat pulldown uses a specialized cable stack pulley system to anchor your body in place while you move an adjustable weight stack, whereas the pull-up simply requires a fixed overhead bar that can support your body weight.

This can affect the relative ease of implementing each exercise into your program based upon availability of equipment, as well as your own capabilities — body weight pull-ups may be too challenging for beginners, while pulldowns can accommodate lifters of any experience or strength level.

As a calisthenics exercise, the pull-up places a greater stabilization challenge on your entire body, from your back and shoulders through your core to your lower body. The stable machine and fixed anchor points provided by the pads on a lat pulldown machine make it tremendously easier to take a seat and get to work. The machine itself provides stabilization, so you can focus targeting your back muscles.

Loading

One of the largest differences between the lat pulldown and pull-up is the range of resistance you can use. The lat pulldown is a highly adjustable machine that simply requires you to add more plates or lower the pin on the weight stack further and further — sometimes exceeding a comparable pull-up load.

The lat pulldown is more scalable than a pull-up — the resistance can be quickly and easily reduced to allow relatively weaker lifters to perform the exercise. Aside from getting creative using resistance bands to assist a pull-up or having access to a dedicated assisted pull-up machine, it can be quite challenging to overcome the baseline level (your body weight) needed to perform a pull-up. This is especially true if you want to perform multiple repetitions per set.

Sets and Repetitions

Similar to the differences in loading, the lat pulldown and pull-up are often paired with distinct set and repetition schemes. For many people, the pull-up is an upper body strength movement that lives in a lower repetition range. Whereas, the lat pulldown typically exists as an effective muscle-building tool that thrives with more moderate repetitions.

You’ll often see pull-ups performed for two to three sets of anywhere from one to 10 repetitions. While the pulldown could be performed with much heavier weights for low-rep sets, it’s nearly impossible to maintain strict form with such programming due to poor leverage. Having your lower body and core locked into position becomes a limiting factor.

In contrast, a lat pulldown is typically done for two to four sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Reaching that type of volume with pull-ups is typically reserved for experienced lifters of a significant strength level, either performed with added weight or with body weight alone.

Exercise Similarities

While there can be several key differences, the lat pulldown and pull-up do share some significant overlaps to consider, as well. They will hit many of the same primary muscle groups, both require some degree of overhead mobility, and the exercises share many basic variations.

Muscles Worked

The lat pulldown and pull-up primarily target your latissimus dorsi — a large swath of muscle located on either lateral side of your back. While the latissimus dorsi (lats) are the prime mover, both exercises will also heavily involve your upper back, biceps, and varying degrees of core musculature to stay in an efficient pulling position.

Mobility Requirements

The vertical pulling pattern used in both exercises requires you to be able to successfully, comfortably, and safely get your arms fully extended overhead. While that may sound simple enough, shoulder mobility and joint health is a very important component of avoiding training-related aches or pains in the long-term.

If you can achieve the overhead position effectively, both the lat pulldown and pull-up can be effective at maintaining your overhead mobility, especially when you focus on working through a full range of motion in the stretched (overhead) position.

Grip Variations

When it’s time to introduce exercise variety, the lat pulldown and pull-up can both allow narrow or wide hand positions, which can alter the muscle emphasis from your lats to your upper back or even your biceps. (1)

Both exercises can also be performed using unique grip orientations, from neutral-grip to overhand or even freely rotating (using individual handles or straps to allow your wrists to rotate during each repetition). Like grip width, changing the orientation of your hands and forearms is an effective way of altering muscle recruitment by making slight adjustments. (2)

Technique Differences

The lat pulldown and pull-up have some definitive technique differences. Because one is a calisthenics exercise and the other is performed while seated on a machine, your overall body position will affect exercise technique.

Hollow Body

The hollow body is a full-body bracing technique that helps to create a rigid body posture. The high level of total body tension it creates allows you to better control your movement through space. This technique is especially important during the pull-up, where you will be freely moving without any anchor points aside from your grip.

In order to successfully perform a pull-up, establishing a strong hollow body technique is essential to maintain stability. The lat pulldown, on the other hand, provides this stability on your behalf by offering leg pads to hold you in place.

Torso Angle

Your torso angle during each repetition is a major difference between the pull-up and lat pulldown. Because your lower body is secured under the knee pads, the lat pulldown allows you to manipulate your torso angle to target subtly different muscles. A greater degree of backward lean could emphasize more of your upper back, whereas a more vertical torso angle puts your upper back into a less advantageous position and emphasizes lat activation.

On the other hand, fairly consistent technique and upper body position is required for a proper pull-up. From a dead-hang position (gripping the bar with your arms fully straightened), you must set your shoulder blades by first “shrugging” yourself up. In doing so, you will be able to better leverage your latissimus dorsi to complete the rep and actually pull you up.

When you get this technical cue right, you will have a slightly backward-leaning torso angle while performing each repetition, but nowhere near the freedom of motion provided by the lat pulldown machine.

Lower Body Position

Your lower body positioning will certainly be a notable difference in each exercise. Similar to the stability requirements during the hollow body technique in the pull-up, your leg position will be affected by the need to stay rigid. Fully lock your legs out, leaving them either hanging straight down or angled slightly ahead of your body. You cannot achieve a strong, stable hollow body position with bent legs.

With a lat pulldown, you will be in a completely seated position with your feet flat on the ground driving your knees up against the pad. While some lifters disregard the knee pad and let their heels leave the ground during pulldowns, this poor form doesn’t add any benefit and only reduces your stability and upper body pulling power.

How to Do the Lat Pulldown

Sit on the lat pulldown machine and adjust the knee pads to snuggly anchor your legs in place with your feet flat on the ground. Stand back up and grab the lat pulldown bar evenly, about shoulder-width apart, with an overhand grip.

Brace your full body and sit down, securing your legs under the knee pads. Squeeze the bar tight, brace your core, drive your legs into the knee pads by performing a static calf raise.

Lean back slightly and pull the bar toward your chest. Focus on feeling your back squeeze in the bottom position before straightening your arms to return to the starting position.

Form Tip: Be diligent to avoid momentum. Secure your body in the machine and brace hard – only move the bar by squeezing your back and pulling with your arms. Do not excessively sway your torso backwards. 

Benefits of the Lat Pulldown

• The lat pulldown has a high degree of stability, making it a more effective way to focus on the back muscles.
• The pulldown machine offers highly scalable loading, making it easy to perform for lifters of all experience levels.
• Multiple handle attachments allow many variations for different benefits.
• It’s relatively safe to take this exercise close to muscle failure.

Lat Pulldown Variations

The majority of effective lat pulldown variations will capitalize on different handle attachments to slightly change your technique and alter muscle recruitment.

Close-Grip Pulldown

Close-grip pulldowns draw your hands slightly closer together than the standard, shoulder-width grip. This increases the amount of leverage your lats have and slightly increases the range of motion — both of which can lead to a stronger training stimulus.

The close-grip pulldown can make the exercise more effective when you’re just learning general technique by delivering a strong training stimulus without needing heavy weight.

Wide-Grip Pulldown

Wide-grip lat pulldowns place your hands slightly farther apart than the standard issue grip placement. This will put your lats at a greater disadvantage, making some of the supporting musculature in your upper back, shoulders, and arms contribute more. This will also reduce the load you’ll be able to lift.

This is a great exercise to fill gaps in your physique or in your strength development. By strengthening relatively weaker links, wide-grip pulldowns can also prolong the amount of time you can make progress before adding weight.

Dead-Hang Pulldown

The dead-hang style of lat pulldown will have you fully “relax” your shoulder blades and assume a completely upright torso between each repetition. Your teres minor (a small shoulder muscle) will get some added work helping to stabilize your shoulder for each repetition.

This is a great way to gain, and maintain, shoulder stability. The increased muscle recruitment will also help upper back development.

Single-Arm Pulldown

The single-arm lat pulldown turn the exercise into a unilateral (single-sided) version. This forces each side of your body to work independently of the other, which will greatly help to accommodate any body size or shape while addressing any natural asymmetries.

The single-arm pulldown is also a tremendously effective way to add more progression time to your lat pulldown exercise by essentially doubling the amount of load each side will have access to.

How To Do The Pull-Up

Perform the pull-up by grabbing a straight bar that is high enough for your legs to dangle freely without touching the ground. Use a small box or (safely) jump to grab the bar with an overhand grip approximately shoulder-width apart.

Perform a hollow body technique by flexing your core, depressing your shoulder blades, engaging your glutes, and locking your quads.

Engage your lats and flex your arms to pull your chest toward the bar. Once you have reached the highest point that you can pull yourself to, slowly lower back to the starting position using control. Maintain your brace and perform for your target repetitions.

Form Tip: Be diligent about maintaining hollow body tension and eliminating any lower body sway. Performing a pull-up gets exponentially more difficult when you have to counter any unneeded movement. Stay braced and aim to start each repetition from a motionless position. Swinging your hips and legs may help you perform more reps, but it reduces muscular stress on your back.

Benefits of the Pull-Up

• The pull-up requires little-to-no equipment.
• Bodyweight exercises can improve coordination and proprioception (body awareness) which can carryover to general athleticism.
• Scalable to suit either strength or hypertrophy goals when appropriate programming and loading is used.

Pull-Up Variations

Pull-ups can be modified to attack a few different goals. Similar to pull-ups, changing your grip position can deliver some unique benefits.

Wide-Grip Pull-up

Wide-grip pull-ups place your upper back (teres minor) on blast. A wider grip will make it harder on your lats, but also put a bigger emphasis on your ability to maintain the right shoulder positioning for each repetition.

When you’re looking to train nearly your entire upper body, while also seriously roasting your shoulder stability, use the wide-grip pull-up.

Neutral-Grip Pull-up

On the opposite side of things, a neutral-grip pull-up places you in a much more inherently stable position. The relatively closer grip and neutral (palms facing in) hand placement will make it easier to harness your back muscles to pull you up, but also take some of the shoulder stability challenge away.

When you’re looking to go for moderate or higher reps, or build a foundation of strength and muscle, neutral-grip pull-ups are a great option.

Towel Pull-up

Towel pull-ups are a huge boost to your grip strength. This low-tech modification, draping a simple (but sturdy) towel over a bar, will seriously challenge your ability to simply hang on.

If you’re in the market for a stronger grip and bigger arms — and if you can already perform more than a handful of pull-ups — challenge yourself with towel pull-ups.

When to Program the Best Pulling Movement for Your Goal

There are several instances where either the lat pulldown or pull-up might be the better option. Your specific goals and training experience are unique factors to consider.

Beginner

When you’re a beginner, you’ll be looking to build a base of muscle and strength before eventually launching into a more structured and challenging program. With that in mind, you may struggle with pull-ups because they can be very unforgiving.

While there are ways to make pull-ups more accessible for beginner lifters, such as using resistance bands for assistance, oftentimes a pull-up is a bit of a tall order. Instead, spending some time building a super-strong lat pulldown can be a relatively lower barrier to entry. Once you’ve accomplished this, either option is freely available and effective.

Muscle Gain

Both the lat pulldown and pull-up can be very effective muscle-building tools, but there are some subtle differences that likely edge the lat pulldown ahead. The lat pulldown is a more stable training tool. This means that there will be less “moving parts” in your way while you chase highly stimulating sets that accumulate volume needed to build your back. (3)

The lat pulldown also allows for a slow, controlled, and incremental increase in loading which once again provides a boost to long-term muscle growth. The pull-up is great in its own right, but it’s hard to beat the lat pulldown for pure muscle gain.

Strength Gain

Gaining strength can be accomplished with both the lat pulldown and pull-up. However, the lat pulldown can more easily be loaded and trained for strength-focused results. With that in mind, it’s going to offer you more lat-specific strength.

On the other hand, the pull-up, as a bodyweight exercise, is more of a full-body exercise. In this instance, the pull-up will help build greater full-body strength. If you want better overall strength potential, emphasizing the pull-up will likely be the better option.

Limited Equipment

When you don’t have access to a gym, the choice is a simpler one. The lat pulldown literally requires a machine, which likely is only accessible through a commercial or home gym equivalent.

While a pull-up bar may seem mandatory for doing pull-ups, it is not actually required. A pull-up can, technically, be performed anywhere you have access to a strong, stable anchor point to safely grab. The pull-up wins when you have limited equipment. 

Advanced Athlete

If you’re an advanced athlete in nearly any sport, it’s a toss up. Once you’ve developed a strong base of muscle, strength, and coordination, both the pull-up and lat pulldown can be tailored to your needs.

Both can be loaded and progressed, both have unique variations to prolong your progress, and both are relatively easy to master after a short amount of focused time. Depending on your goals or needs, either the pull-up or lat pulldown (or even both) can be effectively programmed for athletic goals.

Prioritize Your Pulls

The lat pulldown and pull-up are both iconic staples of weight training. The exercises have unique benefits, times of superiority, and some clear drawbacks. Depending on your training age, goals, and available equipment, one option may jump out as the obvious choice. Review the information and make the best decision for your goals. Prioritize your pulls for some big gains and, one day, both classic movements may find their way into your program.

References

1. Andersen, V., Fimland, M. S., Wiik, E., Skoglund, A., & Saeterbakken, A. H. (2014). Effects of grip width on muscle strength and activation in the lat pull-down. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 28(4), 1135–1142. https://doi.org/10.1097/JSC.0000000000000232
2. Signorile, J. F., Zink, A. J., & Szwed, S. P. (2002). A comparative electromyographical investigation of muscle utilization patterns using various hand positions during the lat pull-down. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 16(4), 539–546.
3. Schoenfeld, B. J., Contreras, B., Krieger, J., Grgic, J., Delcastillo, K., Belliard, R., & Alto, A. (2019). Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 51(1), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764

Featured Image: Tom Wang / Shutterstock

The post Lat Pulldown vs. Pull-Up: The Battle for a Bigger Back appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Efficient programming and exercise choice can drastically improve the quality of your back workouts. Follow these steps to learn how to perform the reverse-grip bent-over row, and how you should incorporate it into your routine to make the most out of your back day.

• How to Do the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row
• Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row
• Benefits of the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row
• Muscles Worked by the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row
• How to Program the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row
• Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row Variations 
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row Step By Step

Approaching the reverse-grip bent-over row for the first time doesn’t need to be an intimidating experience. Follow these steps for a picture-perfect lift. 

Step 1 — Setting Up

When you initially approach the bar, setting up for the reverse-grip bent-over row feels a bit like setting up for a deadlift. With the barbell over your midfoot, grab the bar slightly outside shoulder-width, using a double-underhand (supinated) grip — this is the “reverse grip” compared to the double-overhand (pronated) grip of the standard barbell row.

Brace your core, keep your spine neutral (not rounded or excessively arched), and drive through your feet to lift the weight off the floor. 

Form Tip: Experiment with your grip width to see what results in feeling the highest degree of lat (back) activation. Most likely, setting up with your grip just past shoulder width apart will yield the best results. But depending on your limb and torso length, you may feel more comfortable slightly closer or wider.

Step 2 — Find Your Trunk Angle and Brace Your Core

Hinge forward at your hips and stop when your trunk is pitched at roughly a 45-degree angle. Bend your knees slightly and maintain that angle throughout the movement. Keep your arms straight and allow the barbell to shift slightly forward. Take a deep breath and brace your core as you prepare to perform the row.

Form Tip: Consistency is key. Keep your arms at a dead-hang while you set up. This will reinforce the position you want to hold at the beginning and end of each rep.

Step 3 — Pull From Your Elbows

Squeeze and depress your scapula (pull your shoulder blades together and “down” toward your tailbone), then pull your elbows back. As you lift the weight, consciously engage your back muscles before you contract your biceps.

Continue pulling the weight toward your trunk until the barbell makes contact with your torso. To specifically target your lats rather than your upper back muscles, make the bar contact closer to your belly button than your sternum.

Form Tip: Don’t be concerned if your bar path isn’t a perfectly straight line. Pulling towards your belly button may feel awkward at first, but you should quickly notice increased lat activation when lifting this way.

Step 4 — Lower the Weight

Squeeze your back muscles at the top of the lift and consider holding the weight there for a moment. Keeping your back flat and your core tight, lower the weight back to the stretched position until your arms are fully extended.

Maintain the forward hinge position throughout the entire set. To perform the next repetition, pull the barbell toward your belly button again.

Form Tip: Keep the movement relatively slow and controlled. This helps to avoid using momentum from one repetition to another to lift the weight.

Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row Mistakes to Avoid

If you have a passing familiarity with the traditional bent-over row, or hinge movements as a whole, you could probably jump right into using the reverse-grip bent-over row to build your back and biceps without thinking too hard about form. Nevertheless, slipshod technique could mean you’re leaving gains on the table, or even putting yourself at an increased risk of injury.

Setting Up With a High Torso Angle

Either tight hips and hamstrings, a weak core, or a combination of the two could make it difficult for you to hold your trunk at a 45-degree angle across an entire set of rows. As a result, you could end up performing more of an upright row than you intend.

Setting up with a higher torso angle can result in increased muscular activation in your trapezius and your rhomboids, which means less isolation for your lats. 

Avoid it: When you setup to perform the row, be sure to hinge forward and shoot your hips back to create a strong pulling position. Add hinge movements like the deadlift, Romanian deadlift, and the good morning into your training plan to develop greater levels of strength, balance, and mobility. This will help you build the strength needed to maintain the angle in your torso for your entire set. 

Lower Back Rounding

For your spinal health and your longevity in the gym, for goodness sake, keep a flat back whenever you perform hinge movements like the row. While lower back rounding may be the result of a lack of mobility, you could also experience this just by going too heavy.

Avoid it: If you find your lower back rounding while you perform the reverse-grip bent-over row, set your ego aside. Either practice hinge movements until you’re capable of maintaining an isometric hinge or reduce the weights significantly and start over.

Engaging Your Biceps First

Since your biceps are a wrist supinator — responsible for turning your hand into a palm-up position — they engage the moment you “reverse” your grip on a bent-over row. In addition to being a secondary mover to perform the exercise, they also stabilize your elbow.

But your biceps should not be the primary mover in the reverse-grip bent-over row. That job falls to your lats, and trying to use your biceps to lift heavy loads meant for your lats might not end well for the much smaller biceps muscle.

Avoid it: Consciously think about pulling your shoulders back to engage your back muscles before pulling with your elbows. Don’t try to curl the bar to move the weight.

Utilizing Momentum From Rep to Rep

If you fail to maintain a consistent angle in your torso across each repetition, you might be generating momentum with your hips that decreases the load on your lats and biceps. This can be a sign of going too heavy, but you might also be doing this for ego lifting or simply because you’re not paying attention.

Avoid it: If the weight is too heavy for you to keep under control, lower it. Otherwise, consider focusing on the eccentric (lowering) portion of the lift to guarantee you keep the weight moving in a slow and controlled fashion to prevent momentum from building.

How to Progress the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row

If you have trouble performing the reverse-grip bent-over row right off the bat, here’s how you can approach it as a beginner and how to increase the difficulty as you continue to get stronger and progress in the gym.

Yates Row

The Yates row is the cousin of the reverse-grip bent-over row, the difference between the two being the angle of your torso. While you perform a reverse-grip bent-over row with your torso at roughly a 45-degree angle, the Yates row is performed from a more upright position.

The resulting lift targets your rhomboids and your traps in addition to your lats and biceps. It may not be as good of a lat builder, but it makes up for it by hitting your entire back. What was a “mistake” for the reverse-grip row can be used deliberately for a strategic purpose.

As you develop strength performing the Yates Row, you can slowly transition towards the reverse-grip bent-over row by experimenting with your torso angle. Sinking deeper into the hinge position will let you feel your lats working harder as you get closer to the 45-degree angle. 

Add Isometric Holds or Timed Eccentrics

At a certain point, implementing basic linear progression — adding more repetitions or more weight — stops being as useful for lifts like the reverse-grip bent-over row. Rather than continuously increasing the load on the bar, which can eventually create a higher risk than reward and may decrease stress on the target muscle, you can add isometric holds or timed eccentrics.

With isometrics, squeeze your back and shoulders at the top of each repetition for one, two, or even three seconds while the bar is in contact with your abdomen. For timed eccentrics, focus on making the negative (lowering) phase of each rep take two, three, or four full seconds. This can help to maximize your gains and develop your mind-muscle connection. 

Reverse-Grip Pendlay Row

If you’re looking to add an extra level of difficulty, swap out the reverse-grip bent-over row for a reverse-grip pendlay row. Since each rep starts and finishes on the ground, there’s no way for you to build momentum from rep to rep, which makes it a great lift to isolate your muscles and focus on pure pulling strength.

The reverse-grip pendlay row requires more hamstring flexibility than the reverse-grip bent-over row, because you’re in a steep forward-leaning position. However, it’s relatively easier on your core and lower back since you don’t have to hold an isometric hinge for the duration of your set.

Benefits of the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row

When you step into the gym, you come face-to-face with a wide range of tools and movements that you can use to sculpt your biceps and your lats. Here are some of the unique benefits of the reverse-grip bent-over row that make it worth adding to your routine.

Increased Lat Activation

Switching from a pronated grip to a supinated grip puts your arms and shoulders into a different position and changes the pulling angle, which is why it’s easier to draw the weight closer to your belly button than your sternum. This results in increased lat activation when compared to the traditional bent-over row.

Additionally, your rhomboids and traps play much less of a role in the reverse-grip bent-over row than they do when you perform the lift with an overhand grip. 

Improved Balance and Core Strength

Holding an isometric hinge isn’t easy. Your core muscles work overtime to maintain a consistent angle under heavy loads. Simultaneously, your hamstrings stay active and engaged at a lengthened position, which can help build strength in your posterior chain while also improving your overall mobility. 

Unparalleled Rowing Strength

The reverse-grip bent-over row cuts down on a number of variables and limiting factors posed by many other row variations. Generally speaking, you can lift heavier loads with a barbell than you can with a dumbbell.

Flipping your grip from overhand to underhand means your grip strength won’t hold you back as you increase loads over time because your wrists and forearms are in a stronger position. Finally, range of motion tends to be more efficient than with a traditional bent-over row, since you have improved leverage when tracking the bar closer to your center of gravity.

When you put all these factors together, what you get is a lift that lets you lift heavy weights with your lats, without so many of the variables that get in the way when performing other types of rows.

Muscles Worked by the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row

As a compound exercise, the reverse-grip bent-over row targets muscles across numerous joints. Here’s a list of the largest muscle groups worked by the lift. 

Latissimus Dorsi

With some back exercises, you feel “your back” working. That’s not the case with the reverse-grip bent-over row. When performed correctly, you should be able to feel and, later specifically target, your lats in particular.

Your lats are the biggest muscle group in your upper body — running along each side of the back half of your torso. Your lats are also the primary muscle group working in the reverse-grip bent-over row. A rock-solid pair of lats make your upper body and shoulders appear broader and your waist look more narrow in comparison, which makes them an important part of developing an aesthetic physique.

Biceps

As secondary movers — muscles which assist the primary target muscles during a given exercise — your biceps and your brachialis muscles play two separate roles during the reverse-grip bent-over row. Since your biceps are a wrist supinator, they get direct stimulation to maintain the palm-up position during the lift. More importantly, they’re responsible for stabilizing your elbow during flexion to support the joint as the muscle contracts. 

Abdominals

With a barbell held out in front of you and your torso held in an isometric hinge, your abs provide the strength and stability necessary to keep you from buckling over while performing the reverse-grip bent-over row. Especially as you get to heavier loads, you’ll find that your core plays a crucial role — keeping your torso held at the desired angle and stabilizing your spine to prevent rounding.

Hamstrings

As with any hinge movement, the reverse-grip bent-over row provides stimulus to your hamstrings. By developing strength in the fully lengthened (stretched) position, the exercise promotes muscular balance and flexibility in your hamstrings.

How to Program the Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row

Building an effective training routine can be challenging. When you’re in the gym, you want to make the most of your time and energy to maximize your gains. If you’re not sure how to incorporate the reverse-grip bent-over row into your workout plan, here are a few options that you might consider. 

As an Accessory for the Deadlift

For powerlifters, who specialize in performing the squat, bench press, and deadlift, finding efficient compound (multi-joint) exercises that complement your primary lifts can be a bit of a chore or simply confusing. The reverse-grip bent-over row builds strong lats while performing an isometric hinge, which can improve both strength and mobility across your posterior chain.

Following the deadlift, consider incorporating three to five sets of six reps, using a weight that lets you keep your torso angle solid across the length of the set.

As a Main Movement For Bodybuilders

In the interest of both exercise economy, and the hormonal response that compound movements provide, many bodybuilders prefer to start their workouts with heavy compound exercises before they get to their isolation movements. (1)(2) When you’re carving a statue from stone, use the dynamite before you get started with the hammer and chisel. 

If your training split has a back and biceps day, the reverse-grip bent-over row lets you isolate your lats and warm-up your biceps, while also stimulating a hormonal response which may support muscle growth. Early in your workout, hit at least three sets of eight, focusing on the eccentric portion of the lift to maximize your hypertrophy gains. (3)

As a High Volume Accessory Lift

If you spend a significant amount of time in a squat rack or on a weight platform, adding the reverse-grip bent-over row as an accessory after the classic bent-over row can be as much about convenience as anything else. All you have to do is flip your wrists around and you have a lift that lets you engage and isolate your lats while also dialing in your rowing technique after the related muscles are thoroughly warmed up and pre-trained.

If you want to implement the reverse-grip bent-over row as a high volume accessory movement, consider performing three sets of 15 following other row variations. 

Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row Variations

Maybe you don’t have access to a barbell. Maybe you’re dealing with nagging shoulder or back pain. Maybe you just want to mix things up. Regardless of your reasons, here are a few different lifts that let you target your back like the reverse-grip bent-over row.

Seal Row

As with all chest-supported rows, the seal row provides unique stimulus by preventing you from developing momentum or engaging your hips. Unlike other chest-supported rows, you perform the seal row by lying face down on a flat bench.

The resulting lift can target your lats and your rhomboids without having to concern yourself with keeping a flat back. The full bench support also removes strain from the lower back and makes it virtually impossible to move the weight using momentum.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Single-arm dumbbell rows are a relatively easy-to-learn introductory lift that keeps paying dividends as you grow in the gym. To get started, just kneel on a bench and row.

The single-arm row provides some advantages over barbell rows. Kneeling on a bench limits the amount of stress on your spine. Since the lift is performed one side at a time, you can isolate your lats and correct any muscular imbalances that may develop if you tend to exclusively use barbell row variations.

Inverted Row

Advanced pull-ups aren’t the only way to utilize your body weight for back-building. Inverted rows can be performed in a number of different ways — whether that be with suspension straps, on a Smith machine, a barbell set in a power rack, or any other stable surface that lets you get under it, and keeping your body in a straight line, pulling upwards.

To modulate the level of difficulty, simply increase or decrease the angle of your body relative to the floor. Either elevate your feet (for increased difficulty) or create a steep angle with an elevated upper body (to decrease the challenge).

FAQs

References

Vingren JL, Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA, Anderson JM, Volek JS, Maresh CM. Testosterone physiology in resistance exercise and training: the up-stream regulatory elements. Sports Med. 2010 Dec 1;40(12):1037-53. doi: 10.2165/11536910-000000000-00000. PMID: 21058750.

Shaner AA, Vingren JL, Hatfield DL, Budnar RG Jr, Duplanty AA, Hill DW. The acute hormonal response to free weight and machine weight resistance exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Apr;28(4):1032-40. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000317. PMID: 24276305.

Hody S, Croisier JL, Bury T, Rogister B, Leprince P. Eccentric Muscle Contractions: Risks and Benefits. Front Physiol. 2019 May 3;10:536. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00536. PMID: 31130877; PMCID: PMC6510035.

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Based on the amount of energy drinks consumed by studious first-year college students, we can dispatch the first claim. Alertness and insomnia? Yes. Back muscles? No. As for good deeds, this is a fitness article so it shall be kept secular. That leaves vertical pulling — pull-ups and pulldowns.

Although pull-ups can be modified for nearly everyone, nothing beats the adjustability and convenience of cable-stack pulldowns. But the traditional overhand grip isn’t for everyone, especially those with shoulder issues. (1)(2)(3)

The neutral-grip lat pulldown is a shoulder- and elbow-friendly alternative to standard lat pulldowns. Find out how to perform, program, and modify this big back builder.

Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

• How to Do the Neutral-Grip Pulldown
• Neutral-Grip Pulldown Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Neutral-Grip Pulldown
• Benefits of the Neutral-Grip Pulldown
• Muscles Worked by the Neutral-Grip Pulldown 
• How to Program the Neutral-Grip Pulldown
• Neutral-Grip Pulldown Variations 
• Frequently Asked Questions

Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown Video Breakdown

Dr. Merrick Lincoln (the author of this article) demonstrates how to do a neutral-grip pulldown and talks you through a complete repetition. Check to see what form looks like before reading on for the details.

How to Do the Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown Step By Step

As opposed to using a straight or cambered “lat bar,” the neutral-grip pulldown requires use of a bar with grips running perpendicular to the length of the bar. This allows you to keep your forearms in a “neutral” rotation, with your palms facing each other, halfway between full supination (palms facing toward you) and full pronation (palms facing away from you).

Step 1 — Establish Points of Contact

Face a cable machine with your glutes on the seat, both feet flat on the floor, and your upper legs under the thigh pad. If necessary, adjust the height of the thigh pad or seat for secure fit.  

Form Tip: When setting the height of the thigh pad or seat, ensure your feet are flat on the floor with your heels slightly behind your knees. This enables you to easily slide your feet back to stand when it’s time to retrieve or return the pulldown bar.

Step 2 — Grab the Bar and Set Your Trunk Angle

Grab the handles with a shoulder-width, or slightly narrower, position. If the bar has traditional cylinder-shaped grips, use a fully closed grip with your fingers and thumb wrapped around the bar. If the bar has more modern paddle-style or angled grips, ensure the palms of your hands make maximum contact with the paddles. With this handle, the knuckles of your fingers should be flexed over the top of the handle. 

Once your grip is secure, lift your chest, lean back slightly (e.g. 10 to 30-degrees from vertical), and brace your core. Maintain this trunk position throughout the exercise. In the stretched position, your elbows should be locked completely straight.

Form Tip: If you have a limited range of motion in the overhead position, you may benefit from leaning back slightly farther (e.g. approximately 30-degrees from vertical). This changes the pulling angle and reduces stress on your shoulder joints.

Step 3 — Pull Down to Peak Contraction

Initiate the movement by drawing your shoulder blades together and down, and “pull your shoulder blades into your back pockets.”

Immediately after beginning to move your shoulder blades, begin pulling your elbows toward the sides of your ribcage. Peak contraction is achieved when your shoulder blades are squeezed together and down, and your upper arms are pinned to your sides. 

Form Tip: Don’t worry about getting the bar to your chest, below your chin, or to some other arbitrary position. Focus on achieving a strong contraction in your back muscles when you reach the bottom position. 

Step 4 — Return and Seek Stretch

Lower the weight and allow your arms to be drawn upward, slowly letting your elbows extend. At the same time, allow your shoulder blades to be elevated. The upward movement phase ends when your elbows are completely straight. You should feel a strong stretch across the outside of your armpits — those are your lat muscles being properly stretched.

Form Tip: As your arms are drawn overhead and your latissimus dorsi are stretched, your low back might tend to arch. Avoid this by keeping your abdominal muscles engaged to maintain a neutral torso.

Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown Mistakes to Avoid

Common errors in the neutral-grip pulldown occur when range of motion goes unchecked, when compensations are permitted, and when your arms “out-muscle” your back. 

Excessive Range of Motion

The uninitiated often assume the pulldown is not complete until the bar touches their chest. This is erroneous. Hyperextension of your shoulder places additional stress on the front of the shoulder. (4)(5) This is not typically good for folks with anterior shoulder instability, a prevalent issue among lifters. (4) Also, there’s simply no added benefit because the demand on your shoulder muscles decreases due improved leverage in the bottom position.

Still convinced touching the bar to your chest is “necessary?” Watch a handful of folks with barndoor backs perform neutral-grip pulldowns. They don’t touch the bar to their chest — albeit, they likely couldn’t if they wanted to due to the size of their latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles. 

Avoid it: A good rule of thumb for pulldown range of motion is to pull down and back until your triceps squeeze against your lats. Achieve a strong contraction, then begin the upward movement. 

Slouching Into the Repetition

The sticking point, or most challenging part of the repetition, occurs near the bottom of the downward pulling phase. Novice lifters often work through this portion of the lift by rounding their shoulders forward and flexing their mid-back. This gives the appearance of “crunching” or slouching at the bottom of the repetition.

Avoid it: As you pull, keep focus on your back muscles by reminding yourself to create space between the front of your shoulder and the cable pulley.

“Curling” the Weight Down

While it’s true the neutral-grip pulldown can be a great biceps-builder, it is not intended to be an arms-focused exercise. Lifters who initiate the pulldown with elbow flexion and “muscle” the bar down with their elbow flexors are missing out on back gains.

Avoid it: Performed properly, upper body vertical pulling exercises (i.e. pull-ups and pulldowns) are initiated by back muscles, specifically your lower trapezius and latissimus dorsi. (8) These muscles should activate a split-second before your biceps. Ensure this sequence by downwardly rotating and depressing your shoulder blades to begin each rep or “pull your shoulder blades into your back pockets.”

How to Progress the Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

To learn the neutral-grip pulldown, start with light weight. Over time, progress the exercise by adding weight and/or repetitions. Incorporating strategic pauses may also be useful for dialing-in proper form and building strength. 

Start Light, Add Weight and Reps

Once proper form is dialed in, progress the pulldown by adding weight. The amount of weight you add should be related to your primary training goal. A weight that allows four to six good repetitions is an effective target when you’re prioritizing strength. A wide range of weights can be effective for hypertrophy, so pick a weight that allows a repetition target you prefer (e.g. eight to 12 repetitions, 12 to 16 repetitions, or 16 to 20 repetitions). 

Once you’ve established your working weight, you will need to add weight or repetitions over time to ensure you are progressively overloading your muscles. A simple strategy is to add repetitions, then add weight once you’ve exceeded the top end of your target repetition range. For example, if you/re aiming for eight to 12 repetitions per set, start by identifying a weight that allows you to perform approximately eight repetitions.

In a week or two, you’ll likely be hitting nine or 10 repetitions with the same weight. Eventually, you’ll reach 13 repetitions, which is the signal to add weight. Note: If you have a bit more training experience, gains sometimes come more slowly and you might consider the occasional deload to ensure ongoing progress. 

Add “Iso-Holds”

Near the bottom position of a pulldown, when your elbows are bent and just in front of your chest, the resistance at the shoulder is amplified by the length of the humerus (upper arm bone). This portion of the movement is the sticking point — the point where muscular failure or form breakdown is most likely to occur. It’s also the perfect position for adding an isometric hold or “iso-holds.” This is an intensification technique used to prolong time under tension and improve strength at targeted positions.

To add an iso-hold, simply stop at the most challenging portion of the pulldown. Hold for four to six seconds, and then complete the repetition. Iso-holds can be performed on the final repetition to maximize set performance or incorporated on every repetition. Keep in mind, you will likely need to lower the weight or repetition target if you intend to use iso-holds on every rep. 

Benefits of the Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

Sure, there are a lot of back exercises you could do at the gym, so why focus on this pulldown variations? With good effort and decent programming, lifters can build respectable size and strength with the neutral-grip pulldown due to the setup, range of motion, and user-friendliness.

Works Back Muscles Through a Full Range of Motion

During pulldowns, shoulders reach the overhead position at the top of every repetition. This exposes the target muscles to substantial stretch and load. This mechanical tension is a key driver of muscle growth. (6) Unlike rows, for example, which only train the muscles through a relatively partial range of motion, pulldowns reach maximum or near-maximum stretch on the target muscles.

Full range of motion training may result in more muscle gain over time. (7) As a bonus, full range of motion training is likely to improve flexibility as effectively, or even more effectively, than stretching. (9)  

An Alternative for Banged Up Shoulders and Elbows

Although traumatic injuries among resistance trainees are somewhat uncommon, a large percentage of lifters complain of painful shoulders and elbows. (4)(10) The lion’s share of these issues can often be attributed to overuse or training errors. 

Forearm position during exercise affects the stress and strain experienced by joint structures, connective tissues, and muscles around the elbow. (11) Structures around the shoulders experience different patterns of stress based on your arm path. For example, the “high five” position of abduction and external rotation passed through during traditional lat pulldowns is associated with increased stress the front of the shoulder. (4)(1)(3) Temporarily avoiding this position may be indicated in the presence of certain shoulder injuries.

It may be prudent for lifters to incorporate neutral-grip variations to reduce the risk of overuse. Periodically switching out pull-ups or traditional lat pulldowns for a slightly different vertical pulling exercises, such as neutral-grip pulldowns may help to ward off overuse-type injuries. 

Lifters already contending with overuse injuries related to upper body pulling may wish to experiment with variations such as the neutral-grip pullover to determine whether it’s better tolerated than previous exercises. 

Allows Easy Use of Advanced Training Techniques

Advanced training techniques can include methods used to take sets past failure (e.g. forced reps, drop sets, rest-pause), delay failure (e.g. cluster sets), or increase time under tension by imposing a tempo (e.g. lowering the weight very slowly with six-second eccentrics). (12) The neutral-grip pulldown is typically performed on a stable and safe machine that allows for efficient use of these techniques.

The pulldown machine enables quick manipulation of weight — just move the pin or slide plates on or off. This allows for efficient performance of drop sets. The machine is also self-contained and “self-spotting.” If muscular failure is reached, there is very little chance of getting pinned under weight. Just stand up and control the pulldown bar back to the top position. 

Similarly, if the lifter wishes to take rest within a given set (i.e. cluster set training), the machine allows for quick stops and starts. Finally, the seated position on the machine allows for a training partner to safely and efficiently assist the lifter to perform additional reps. Advanced training techniques are far from easy, but the pulldown setup makes them about as efficient as they can be.

Muscles Worked by Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

The neutral-grip pulldown hammers muscles of the back, shoulders, and arms. (3)(13)(14) The pulldown is a relatively fundamental movement because it recruits a number of upper body muscles and works them through a significant range of motion.

Shoulder Extensors — Lats, Upper Back, Deltoids

The neutral-grip pulldown targets the muscles that extend the shoulders or draw the arms from in front of the body toward the back of the body. They primarily include the latissimus dorsi, teres major, rear deltoids, and the long head (or innermost portion) of the triceps brachii. Interestingly, the lower part of the pectoralis major (“costal fibers” of the chest) contribute to the pulldown as well. (14)

Collectively, the shoulder extensors have the potential to be highly aesthetic muscles. Well-developed latissimus dorsi gives the back breadth, while teres major and rear deltoid enhance shoulder dimensions. And if any gap remains between the arms and upper sweep of the lats, building the long head of triceps brachii will appear to fill it in. “Wings” achieved.

Mid-Back

Sometimes called “scapular muscles,” the muscles of the mid-back act on your shoulder blades. No big back is complete without the visual interest and depth of well-developed scapular muscles.

While these muscles may not be the primary target of the pulldown, they will receive a training effect. During the pulldown, the rhomboids, lower trapezius, and middle trapezius rotate the shoulder blades downward, pull them together, and draw them toward the small of your back. 

Elbow Flexors

Curls aren’t the only way to build big biceps. Drawing resistance toward the body trains the muscles of elbow flexion (bending your arms) — specifically, your biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and brachialis. Functional importance notwithstanding, these muscles give your arms a more muscular, anaconda-like appearance. 

How to Program the Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

Neutral-grip pulldowns can fit nicely into most lifters’ programs in a full body workout, back day, or pulling session. Whether your major training goal is strength or muscle gain, an overarching recommendation is to perform neutral-grip pulldowns earlier in the workout to maximize adaptations.

As a Primary Exercise for Strength

The neutral-grip lat pulldown is a long range-of-motion, multi-joint exercise that allows incremental loading. These features make it ideal for use as a primary exercise in your “back day” or “pull day” routine. Primary exercises, sometimes termed “core exercises” in some circles, are compound (multi-joint) movements typically placed earlier in the workout before any “accessory exercises,” which are typically single-joint exercises or rehab/prehab work.

This exercise order is preferred, because multi-joint exercise performance tends to suffer when performed after isolation exercise. (15) Moreover, exercises performed earlier in the workout tend to stimulate greater improvement in strength. (16)

To prioritize back strength, hit two to five sets of four to six repetitions using 85% or greater of your one-repetition maximum (1RM), ideally early in your workout. (17)

As High-Volume Hypertrophy Work

If your training focus is building a big back, address neutral-grip pulldowns toward the beginning of your workout. Due to heavy involvement of the biceps brachii and other elbow flexors, it is best practice to perform pulldowns before curls or other direct biceps exercises. 

Some research has shown that as few as three sets of barbell curls performed before pulldowns can decrease back-training performance by three to five repetitions. (13) Lost repetitions does not bode well for optimal muscle gain, as hypertrophy is positively related to exercise volume (i.e. total weekly sets x reps). (18) Maximize pulldown volume by performing this exercise early in the workout.

For building bigger back and biceps, perform three to six sets of eight to 20 repetitions using a weight that brings each set within three or fewer repetitions of failure.

Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown Variations

On your back-building quest, there are many variations of the neutral-grip pulldown to help move you forward. Select the most appropriate variation based on personal preference, equipment availability, and goals. 

Neutral-Grip Pull-Up 

No pulldown machine? Prefer pull-ups over pulldowns? Swap neutral-grip pulldowns for pull-ups. If multiple neutral-grip widths are available, start with the ones closest to shoulder-width or slightly narrower.

Despite the fact your bodyweight provides the resistance, the mechanics of the neutral-grip pull-up are similar to the neutral-grip pulldown. Start from a dead-hang, initiate from your shoulder blades, and pull your elbows down to your sides.

V-Bar Lat Pulldown

Using a narrow V-bar or “chinning triangle” attachment results in a tighter arm path and hits your back and arms differently. Neutral-grip pulldowns with the V-bar appear to rely more heavily on the biceps brachii than shoulder-width and wide neutral-grip variations. (13) So the V-bar pulldown is a great option for those prioritizing strong, thick arms.

The V-bar pulldown is performed much like the neutral-grip pulldown except the lifter should focus on squeezing the elbows and forearms together throughout the exercise. Elbows should graze your ribcage below your pecs as you approach the bottom position of the exercise. 

Half-Kneeling Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

Single-arm lat pulldowns are wonderful for feeling the stretch and contraction of your latissimus dorsi and other shoulder extensor muscles through a large arc and long range of motion. Because each arm is worked individually, they can also help to address any possible side-to-side strength asymmetries.

The half-kneeling single-arm lat pulldown is the next level of single-arm pulling. The “half-kneeling” position (i.e. one knee down) provides a large, stable footprint for the addition of subtle trunk movements. These trunk movements allow more stretch at the top followed by a stronger peak contraction at the bottom of each rep. The former may enhance “stretch-mediated” muscle growth, while the squeeze at the bottom promotes mind-muscle connection and increased latissimus dorsi activity. (6)(19)

Face the cable stack and kneel with the working side knee down. Allow your shoulder blade to be pulled up for a full stretch through your lat. Side-bend your trunk slightly away from your working arm. Pull by drawing your shoulder blade and elbow down and in. Achieve peak contraction by aggressively pulling your arm to your ribcage and side-bending slightly toward the working side. Focus on feeling your lats “cramp” at the bottom of each rep.

Swiss Bar Pullover

The pullover is a phenomenal exercise for the shoulder extensor muscles — latissimus dorsi, posterior deltoid, part of your pectoralis major, etc. Although commonly done with a two-handed grip on a single dumbbell, the pullover may also be performed using a neutral-grip implement such as a Swiss bar, a multi-grip barbell, or triceps bar.

The Swiss bar may enable those with less-than-ideal range of motion (i.e. limited forearm pronation or shoulder external rotation) to reap the benefits of pullovers – Namely, heavy loading overhead when the target muscles are at their longest lengths, which may enhance growth.(6)(20)(21) Just be sure to have an attentive spotter due to free weights passing over your head and face during the movement.

Earn Your Wings

The neutral-grip lat pulldown builds a wide back and thick arms to boot. When performed with a shoulder-width or slightly narrower grip, it tends to be a joint-friendly exercise for your lats, upper back, mid-back, and biceps. Altogether, neutral-grip lat pulldowns may be among the best options for building a set of wings when your shoulders have other plans.

FAQs

References

1. Escalante, G. (2017). Exercise modification strategies to prevent and train around shoulder pain. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 39(3), 74-86.
2. Ribeiro, A. S., Nunes, J. P., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2020). Selection of resistance exercises for older individuals: the forgotten variable. Sports Medicine, 50, 1051-1057.
3. Fees, M., et al. (1998). Upper extremity weight-training modifications for the injured athlete. The American journal of sports medicine, 26(5), 732-742.
4. Kolber, M. J., Corrao, M., & Hanney, W. J. (2013). Characteristics of anterior shoulder instability and hyperlaxity in the weight-training population. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 27(5), 1333-1339.
5. Watson L, et al. (2016). The treatment of multidirectional instability of the shoulder with a rehabilitation program: Part 1. Shoulder & Elbow. 8(4):271-278
6. Wackerhage, H., et al. (2019). Stimuli and sensors that initiate skeletal muscle hypertrophy following resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 126(1):30-43.
7. Kassiano, W., et al. (2022). Which ROMs Lead to Rome? A Systematic Review of the Effects of Range of Motion on Muscle Hypertrophy. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 10-1519.
8. Youdas, J. W., et al. (2010). Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(12), 3404-3414.
9. Morton, S. K., et al. (2011). Resistance training vs. static stretching: effects on flexibility and strength. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(12), 3391-3398.
10. Siewe, J., et al. (2014). Injuries and overuse syndromes in competitive and elite bodybuilding. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 35(11), 943-948.
11. Bryce, C. D., & Armstrong, A. D. (2008). Anatomy and biomechanics of the elbow. Orthopedic Clinics of North America, 39(2), 141-154.
12. Krzysztofik, M., Wilk, M., Wojdała, G., & Gołaś, A. (2019). Maximizing muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review of advanced resistance training techniques and methods. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(24), 4897.
13. Vilaça-Alves, J., et al. (2014). Effects of pre-exhausting the biceps brachii muscle on the performance of the front lat pull-down exercise using different handgrip positions. Journal of Human Kinetics, 42(1), 157-163.
14. Ackland, D. C., Pak, P., Richardson, M., & Pandy, M. G. (2008). Moment arms of the muscles crossing the anatomical shoulder. Journal of Anatomy, 213(4), 383-390.
15. Figueiredo, T., et al. (2016). Influence of Exercise Order on One and Ten Repetition Maximum Loads Determination. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online, 19(2).
16. Nunes, J. P., et al. (2021). What influence does resistance exercise order have on muscular strength gains and muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Sport Science, 21(2), 149-157.
17. Peterson, M. D., Rhea, M. R., & Alvar, B. A. (2004). Maximizing strength development in athletes: a meta-analysis to determine the dose-response relationship. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 18(2), 377-382.
18. Figueiredo, V. C., de Salles, B. F., & Trajano, G. S. (2018). Volume for muscle hypertrophy and health outcomes: the most effective variable in resistance training. Sports Medicine, 48, 499-505.
19. Snyder, B. J., & Leech, J. R. (2009). Voluntary increase in latissimus dorsi muscle activity during the lat pull-down following expert instruction. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23(8), 2204-2209.
20. Maeo, S., et al. (2022). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. European Journal of Sport Science, 1-11.
21. Pedrosa, G. F., et al. (2021). Partial range of motion training elicits favorable improvements in muscular adaptations when carried out at long muscle lengths. European Journal of Sport Science, 1-11.
22. Murugan, S., et al. (2013). Grip strength changes in relation to different body postures, elbow and forearm positions. Int J Physiother Res, 1(4), 116-121.
23. Valério, D. F., etal. (2021). The effects of lifting straps in maximum strength, number of repetitions and muscle activation during lat pull-down. Sports Biomechanics, 20(7), 858-865.
24. Snarr, R., Eckert, R. M., & Abbott, P. (2015). A comparative analysis and technique of the Lat Pull-down. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 37(5), 21-25.
25. Vigotsky, A. D., et al. (2018). Interpreting signal amplitudes in surface electromyography studies in sport and rehabilitation sciences. Frontiers in Physiology, 985.
26. Vigotsky, A. D., et al. (2017). Greater electromyographic responses do not imply greater motor unit recruitment and ‘hypertrophic potential’ cannot be inferred. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 31(1), e1-e4.

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The post How to Do the Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown for a Bigger Back appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The pulldown can be taken to another level, however, once you recognize that the exercise doesn’t need to be performed with both hands fixed to one straight bar. This familiar setup can make for a smooth and stable pull, but it also disguises just how much work one side of your body is doing compared to the other side.

For this reason, opting for a unilateral (single-sided) movement can provide unique benefits and increased back focus. When the name of the game is muscular development and pulling strength, these details are huge. Here’s how to get your back on track with the single-arm lat pulldown.

Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

• How to Do the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
• Single-Arm Lat Pulldown Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
• Benefits of the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
• Muscles Worked by the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
• How to Program the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
• Single-Arm Lat Pulldown Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions

Ideal Single-Arm Lat Pulldown Technique Demo

Coach Lee Boyce provides a clear demonstration of the single-arm lat pulldown in action. See the movement performed with each arm and then read on to learn the details.

How to Do the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

The single-arm lat pulldown may feel slightly awkward at first, especially if you’re not used to performing back exercises with one arm at a time. But any time spent learning the movement will pay off with new size and strength. 

Step 1 — Know Your Equipment

You may be stuck with whatever equipment your gym offers, but some pulldown setups are more user-friendly than others. The gold standard is a dual pulley system. This makes it easy to attach individual handles to each pulley, which will be more naturally aligned with each of your shoulders.

The second best option would be a singular pulley attachment that operates on a pivot. That way, even though the pulley is positioned in the center above your head, it still turns in the direction of your working arm during the movement.

Least optimal would be a single pulley attachment that is completely fixed to the machine with no room to turn or pivot. Many older pieces of equipment are constructed this way, but if it’s the only “pulldown” station available, consider setting up either on the floor at a manually adjustable cable setup (like one for triceps pressdowns) or on the ground beside the seat at the pulldown station.

Form Tip: The key point is to position the pulley as close in-line with your working-side shoulder as possible. This will allow the most comfortable, most efficient line of pull during the exercise.  

Step 2 — Sit Tight, Grab Hold, and Stretch

Secure your thighs under the pad and reach up to get a hold of the handle. Because you’re only reaching one arm, it should be easier to stretch higher while reaching above your head.

Your body will naturally reach higher with one arm compared to raising both arms overhead. If you have doubts, you can quickly test it yourself — Stand facing a wall and raise both hands above your head to touch the highest point you can reach. Then drop one hand and repeat. You’ll undoubtedly get higher with the single arm by comparison.

In the overhead stretched position, your palm should face toward the machine.

Form Tip: This deep stretch will allow you to contract and stretch through a longer range of motion, which will enhance the training effect on the target muscles. (1)

Step 3 — Set Your Shoulder and Pull

Rest your non-working hand comfortably on the leg pad or on your torso. “Reverse” the stretched position by actively setting your working shoulder — lower it by pulling your shoulder blade down and “in” to your mid-back. Push your chest up high and make your neck “long.”

Pull through your elbow, don’t think about curling with your arm. Squeeze your upper back and lats tight. Think about tucking your elbow into your back pocket. Don’t let your upper body crunch sideways as you pull down.

Form Tip: Take advantage of the single handle, which allows you to play with your hand and wrist position. You can supinate (turn your palm to face you) as you lift the weight or or can rotate to a thumbs-up position. Find a wrist angle that works efficiently, comfortably, and powerfully for you.

Step 4 — Return to the Overhead Stretch

When your hand reaches shoulder-level, feel a strong contraction through your side. Return to the starting position by reversing the motion. Lower the weight slowly and control the movement as you reach overhead to full extension.

Don’t overstretch by leaning toward the non-working side. Keep your torso stable and vertical throughout the exercise. When your arm is straight, shrug your shoulder blade up for maximum activation.

Form Tip: Let your overall mobility and flexibility guide your movements. Ideally, aim to bring your hand down near shoulder-level. Don’t force any excessive range of motion and don’t turn it into an ab exercise by crunching to the side — that won’t help to recruit your back. 

Single-Arm Lat Pulldown Mistakes to Avoid

The single-arm lat pulldown can invite some simple technique or programming errors that will reduce the muscle and strength gains. Here are the biggest points to watch out for.

Going Too Heavy 

The most common mistake should almost go without saying, though it doesn’t only apply to the single-arm lat pulldown — check your ego at the door. This is a much more precise, unilateral version of the pulldown, which itself is notorious for overly heavy loading that requires more body swing than lat activation.

There’s no place for that with the single-arm lat pulldown, nor is there any real use for it. You’ll be subject to excessive swinging or twisting to get the weight down, and you’ll ultimately be using everything except your lats to get the job done.

Avoid it: Keep loading relatively lighter to reduce the temptation to swing the weight. Focus on using perfect form throughout each section of the movement and try to feel your back muscles contracting and stretching.

Slouching in the Finished Position

Like any back exercise, the goal should always be to maintain a “proud chest,” especially through the contracted phase of the lift, to ensure good posture and proper muscle activation.

It’s easy to “close yourself up” as you complete the pull, by adding something of an abdominal crunch to the pattern. This is not ideal because it reduces stress on the target muscle and puts you in an inefficient position.

Avoid it: Focus on starting tall and finishing just as tall, or even taller. This posture cue will make you aware of your overall body position.

How to Progress the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

As a relatively straightforward, cable-based exercise, you can approach this exercise with confidence no matter your experience level.

Adjust Load

Like many movements, you can adapt the challenge by simply changing the loading. Most cable stacks go as light as 10 to 20 pounds. Even while keeping your target rep range the same, you can accommodate nearly any strength level by reducing the weight to perform repetitions with crisp technique.

Similarly, you can go as heavy as possible while maintaining form. As previously discussed, swapping form for more weight is anything but productive. Fortunately, when using good technique and a moderate rep range, even the most experienced lifters will find the full weight stack to be more than enough.

Benefits of the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown 

This unilateral movement offers the benefits of single-side training combined with the benefits of a cable pulley.

Scapular Mobility

Scapular mobility is the overlooked key to every successful back exercise, including the single-arm lat pulldown. Lifters sometimes mistakenly think that stability is the only function of the scapulae (shoulder blades). As such, they believe the scapulae shouldn’t be allowed to move during exercise.

This may be true in movements like the barbell bench press, but it’s not something that actually promotes shoulder joint health. For every joint in your body, there’s actually a certain degree of stability and mobility needed to maintain proper joint function. Depending on the joint in question, there will be a greater need for one over the other.

For example, hinge joints like the knees and elbows require more stability than mobility due to the limited nature of their responsibilities and available joint angles. There is still a degree of mobility they need to create proper range of motion, and to allow for a little bit of “give” laterally and medially.

In the case of the scapulae, stability is paramount, but it’s essential that they possess the capacity to move around the ribcage in elevation/depression (up and down), and in protraction/retraction (forward and back together).

This brings us to where most lifters drop the ball when performing pulling movements. Simply put, the shoulder blades must direct the action of any pull pattern – chin-ups, rows, and yes, pulldowns too. Initiating the movement by simply pulling with your hands won’t do much to engage the upper back muscles and lats.

To practice the proper mechanics, it’s useful to break the movement down into pieces, learning how to engage your lower traps, rhomboids, and lats. You can do this by keeping your elbow straight while pulling through only the first portion of the lift.

Applying this concept to the single-arm lat pulldown will support your quest for muscle, keep the focus in the right places, and keep your scapulae strong and healthy.

Muscle Size

The single-arm lat pulldown is a prime choice for hypertrophy due to its greater isolation on each individual side of the muscle — making each side of your back perform work on its own. The added stretch and long range of motion for each rep also supports muscle growth and strength.

Reduced Joint Strain

Using a single handle allows you to customize your hand and wrist’s start and finish position. This ability to rotate can be useful for lifters who struggle with a history of shoulder, elbow, or wrist issues. These seemingly small changes accumulate into a movement that takes on an entirely new identity as a hidden weapon for back day. 

Muscles Trained by the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

All pulldowns are considered “back exercises,” but the single-arm lat pulldown provides a unique spin on the generally familiar exercise. This results in a new approach to muscle reccruitment.

Lats

When done correctly, the single-arm lat pulldown primarily focuses on the lats. One key function of the latissimus (lats) is bringing your arm from an overhead position toward the body’s centerline.

Because a lat muscle rests on each side of your back, the single-arm lat pulldown allows you to focus on one specific muscle during each set, which can address any developmental imbalances that may be present.

Upper Back

Your upper back, as a whole, contributes to the single-arm lat pulldown. Collectively, your lower trapezius and rhomboids work as direct synergists to support the prime mover (lats) during the exercise. Your upper back provides stability and support, while also controlling your scapulae during the overhead stretch and peak contraction.

Biceps

Your biceps are recruited in many back exercises as your arm extends and contracts. Particularly, your biceps are more significantly recruited as you rotate your hand into a supinated (palm facing you) position. (2)

Obliques

Because the single-arm lat pulldown is a unilateral exercise, there is an added contribution from your obliques on the sides of your abdominals. These muscles resist excessive lateral flexion (sideways bending) of the spine when performing the lift through a full range of motion. As you focus on keeping a stable torso during the exercise, your obliques are activated to maintain your posture.

How to Program the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

Because the single-arm lat pulldown is a relatively focused exercise, being performed with one arm at a time, it’s not well-suited to very heavy loading. However, because of the multi-joint nature and high degree of muscular involvement, extremely high repetition training may fatigue support muscles before the primary target muscles.

Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetition

Approach the single-arm lat pulldown with a classic set and rep scheme for reliable size and strength gains. Three to four sets of 10 to 12 reps will let you target your back with an ideal amount of time under tension without needing to load super-heavy, and potentially form-destroying, weights.

Single-Arm Lat Pulldown Variations

This exercise is already, technically, an alternative to a traditional, straight bar lat pulldown, so the list of modifications for more effectiveness or user-friendliness is relatively short. Of note, one exercise stands out as a great alternative. For it, all you need is an adjustable bench and cable pulley.

Cobra Pulldown 

Set an adjustable bench to a roughly 45-degree incline and place is alongside a high cable pulley. Grab a single handle attachment and lay your side on the bench. This unique setup puts you in position to pull diagonally, and allows you to hit the lats directly with super-strict form.

The position essentially immobilizes your upper body and removes the involvement of any cheating muscles like the lower back or abs. The goal is to avoid lifting heavy and focus on muscle recruitment.

Half-Kneeling Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

This is a common and effective pulldown variation that allows you to position your body more directly in-line with the cable pulley. An added benefit of the half-kneeling position is a passive stretch of the hip flexor on your kneeling side and increased glute activation to stabilize your hips and pelvis during the exercise.

However, the half-kneeling single-arm lat pulldown can also change the pulling angle by adding a diagonal, slightly more horizontal, line of pull rather than an overhead (vertical) pulldown motion. This can increase recruitment of your upper back muscles and may reduce the work done by your lats.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bigger Lats, One Side at a Time

The single-arm lat pulldown is the intermediate back-training movement you didn’t know you needed. Make sure you have the classic pulldown movement down pat, along with a good handle on basic mechanics of your shoulders and shoulder blades. Then it’s off to the races as you use the exercise for higher volume and great isolation. Time to get some single-sided gains while building a powerful and more muscular back.

References

1. Pallarés, JG, Hernández-Belmonte, A, Martínez-Cava, A, Vetrovsky, T, Steffl, M, Courel-Ibáñez, J. Effects of range of motion on resistance training adaptations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021; 31: 1866– 1881. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14006
2. Youdas, J. W., Amundson, C. L., Cicero, K. S., Hahn, J. J., Harezlak, D. T., & Hollman, J. H. (2010). Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24(12), 3404–3414. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c

Featured Image: @coachleeboyce / Instagram

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It’s a movement that can truly separate the beginners from intermediate and advanced lifters based upon competency. But even for experienced lifters, pull-ups can be challenging. And they can be tough to learn, also. 

Aside from basic muscular weakness, there may be a laundry list of reasons why you can’t do bodyweight pull-ups. The smallest old injury, mobility restriction, or joint issue could frustrate your ability to take advantage of this lift. And that’s when it’s handy to have equally effective options to this classic exercise.

Best Pull-Up Alternatives

• Flexed Arm Hang
• Eccentric Pull-Up
• Lat Pulldown
• Rack Pull-Up

Flexed Arm Hang 

This isometric exercise is a prime alternative to pull-ups for a couple of reasons. First, the amount of time spent under tension in a full lat contraction is unmatched when compared to traditionally performed reps. Normal pull-ups only see this peak contraction for an instant. This variation also reduces the possibility of the biceps entering the picture, making it a more efficient back exercise.

It also allows a lifter to address a common sticking point. Many lifters are weaker in the top position than in other portions of the lift. Many lifters can get halfway up, but start to fade as their chin approaches the bar. Spending a period of time set in that position can remedy the problem, train the upper back muscles, and translate to better pull-up performance.

When to Do It

The flexed arm hang can improve muscular endurance and “closing” strength in the peak contraction of classic pull-ups. In addition to training all the target muscles of the pull-up — the lats, upper back, and biceps — your core works hard to maintain a steady lower body. Since the movement is isometric in nature, there is relatively less potential for injury or risk, since the skeleton is hardly changing position while under tension and your joints can remain stable. It’s a fantastic option for building pull-up strength.

How to Do It

To perform a flexed arm hang, position yourself under a bar, with your in closer-than-normal proximity to the bar itself. This is typically accomplished by standing on a step or box, or jumping into position and locking your body into position. Hold the fully contracted state for the desired amount of time. 15 to 30-second holds is a good place to start.

In this position, it’s easy to allow the shoulders to creep out of position (elevated and with protracted scapulae), so the emphasis must be on maintaining a “proud chest” and a “long neck”.

Once fatigue sets in, it’s common for a lifter to simply let go and forfeit all tension. Instead, allow your body to slowly lower toward a full hang. This will reap the benefits of a heavy eccentric (lowering) rep, which is a great technique for strength gains in and of itself. 

Eccentric Pull-Up 

Adding time to an eccentric (lowering or stretching) portion of any exercise can strengthen a lifter’s ability on both halves of a lift — the concentric (lifting), as well as the eccentric. (1) Exhausting muscle fibers in the concentric portion of an exercise still leaves a large amount of a lifter’s capacity untapped.

Everyone possesses more eccentric strength (strength on the lowering phase of a movement) than they do concentric strength. Because of this strength bias, working hard to exhaust and “train” that portion of a given lift can improve a lifter’s total strength in that movement while also exposing the lifter to plenty of muscle-building time under tension. (2)

To illustrate: If a lifter’s one-rep max effort bench press was 315 pounds, you would naturally conclude that loading 320 or 325 pounds on the bar would leave them unable to press the weight from their chest. However, if that same lifter was asked to only lower a 325-pound barbell to their chest without pressing it up afterward, their possibility of success would be very high.

When to Do It

Focusing on the lowering phase of the exercise places much more emphasis on time under tension, which is ideal for strengthening muscles and stimulating growth. The eccentric pull-up, in particular, is also great for building grip strength. When a lifter has a bigger frame, their issue might not be a technical element of the lift, it could be the frustration of their overall size making it difficult to possess the strength to complete reps.

For big, heavy lifters, their relative strength will be exploited with this exercise. Even if they perform well in movements like the squat and deadlift, their chin-up or pull-up performance often suffers. There’s no other major explanation to be made, other than the sad truth that those are sometimes the breaks when you carry a whole lot of mass. 

As a back-dominant exercise, the basic pull-up should generally be a movement that a lifter can perform for reps to tap into the muscular endurance of his postural muscles. It’s up to the lifter to choose the right exercise choices to make that possible, and the eccentric pull-up can be a key player in getting there.

How to Do It 

Set up a box or step under the pull-up bar, slightly behind, to the side of, or in front of your body. Stand on top of the box with your head fairly close to the bar. Grab the bar with an overhand grip, outside of shoulder-width and “jump” yourself into the top position of a pull-up — with your elbows near your ribs and your chest close to the bar. Set your shoulders down and back.

Lower yourself slowly with control, while attempting to “brake” your free descent, until the arms are fully extended and you’re in a true dead hang. When you’ve reached the bottom position, step back onto the box and repeat from the top. Focus on sets of three to six reps, with each rep taking five to 10 second for a full descent. Never sacrifice full range of motion, and be sure to do zero work on the concentric phase of the movement — only jump into the top position, don’t try to pull yourself up.

To make this more challenging, add “eccentric isometrics” by pausing for three to five seconds at various segments throughout the descent — at the one-quarter point, the halfway point, and the three-quarters point.

Lat Pulldown

The lat pulldown might be considered more of an “assistance” exercise than a true “alternative,” but it can be highly effective when pull-ups aren’t an option. The movement is somewhat more isolated in nature, as its seated starting position eliminates many core muscles normally involved in a pull-up.

Moreover, the weight being lifted can be adjusted from as low as the weight stack offers (typically 10 or 20 pounds) to the full stack itself, potentially more than the lifter can manage with good form. The makes the muscular demands on the body potentially too low or excessive. But when used properly, with appropriate loading and programming, the lat pulldown can help to target the back, shoulders, and arms in a vertical pulling movement comparable to a full pull-up.

When to Do It

One mistake many people believe about “back exercises” is that that any movement is a good one when it comes to muscular development, shoulder health, and postural correction. With good intentions, some people double-up on their pulling movements, which can include pull-ups, thinking that they are premier strengthening exercises that deliver a positive impact on posture and shoulder health.

However, kyphosis is a significant condition affecting the thoracic spine (upper and middle back) which causes a rounded, “humpback” posture. Most people think that it only affects the spine, but this change in spinal shape has an impact on the rest of the back and ribcage, also. Kyphosis also affects the shoulder blades, pushing them higher and outward into a dysfunctional “winged” position.

This can contribute to shoulder pain, and more importantly, it can mean pull-ups cause your joints more harm than good. Many lifters don’t have great shoulder mobility, and this can be very valuable information to learn before doing pull-ups. It’s a key reason why pulldowns may prove to be a safer, more effective alternative for those with shoulder or upper back issues.

The lat pulldown can allow your torso to lean at a more comfortable angle for the overhead pull, with less shoulder flexion than hanging your full body weight from a pull-up bar, can be a saving grace to shoulder health for those to whom these contraindications apply. 

How to Do It

It’s essential that you take the time to position yourself on the seat at the appropriate height. Most lat pulldown setups allow you to adjust to the height of the seat, so you should be sitting far enough that you can just barely reach the bar.

Set your hands in an overhand pull-up grip (around shoulder-width apart should be fine for most lifters), secure your legs under the leg pads, and lean your torso back very slightly.

The starting position should be one where the weight is lifted off the plate-loaded stack when the bar is in your hands and your arms are stretched overhead. In other words, at the top of each rep, the plates shouldn’t crash on top of one another, which would indicate insufficient range of motion.

Set your shoulders by lowering them toward the ground and make your neck long. Focus on driving your elbows down to move the bar toward the torso. Pull with your elbows as far as you can, to feel a deep contraction in your upper and mid-back. Done properly, the bar should stop on or near your upper chest or collarbone area. Pause very briefly before returning to the stretched position.

Rack Pull-Ups 

When someone isn’t too great at pull-ups, they can end up doing “whatever it takes” to get up to the bar. As a result, some unwanted and potentially dangerous swinging of their entire body can become an issue.

For that reason, gently resting your feet on an object like a box or bench can be a game-changer to establish muscular control without overwhelming the lift with “too much” assistance.

The idea with the rack pull-up, sometimes called a rack chin, is that your legs to take some of the loading off the body, which can result in a stricter pull-up with more focus on your upper and mid-back. This can be a great option for any lifter concerned with adding size whether or not they’re not great at standard bodyweight pull-ups.

When to Do It

Rack pull-ups create a modification from the full pull-up since some of your body weight is removed from the picture. However, the exercise also allows you to focus more on muscular contraction than core stability through each rep. Add that to the probable reality of being able to crank out more reps per set due to the improved leverage and decreased loading, and you have a wicked tool for hypertrophy.

How to Do It

Set up a flat bench or step near a Smith machine or power rack, with the bar set high enough to allow your body to create a 90-degree angle when your arms are fully extended and your feet are on top of the bench. Grab the bar with an overhand grip beyond shoulder-width. Keep your upper body mostly vertical and your lower body mostly horizontal or angled throughout each repetition. Don’t allow yourself to lean back excessively, turning the exercise into a horizontal row.

You can press gently into the bench with your legs as you pull toward the top position. This adjusts the amount of assistance and control necessary to complete the lift with maximum focus.

Benefits of Pull-Up Alternatives

Choosing an exercise comparable to pull-ups may be necessary for a number of reasons, and each alternative can provide a variety of benefits that can either work around resstrictions or help work toward a full pull-up.

Decreased Strength Requirement

Performing a bodyweight pull-up can be an incredible challenge for many lifters, whether it’s due to a significant body weight, a lack of upper body strength, or a combination of the two. The most effective pull-up alternatives can provide a significant training stimulus regardless of the lifter’s current strength level or overall conditioning.

Adjustable Range of Motion

If shoulder or upper back mobility restrictions prevent full overhead extension, you won’t be able to safely or efficiently display enough force through a full range of motion to benefit from pull-ups. By accommodating an adjusted range of motion, some exercise variations allow you to build strength and muscle size without putting your back and shoulders into a compromised position.

No Pull-Ups, No Problem

Pull-ups are an amazingly useful and productive exercise, but they’re not for everyone. If you can’t yet manage a pull-up, or if you have mobility issues that prevent you from working through a pain-free range of motion, you’re now loaded with plenty of equally effective choices to build your back, shoulders, and arms while addressing the full pull-up in your own time.

References

1. Walker, S., Blazevich, A. J., Haff, G. G., Tufano, J. J., Newton, R. U., & Häkkinen, K. (2016). Greater Strength Gains after Training with Accentuated Eccentric than Traditional Isoinertial Loads in Already Strength-Trained Men. Frontiers in physiology, 7, 149. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2016.00149
2. Burd, N. A., Andrews, R. J., West, D. W., Little, J. P., Cochran, A. J., Hector, A. J., Cashaback, J. G., Gibala, M. J., Potvin, J. R., Baker, S. K., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. The Journal of physiology, 590(2), 351–362. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200

Featured Image: Onward Milwaukee / YouTube

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Pulling in a vertical pattern strengthens your back, shoulders, and arms, while also building the muscles that support and stabilize your shoulder blades. This maintains healthy joint function which, in turn, keeps your entire upper body strong. 

However, the lat pulldown isn’t enough to build thickness in your entire back and it’s not the only way to keep everything strong, healthy, and balanced.  Eventually, you need to make some adjustments. Over-focusing on classic straight bar lat pulldowns without any change in angles, grip, or technique won’t be enough to for complete development.

If you know which muscles and attributes you’re looking to address, you can wisely choose the right exercises for better results. Here are 12 of the best alternatives to build a bigger, stronger, more complete back. 

Best Lat Pulldown Alternatives

• Behind-the-Neck Pulldown
• Rhomboid Pulldown
• Stiff-Arm Pulldown
• Lying Cable Pullover
• Crossed Band Pulldown
• Supinated-Grip Pulldown
• Weighted Pull-Up
• Mechanical Drop Set Pull-Up
• Inverted Row
• Ultra-Wide Grip Bent-Over Barbell Row
• Landmine Row
• Single-Arm Face Pull

Behind-the-Neck Pulldown

“Scapular control is as cool as a really wide back,” said no person ever. Maybe you don’t do standard pulldowns to target the muscles that control your shoulder blades, but the basic movement does train muscles that control and rotate them. Pulling the bar behind your neck creates an even more efficient path.  

Why Use the Behind-the-Neck Pulldown

By slightly altering the mechanics and path of this vertical pull, you train the supporting muscles of the shoulders and shoulder blades through a more complete range of motion. If you have suitable shoulder mobility and can perform the motion without pain, pulling behind your head allows you to target the muscles that rotate and lower the shoulder blades. 

The kicker here is that when your shoulders and scapulae (shoulder blades) are well-positioned, with the behind-neck movement, your body can create higher levels of strength and develop more noticeable upper-back muscle.

How to Do the Behind-the-Neck Pulldown

Set up on a lat pulldown machine as you normally would. Use a long bar attachment and grab it with an overhand grip beyond shoulder-width. Sit with your arms straight overhead and shoulders “shrugged” up. Keep your forehead, chin, and sternum in line as you lean slightly forward. Let your arms be pulled slightly back, in line with your hips. Keep your body forward as you pull the handle down. Ideally, aim to touch the bar to the base of your traps, near your neck, but pull to a comfortable depth based on your overall mobility.

Think about trying to shrug your shoulders “down” as you bend your arms and drive your elbows down. In the bottom position, squeeze your shoulder blades down before straightening your arms and controlling the weight up. Let your shoulders rise as the cable pulls you into a controlled overhead lat stretch. Start with light weight and a full range of motion, and increase slowly without sacrificing form. 

Rhomboid Pulldown

This movement may feel a little funky at first, but it’s a simple and effective way to shift focus from your big lat muscles to the smaller muscles of your upper and mid-back. To do these, you’ll use close or neutral-grip attachment and a very specific body angle. 

Why Do the Rhomboid Pulldown

The rhomboids are deep muscles between the shoulder blades that pull your upper back together. If these supportive muscles don’t function well, there’s a good chance you will eventually deal with some shoulder dysfunction, pain, or injury. The rhomboid pulldown targets these muscles while also building muscle in the center of your mid-back, which for many, is lacking thickness and development.  

How to Do the Rhomboid Pulldown

Grab the a close-grip attachment with your palms facing each other. Lock your legs under the pads, but lean your torso back to create a roughly 45-degree angle between your upper body and the floor. Pull your hands to your sternum and allow your elbows to flare out at a 90-degree angle to your shoulders. Keep your trunk braced and stable as throughout the exercise.

In the bottom position, think of pulling your shoulder blades together and your shoulders down to the ground. Control the weight on the way up, but keep your torso angled backward for the entire set.

Stiff-Arm Pulldown

This single-joint (isolation) exercise is arguably better at building lat thickness than traditional pulldowns because the work it done only by the lats with minimal assistance from the shoulders and arms.

Why Do the Stiff-Arm Pulldown

The stiff-arm pulldown, also known as a straight-arm pushdown, is great at building lat size and general mobility because the muscle has to overcome resistance through a long range of movement. You need to control the resistance through a long arc that puts your lats in a significant stretch toward the top. This is one of the few exercises that actually strengthens shoulder extension (raising the arm) along with training your shoulder blades to slide downward into a stable position.  

How to Do the Stiff-Arm Pulldown

Attach a straight bar or rope to a cable near the top of your head. Stand tall, grab the bar or rope with your elbows slightly bent and your palms facing down (on a bar) or facing each other (with a rope). Maintain a bent-arm position as you “sweep” the attachment toward the top of your legs.

At the bottom, imagine pulling your shoulders behind your torso before you let the weight pull your arms back up. Control the weight and let your arms come all the way up for an active stretch at the top. 

Lying Cable Pullover

Dumbbell or kettlebell pullovers are sometimes used as an alternative to pulldowns or, more specifically, an alternative to stiff-arm pulldowns, but expecting people to do those free weight exercises light enough to limit the contribution of the chest, arms, and shoulders is like asking them not to look at themselves in the mirror after a good arm pump. Lying cable pullovers are a more effective way to emphasize the contraction of the lats and other back muscles with relatively light weight and high tension.

Why Do the Lying Cable Pullover

This exercise gives you all the same benefits of stiff arm pulldowns — increased lat recruitment with limited additional muscles — while also increasing the duration that the muscle held under tension. And the longer the muscle is contracting under tension the more muscle and strength can be built. (1)

How to Do the Lying Cable Pullover

Lie on a flat bench with a cable set slightly above head-level. Use a rope attachment to allow for more range of motion. Grab the rope with your hands facing each other. Maintain a slight bend in your elbows and pull the rope toward your legs while keeping your lower back flat against the bench.

Keep your hands facing one another and try to touch your pinky fingers to the floor. In the bottom position, squeeze your shoulders together and think of pushing your triceps through the floor before controlling the resistance all the way back. Let the resistance pull your arms as far back as you can tolerate, above and behind your head.

Crossed Band Pulldown 

This movement is perfect for using resistance bands rather than a cable machine because the tension of the bands combines with the long range of motion to target the smaller muscles of the back. The crossed band pulldown can also be called a “banded rhomboid pulldown” because it works those smaller upper back muscles similar to a rhomboid pulldown.

Why Do the Crossed Band Pulldown

By pulling the bands in a cross-body motion, you are training the muscles that move and support the scapulae with a specialized effort you wouldn’t be able work with cables. These supportive muscles not only keep your shoulders functioning properly, but they provide the stability needed to build high-level pressing and pulling strength, and they contribute to unique thickness of the back musculature.

The resistance bands allows for more tension at the end range (peak contraction), which is where most people need to build more scapular control. As you pull the band, it becomes more challenging and the muscles have to create more tension, compared to steady resistance with cable pulleys. 

How to Do the Crossed Band Pulldown

Anchor two resistance bands to the top of a squat rack, pull-up bar, or other high and stable structure. Space the bands to be just outside the width of your shoulders. Grab the left band with your right hand and vice versa, and sit on the floor between them.

Keep a neutral spine, not arched or rounded, and pull the bands across the front of your body. Try to drive your elbows toward the floor behind you. Hold and squeeze the contacted position for one second before controlling the bands into a stretched position with straight arms. 

Supinated-Grip Pulldown

To keep your shoulders healthy and your upper back strength balanced, you need to do vertical pulls with your palms both facing away (pronated grip) and facing toward you (supinated grip). The supinated-grip pulldown, or “chin-down” (as opposed to a bodyweight chin-up), is a great option to build this supinated-position strength whether you can do chin-ups or not. 

Why Do the Supinated-Grip Pulldown

This hand position doesn’t magically make it a biceps-only exercise. This grip variation trains the connections between the biceps, delts, and upper-back muscles differently from a pull-up or pulldown. (2) It also builds more balanced upper back stability and more shoulder mobility.

How to Do the Supinated-Grip Pulldown

Use a straight bar attachment and set up just as you would for a standard pulldown. Grab the bar with palms facing you and hands placed right at or a little wider than shoulder width apart.

Pull the attachment down by driving your elbows to the ground and try to touch it right below your collarbone. Squeeze the elbows down before controlling the cable back up. 

Weighted Pull-Up

Most don’t think that pulling exercises that target the upper back should ever really be loaded heavy, but that line of thinking is a big mistake.

If you’re looking to build your back as big as you can, you need to combine high-rep sets with heavy weights. The weighted pull-up is an extremely effective, if slightly advanced, way to get the job done.  

Why Do the Weighted Pull-Up

Pull-ups are typically done to build muscle size using only your body weight for as many reps as possible. But they can and should sometimes be loaded as heavy as possible and performed in rep ranges as low as three to five per set. This will expose you to new types of muscular stress that leads to muscle growth. 

How to Do the Weighted Pull-Up

Take an overhand grip with your arms at, or just a little wider than, shoulder-width. Pull from a straight-arm hang to your chin or neck reaching bar-level. Warm-up with bodyweight-only sets and then add a weight using either a dip belt or a weighted vest. Start with a weight that you know you can do at least five reps with.

Perform multiple sets of three to five reps, adding just a little weight after each set. When you reach a very challenging weight and feel like you can only grind two or three reps, stick with this weight and try to do two to four more sets.

Mechanical Drop-Set Pull-Up

It’s important to do vertical pulling exercises with a variety of hand positions – overhand, underhand, and neutral-grip. Each grip is mechanically different in terms of difficulty and muscle recruitment, and this can be exploited to do more quality volume, which results in greater strength and muscle growth. (3)

Why Do the Mechanical Drop Set Pull-Up

A pronated (palms away) hand position is most challenging and prioritizes the lat muscle and upper back. A supinated (palms toward you) hand position is slightly easier and emphasizes the biceps and shoulders, and a neutral position (palms facing each other) offers the greatest leverage and is least challenging, recruiting the brachialis and shoulders. (4)

A “mechanical drop set” is a specialized technique that allows you to do as many reps as you can with the most difficult hand position. This causes the emphasized muscles to work hardest. You then continue to add more tension to the same muscle groups with a supinated grip, and finally using neutral-grip hand position. In total, you are able to do more volume than you could normally achieve using exclusively any one grip.

How to Do the Mechanical Drop Set Pull-Up

Take a shoulder-width overhand grip on a pull-up bar and lift yourself from a straight-arm hang to your chin near bar-level. As you reach muscular fatigue, let go and reset your grip to take a shoulder-width underhand grip. Continue performing additional repetitions until you reach fatigue again. Let go and finally take a neutral (palms facing) grip. Continue the last phase of the set with more reps.

One effective approach with this method is to pick a pre-determined rep count for each hand position. For example, if you can do five standard (overhand) pull-ups, you may choose to do two or three reps of each grip. This increases your pull-up volume significantly because you end up doing a total of six to nine repetitions instead of only five.

Inverted Row

The inverted row is often done with your body parallel to the floor, with your feet elevated to make it a true horizontal rowing motion. While this is a great variation to build the entire mid-back and lats, doing these at a 45-degree angle with your feet on the ground may be an even more efficient way to strengthen your back muscles similar to a lat pulldown. 

Why Do the Inverted Row

This is a great option to replace or add more bodyweight movements. Strong or experienced lifters tend to neglect bodyweight training, maybe throwing in a few push-ups here or there, but that’s short-sighted. Bodyweight pulling movements, in particular, demand trunk stabilization and good scapular control which carry over to strength and stability in nearly all exercises.

If you can’t do bodyweight pull-ups, you need to find other ways to train your pulling muscles. The 45-degree inverted row uses your bodyweight to build strength and muscular coordination. This moderate angle makes it a different and effective way to strengthen the scapular muscles and still build the lats, comparable to a traditional pull-up or pulldown.

How to Do the Inverted Row

Set a barbell on a rack somewhere around ab-height. You can also use a Smith machine. You may have to adjust this higher or lower once in position depending on your arm length. Grab the bar with an overhand grip, with your arms a little wider than shoulder-width. Slide your feet out until your body is at roughly a 45-degree angle with the floor.

Keep your legs straight and pull yourself toward the bar. Aim to touch your chest to the bar before lowering under control and repeating for the set number of reps. 

Ultra-Wide Grip Bent Over Barbell Row 

The wide-grip barbell row might be one of the best exercises to increase thickness in your lats and traps while building strength that carries over to other big lifts. If you see someone who does this exercise often, heavy, and well, you can count on them having a big and powerful back. 

Why Do the Ultra-Wide Grip Bent-Over Barbell Row

The ultra-wide grip row not only makes your lats wider, but it builds thickness in the mid-back better than many other exercises. The challenging wide grip also taxes your forearm muscles, making them bigger while building a stronger grip. The bent-over position requires your hips, trunk, and hamstrings to stabilize you body and create tension to support the weight. This total-body recruitment makes you stronger for pretty much anything else in the gym or on the field. 

How to Do the Ultra-Wide Grip Bent-Over Barbell Row 

Stand over a barbell with your feet hip-width apart. Hinge forward at the hips, squat down, and grab the bar with a palms-down grip as far wide as your grip will allow. The bar should be difficult to hold, but be sure you can keep it in your hands for the entire set. Stand straight up with the bar in your hands and your arms straight. Slightly bend your knees as you hinge from your hips.

Keep your knees slightly bent and bend forward until your back is close to parallel with the ground. Hold this position with your elbows locked and keep your back flat and your abs braced. Row the bar toward the bottom of your sternum. Control the weight back down to a straight-arm position, and repeat for repetitions.

Landmine Row

The landmine row can train the lats more without causing, or worsening, any potential shoulder problems because it places a unique demand on the body compared to other barbell or dumbbell exercises. The angle and leverage of the landmine create a different stress on the muscles and joints. It allows the lifter to adjust their body position and change the pull of the weight.

Why Do the Landmine Row

This exercise is done using a “v-bar” attachment, which requires a neutral-grip. This helps you contract your lats through a full range of motion while allowing the shoulder blades to move into a natural position. This not only helps to reduce shoulder pain but also reinforces and builds the shoulder-stabilizing muscles.

Because landmine row moves though an arc range of motion rather than a straight line, it creates different leverages for your muscles. For that reason, the weight typically feels heavier at the bottom and lighter at the top, which is the opposite of most exercises. This “reversed” strength curve means that the landmine row can train the lats differently by placing them under greater tension at the bottom position. 

How to Do the Landmine Row

Put one end of a barbell in a landmine unit, or in the stable corners of a squat rack. Attach a neutral-grip v-bar handle around the free end of the barbell just below the collar. Straddle the bar, squat down to grab the handle, and stand up supporting the bar with straight arms. Make sure your back is almost completely parallel with the floor and your legs are slightly bent.

Row the bar up and try to touch your wrists somewhere between the bottom of your sternum and your abs. Lower the weight by straightening your arms under control. Try not to “hitch” or bounce as you lift the weight. The more strict the movement, the better it is for building muscle and strength. 

Single-Arm Face Pull 

Standard lat pulldowns are usually done in hopes of building wider backs, but it’s not really just about building back width. You need to build muscle on your upper back and across the backs of your shoulders, as well. There are more focused ways to develop these key areas than just using the simple pulldown.

Why Do the Single-Arm Face Pull

The single-arm face pull targets the rear delts (back of the shoulder) and the upper and inner parts of your back. These muscle groups not only need to be strong for optimal shoulder health and stability, but they need to be well-developed if you want your back to look as thick as possible.

Training one are at a time helps you narrowly focus on properly moving your shoulder and shoulder blade. Single-arm exercises like this also train your trunk to resist rotation so, as an added benefit, you’re also training core stability.

How to Do the Single-Arm Face Pull

Attach a single handle to a cable pulley at forehead-height. Grab the handle palm-down with one hand. Straighten your arm and step back until the cable slightly pulls on the weight stack to lift it up. Stand tall with your knees slightly bent and your feet about hip-width apart.

Keep your palm facing down as you pull the handle toward your ear. Think “chicken wing” to keep your elbow high and pointed out. Focus on pulling your shoulder blade in toward your spine. Hold and squeeze at this end position for one second. Don’t let your shoulder shrug upward. Control the weight back without letting it pull your shoulder too far forward as your arm straightens. 

Benefits of Lat Pulldown Variations

There are three basic reasons to include this vertical pulling motion in your training: muscle size, muscular strength, and musculoskeletal health. Whichever reasons are on your goal list, there are plenty of effective movements to get the job done.

Increased Muscle Recruitment

Many people want to build their lats thicker and wider. Bigger lats give an athletic look many people want. Whether it’s on a bodybuilding stage, at the beach, or just for your own personal physique goal, a well-developed back includes wide lats as well as a solid upper and mid-back.

The lat pulldown, on its own, isn’t sufficient for targeting the multiple muscles involved in building complete back size.

Improved Strength Development

The more overall back strength you have, the more weight you can lift. Back strength is essential for a strong, stable upper body. This strength and stability carries over to big lifts like the deadlift, when maintaining proper position for efficient technique.

A stronger back even carries over to lower body exercises like the squat, to help your upper body transfer power from your legs through your core and upper body.

Joint Health

Healthy, well-functioning shoulders and shoulder blades (scapulae) are essential for any lifter. If you press weights overhead (up), you need to pull weights down. Basic muscular symmetry helps to reduce the risk of shoulder and upper body injuries. (5) Vertical pulling trains coordination and control between your shoulders and the scapulae, and it reinforces the postural muscles surrounding your scapulae and the entire middle back.

Get Down with All the Pulldowns

The lat pulldown is one of the most popular vertical pulling exercises for building muscle and strength. It’s an effective and time-tested exercise, but you still need to stress the upper and mid-back muscles with different angles and demands to create a maximum training effect. You can’t haphazardly add variations and hope for the best, because that can be a counterproductive waste of time. Review the exercises above, figure out which suit your specific needs, and plug them into your training plan. Soon enough, you’ll have all the variety you need for a well-rounded, and well-widened, back.

References

1. Burd, N. A., Andrews, R. J., West, D. W., Little, J. P., Cochran, A. J., Hector, A. J., Cashaback, J. G., Gibala, M. J., Potvin, J. R., Baker, S. K., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. The Journal of physiology, 590(2), 351–362. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200
2. Lusk, S. J., Hale, B. D., & Russell, D. M. (2010). Grip width and forearm orientation effects on muscle activity during the lat pull-down. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24(7), 1895–1900. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181ddb0ab
3. Leslie, Kelly & Comfort, Paul. (2013). The Effect of Grip Width and Hand Orientation on Muscle Activity During Pull-ups and the Lat Pull-down. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 35. 75-78. 10.1519/SSC.0b013e318282120e.
4. Plantz MA, Bordoni B. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Brachialis Muscle. [Updated 2022 Feb 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551630/
5. Drigny, J., Gauthier, A., Reboursière, E., Guermont, H., Gremeaux, V., & Edouard, P. (2020). Shoulder Muscle Imbalance as a Risk for Shoulder Injury in Elite Adolescent Swimmers: A Prospective Study. Journal of human kinetics, 75, 103–113. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2020-0041

Featured Image: Wood Water Wall / Shutterstock

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The problem is that compound (multi-joint or “polyarticular”) exercises like chins, deadlifts, and rows not only train the large lat muscle of your back, but also many other muscles in your whole body. The lats are a notoriously hard to target body part, and these big lifts have the risk of shifting the work to other supporting muscles.

The straight-arm pushdown, sometimes called a stiff-arm pushdown or pulldown, is one the most effective movements to work just the lats because it is an isolation (single-joint) exercise. This allows you to really focus on the target body part with minimal assistance from other muscles.

Adding this exercise might just be the key to unlock new growth and a better mind-muscle connection. Here’s why and how to add it to your training plan.

• How to Do the Straight-Arm Pushdown 
• Straight-Arm Pushdown  Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Straight-Arm Pushdown 
• Benefits of the Straight-Arm Pushdown 
• Muscles Worked by the Straight-Arm Pushdown 
• How to Program the Straight-Arm Pushdown 
• Straight-Arm Pushdown Variations 
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Straight-Arm Pushdown

As a single-joint exercise, the straight-arm pushdown is a fairly straightforward to perform. These types of movements typically require less coordination and technique than multi-joint exercises, but you still need to use proper form if you want the best results.

Step 1 — Set up at the Cable Station

Set a cable pulley at the maximum height so that you can enjoy a full range of motion, and attach a straight or EZ-curl bar. 

Grab the bar using a palms-down, shoulder-width grip, and fully extend your arms toward the pulley. Step back until the weight starts floating off the stack and you feel tension pulling you toward it. Lean forward at the waist and slightly bend your knees to adopt a stable position from which to pull. Your hands should be slightly above shoulder-height.

Form tip: Keep your shoulders down and your chest puffed up. This will diminish the stress on your shoulders and reduce interference from non-target muscles like your shoulders or traps.

Step 2 — Pull the Weight Down

Exhale and squeeze your lats as much as you can while driving the bar down towards your thighs. Keep your arms straight or slightly-bent for the duration of the lift. Nothing should move but your arms. Keep your wrists neutral, don’t allow them to curl down or bend back.

Form tip: Imagine you have an orange under each of your armpits and you’re squeezing them for their juice. This will help you recruit your back more and shift focus away from your arms.

Step 3 — Control the Stretch

When the bar is nearly touching your legs, slowly reverse the motion and let your arms come up. Keep your torso still and don’t stand up straight at the weight comes up. Once you’re at the top of the range of motion and your back is fully stretched, repeat for the desired amount of reps. 

Form tip: If you feel your arms overpowering your lats, and your triceps or shoulders fatigue before your back muscles, use a “false grip” by placing your thumb on top of the bar next to your fingers. This will reduce arm involvement.

Straight-Arm Pushdown Mistakes to Avoid

The straight-arm pushdown requires focus to reap all the benefits. You have to nail the technique if you want to progress safely, and that means avoiding these common mistakes.

Swinging the Weight

Ego should never have a place in the gym, especially not when doing an isolation movement. If you start using body English to move more weight, you’ll end up working your hips, abs, and arms more than your back. If you want to move more weight and use as many muscles as possible, then skip the straight-arm pushdowns and do some barbell rows.

Moreover, using momentum will put more stress on your connective tissue and joints, possibly causing injuries. (1)

Avoid it: Only your arms should move during the exercise, and they should only move at the shoulder, not the elbow. If you have to move anything else, it’s either because you used too much weight or that your initial set up (stance and body position) wasn’t stable enough. Reduce the weight, bend your knees a bit more, and widen your stance to lower your center of gravity and increase stability.

Using Your Arms

You might not expect it, but the long head of your triceps (posterior muscle of the arm) will assist your back during this exercise because it’s partially responsible for moving your arm at the shoulder joint. However, it should remain a lat-focused exercise.

If you bend and extend your arms during the exercise, you’ll turn the exercise from a straight-arm pushdown into a wrongly-performed triceps pushdown, resulting in less muscle gains for each body part.

Avoid it: Don’t let your arms bend. Remember that it’s called a “straight-arm” movement and maintain the same elbow angle during the duration of the lift. To further reduce arm involvement, use a false grip by moving your thumbs on top of the bar near your fingers.

Going Too Heavy

Yes, there’s a recurring theme in this mistake session: do not chase weight. Keep the heavy weights and maximal efforts for the big compound exercises. If you use too much weight, you can end up compensating with other muscles and you’ll stop feeling the intended muscles, leading to less muscle growth. (2)

Avoid it: When you perform the exercise, if you stop feeling tension in your lats, it’s likely because other muscles have taken over. Reduce the weight immediately and double-check your stance, torso position, and arm angle.

How to Progress the Straight-Arm Pushdown

The cable station used for straight-arm pushdowns usually allows you to use very light or heavy weights, but that’s not always the case. Some pulleys have limited weights or other issues that affect your performance. In those cases, you can use progressions to either make the exercise easier or harder.

Resistance Band Straight-Arm Pushdown

Bands are versatile and easy to use. Strap a resistance band to a sturdy object at roughly head-height and perform the exercise as you would with a cable pulley. The band resistance starts very low and can be adjusted by standing closer or farther from the anchor point, which is perfect if you don’t yet feel confident enough to tackle more challenging resistance. 

One benefit of bands is that the resistance curve increases during the range of motion — as the band is stretched, it becomes more challenging — which can be beneficial for you to feel your lats working. This is also a great variation if you don’t have access to a cable station.

Slow Tempo Straight-Arm Pulldown

Whether you can’t put more weight on the station or you just have trouble feeling the correct muscles working during this exercise, you can use a slower tempo (lifting and lower speed) to make to movement more challenging with lighter weights.

One great way to do this is by taking three to five seconds on the concentric phase (when you lift the weight) and three to five seconds for the eccentric (when you reverse the motion). This will make the exercise tremendously harder, increase the time under tension, and improve your mind-muscle connection as well. 

Banded Dumbbell Pullover

If you’re an experienced lifter who already mastered the dumbbell pullover, which is itself a free-weight variation of the straight-arm pushdown, then you can take things to the next level. This is one of the most intense lat isolation exercises.

The problem with the basic dumbbell pullover is that there is little-to-no resistance at the top of the movement due to gravity’s limited effect on the weight. Strapping a band around the dumbbell, with an anchor point far behind your head, results in a continuous curve of resistance with a deep stretch and a hard peak contraction, resulting in a greater stimulus for muscle growth. (3)

Benefits of the Straight-Arm Pushdown

The straight-arm pulldown is very unique among back exercises because it allows you to zero-in on your lats without much fatigue or involvement from other back muscles.

Muscle Growth

Single-joint exercises are ideal for hypertrophy (muscle growth) because their purpose is to isolate a target muscle as much as possible. Isolation movement aren’t as effective for building strength because they weight used is limited, but if when it comes to talking strictly about muscle growth, they can be just as efficient as multi-joint exercises. (4)

Isolate Your Lats

If you’re a physique enthusiast and your lats are a weak point, the straight-arm pushdown is a perfect fix to bring them up to par. The fact that the straight-arm pushdown isolates the lats means you can really focus on them and correct any imbalances. You don’t have the risk of having your biceps, shoulders, or other back muscles taking over the movement.

The exercise also generates relatively less fatigue and is easier to perform than a multi-joint back exercise, meaning you could train it more often than other movements. The high-tension exercise is also better at increasing mind-muscle connection in your lats, something many lifters struggle with, but it can result in more muscle growth.

Muscles Worked by the Straight-Arm Pushdown

The straight-arm pushdown might be an isolation exercise, but the truth is that you can never isolate a single muscle. Let’s see what it trains.

Latissimus Dorsi

The lats are the biggest back muscle, giving it all its width. It goes from your hip bone to your humerus (arm bone) and attaches to your spine. This muscle has many functions including extending or flexing your torso, and moving or rotating the shoulder.

During the straight-arm pushdown, the lats are recruited when bringing your arms down toward your body’s midline. The straight-arm pushdown is one of the few back exercises that can perform this movement with limited involvement from the biceps.

Teres Major

This upper-back muscle goes from the humerus to the scapula, and it assists the lats in almost every function. The teres is heavily recruited during the straight-arm pushdown to stabilize your shoulder blades as your shoulders rotate and move through the range of motion..

Triceps Brachii

Even though the straight-arm pushdown primarily targets the back muscles, you’ll most likely feel your triceps burn during the exercise because they’re being worked statically, to maintain the straight-arm position. This posterior arm muscle consists of three heads (the long, lateral, and medial heads).

The long head, in particular, goes from the elbow to the scapula (shoulder blade) and it assists in moving your in toward your body’s midline, similar to the lats. 

How to Program the Straight-Arm Pushdown

The straight-arm pushdown is ideally used for hypertrophy. In that regard, you should use repetition schemes conducive to muscle growth. 

Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetition

This time-tested approach is the go-to for most bodybuilders. Three to four sets of eight to 12 repetitions will provide ample muscle tension and stimulus for optimal growth. This is a staple approach for a well-rounded back workout.

Low Weight, High Repetition

You can also use longer duration sets as a “finisher” for a serious burn and to practice technique. Two to three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions at the end of a session will encourage muscle growth as well, but will provide a different feeling from relatively heavier and lower rep training. Be sure to keep good posture and avoid swinging the weights as the reps get higher.

Straight-Arm Pushdown Variations

Once you’ve mastered the standard movement, you can try these variations to provide the same benefits to your body while creating a different stimulus. While these exercises are similar, the technique and movement differences will allow you to progress even further. (5)

Kneeling Straight-Arm Pushdown

This variation can be an excellent addition if you’re a taller lifter because it lets you use a full range of motion without worrying about the weight stack hitting the top of the pulley.

The kneeling position also provides more core and stability work because it’s harder to maintain and stabilize your balance. This increased core activation can be transferable to other exercises like the pull-up or general sports activities.

Dumbbell Pullover

This old school exercise is a favorite among classic bodybuilders. You only need a dumbbell and a bench, which is invaluable when you train during peak hours in a busy gym. You can either lie fully flat on a bench, or across it resting only your upper back on the bench which will increase the difficulty, thoracic (upper back) stretching, and core recruitment of the exercise.

The dumbbell pullover is also interesting because it changes the curve of resistance of the exercise — it emphasizes the lengthened contraction and the stretch of the muscle, but there’s almost no tension at the top. This can provide a completely novel stimulus which may trigger more growth.

Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover

This exercise is as old school as its dumbbell cousin and it follows the same general principles but this time, you’re using a barbell which changes your hand position and grip width.

The other key difference is that you’re not keeping your arms straight, but bent at around 90-degrees. The angle is maintained for the entire lift. This helps to put the lats into a nice, deep stretch. A few sets of practice and you’ll be able to appreciate the unique feeling of this classic movement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Push Yourself to the Next Level

The straight-arm pushdown can help you define and reinforce your back whether you’re a beginner or an experienced lifter. If you’re looking to step up your back game, fill your shirts, and get stronger, it’s time to appreciate this rare isolation exercise.

References

1. Faigenbaum AD, Myer GD. Resistance training among young athletes: safety, efficacy and injury prevention effects. Br J Sports Med. 2010 Jan;44(1):56-63. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.068098. Epub 2009 Nov 27. PMID: 19945973; PMCID: PMC3483033.
2. Calatayud J, Vinstrup J, Jakobsen MD, Sundstrup E, Brandt M, Jay K, Colado JC, Andersen LL. Importance of mind-muscle connection during progressive resistance training. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2016 Mar;116(3):527-33. doi: 10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7. Epub 2015 Dec 23. PMID: 26700744.
3. Schoenfeld, Brad J. The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: October 2010 – Volume 24 – Issue 10 – p 2857-2872 doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e840f3
4. Gentil P, Soares S, Bottaro M. Single vs. Multi-Joint Resistance Exercises: Effects on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy. Asian J Sports Med. 2015 Jun;6(2):e24057. doi: 10.5812/asjsm.24057. Epub 2015 Jun 22. PMID: 26446291; PMCID: PMC4592763.
5. Baz-Valle E, Schoenfeld BJ, Torres-Unda J, Santos-Concejero J, Balsalobre-Fernández C. The effects of exercise variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength and motivation in resistance trained men. PLoS One. 2019 Dec 27;14(12):e0226989. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226989. PMID: 31881066; PMCID: PMC6934277.

Featured Image: ANRproduction / Shutterstock

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The weighted pull-up will offer you the same benefits as the basic bodyweight exercise, but you can better suit your strength level. This leads to more strength and size in your back, arms, and abs. If you have mastered the unweighted pull-up, check out what the weighted version has to offer and the best way to do it.

• How to Do the Weighted Pull-Up
• Weighted Pull-Up Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Weighted Pull-Up
• Benefits of the Weighted Pull-Up
• Muscles Worked by the Weighted Pull-Up
• How to Program the Weighted Pull-Up
• Weighted Pull-Up Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up is not really different from the bodyweight version, technique-wise, but you still have to accommodate the weight depending on what implement you use. Here’s how to do them.

Step 1 — Pick a Weight

Depending on what’s available to you and your preferences, there are several options to add external resistance to the exercise. Here’s how to do it:

• Weighted Vest: Using a weighted vest will have the most natural feeling because the weight is distributed evenly around your torso. The general technique will be the closest to the bodyweight pull-up using this resistance. The only drawback is that you can’t go too heavy, as many vests are limited to 22 or 45 pounds.
• Backpack: This inexpensive, homemade alternative is very close to using a weighted vest. Simply add some weight in a sturdy bag and put it on. The biggest drawback is the unknown variable for weight capacity, as going too heavy is asking for the fabric or straps to tear down, which could be dangerous.
• Weighted Belt: Likely the most common way to add weight. It is a specialized belt with a chain on which you can add plates to load yourself. You put it around your waist, then let the weight hang between your legs. This resistance might feel a little harder because it will demand superior abdominal involvement because it’s pulling on your hips. The weights might dangle and move on the chain, but the sky is the limit weight-wise. For moving the heaviest loads possible, this is the best option.
• Dumbbell: If you have none of these options available, you can always grab a dumbbell and hold it between your thighs with your legs bent. This option is the least comfortable and will involve your abs and legs, but will work just fine to make pull-ups more challenging.
• Chains: Drape some chains around your neck and shoulders. It’s very easy to do and you’ll look great on the ‘Gram. Once again, you’ll most likely be limited by the amount of weight you can use and it can be uncomfortable.

Step 2 — Find Your Grip

Climb on the steps under the pull-up bar, or place a box under it. Grab the bar firmly with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip, with your palms facing away from you (pronated).

Your grip-width will depend on your own limb length and mobility, but generally aim for a “medium” grip — not too wide or too close — for maximal strength and balanced muscular engagement.

Let yourself hang from the bar under control in a dead-hang, with your arms completely extended. Pull your shoulder blades back, keep your chest high, and engage your abs so that you prevent your legs or (the weight if you’re using a belt or dumbbell) from swaying. If your lower body does start moving, wait for it to settle. This is your starting position.

Form tip: Depending on the width of your grip, you can shift focus onto different body parts. A closer grip will induce more arm recruitment, and a wider grip will emphasize your back. Because your back is a relatively larger and stronger muscle, err on using a slightly wider grip unless you’re specifically looking to build your arms and grip strength.

Step 3 — Pull Yourself to the Bar

Take a deep breath and flex your abs. Pull yourself toward the bar as hard as you can. Keep your elbows aimed down to ensure maximal lat engagement.

Pull until your chin goes over the bar, exhale, and hold the contraction for a second. Keep your chest high and your back very slightly arched to engage as many back muscles as you can.

Form tip: Depending upon your morphology (limb length) and your goals, pulling all the way up is not mandatory. If you’re a tall lifter or have relatively long arms, your muscles’ maximal contraction point might be reached before your chin is over the bar. If you’re one of these unique lifters or if you’re only interested in building muscle, aim for a range of motion where you only reach peak contraction. However, if your goal is overall strength, it’s wiser to adopt the same form on each rep and get your chin over the bar.

Step 4 — Lower With Control

Keep your body tense and slowly lower yourself until your arms are extended and your lats are fully stretched. Avoid any lower body swaying by flexing your abs as much as you can and squeezing the bar hard. When you’re at a dead-hang with straight arms, begin the next repetition.

Form tip: Your legs should remain in the same position for the duration of the lift. It will actually help you be stronger by increasing total-body stability. Whether you have them stretched or bent, keep them that way and flex them. This will help your core recruitment, and improve your lower lats strength through fascia connections.

Weighted Pull-Up Mistakes to Avoid

If you want to reap the most benefits of an exercise, proper execution is key. It’s especially true when you start adding weight to a bodyweight exercise because it can slightly alters the technique. Learn about the main weighted pull-up mistakes so you don’t reproduce them.

Gripping the Bar Too Loose

A common mistake is to hold the bar only with your fingers instead of a deep, full grip using your whole hand. Your forearms and grip are a main component of your pull-up performance — once you lose your grip, your set’s over.

More importantly, your hands are your only point of contact with the bar. Put yourself in, literally, the strongest position possible by maximizing your pulling ability.

Avoid it: You have to grip the bar firmly to transfer as much energy as possible through your body. As an added bonus, with the bar being lower in your hand instead of closer to your fingertips, you slightly reduce the range of motion by an extra inch or to help pass your chin over the bar.

Cutting the Range of Motion Short

Sure, you’re eager to add some weight and get stronger. But if you can only add weight by reducing the range of motion, you’re not ready for it yet. You shouldn’t change the mechanics of the exercise just for the sake of ego, because you might not end up with the results you want. Shortening the range of motion will diminish the time under tension, resulting in less muscle growth. (1)

The main offense with pull-ups is staying in the upper range of motion — only going down halfway. This will result in less hypertrophy because working in a longer muscle length is skipped and stretch-mediated hypertrophy is actually more efficient than only focusing on the shortened muscle length range. (2)

Avoid it: Remember that adding more weight won’t result in more strength or muscle if you succumb to half-reps. Think about quality, not quantity, and keep a full range of motion whether you’re using weight or not.

Swinging Around

Excessively swinging your body is a no-go.  This is especially true if you have weight dangling between your legs. You shouldn’t be trying to complete as many repetitions as possible, no matter the cost. If you want maximal muscle and strength gains, use perfect form at all times.

Creating momentum with your abs and lower body will diminish back muscular tension as well as reduce the effective range of motion, leading to sub-par gains. It’s also risking more tension on your shoulder joints which can lead to injuries.

Avoid it: Engage your core and tighten your legs to improve your stability. Practice with a one-second pause at the top and the bottom of each repetition to ensure strict, controlled movement. If needed, wait for an extra second or two in the bottom position of each rep to let the weight settle and reset yourself.

How to Progress the Weighted Pull-Up

Pull-up performance is determined by your relative strength, which is how strong you are compared to your bodyweight. You have two ways of making the pull-ups more challenging — either increase your body weight or add external load.

When you become “too strong” relative to your body weight, it’s wise to make the exercise harder if you want maximum gains. Here are the standards:

• If you want to become stronger at the pull-up, add weight once you can master sets of five or six bodyweight pull-ups.
• If you are focused on building muscle, add weight once you can bang out sets of 10-12 pull-ups without trouble.

But before any of that, you first need to be able to perform the basic pull-up, and here are some ways to get there.

Lat Pulldown

The bread and butter of many back sessions, the lat pulldown mimics everything a weighted pull-up can offer you, with less core activation and an more progressive way to determine your resistance.

What is great about this exercise is that beginners and veterans can use it alike. If you’re too heavy or just lack the strength for weighted pull-ups, this is a perfect alternative. You don’t have to worry about balance and coordination here, so you can focus more on the muscles.

Weighted Inverted Row

What’s better to replace a bodyweight back exercise than another bodyweight back exercise? The inverted row is the pull-up’s cousin and offers the same benefits and functional strength, though using an horizontal motion which slightly changes the muscle recruitment.

As with the weighted pull-up, you can progress to weighted inverted rows. Find a weighted vest, place a backpack “backwards” onto your chest and abs,  or toss some chains around your torso, and start pulling.

Pull-Up

Of course, the most essential step in achieving a weighted pull-up is to perform bodyweight-only pull-ups. If you can’t lift your own body weight, good luck lifting your own body weight plus an extra five to 30 pounds.

Work to master the fundamental technique. By the time you’re approaching double-digits with good form, you’ll be ready to start thinking about adding weight.

Benefits of the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up is a staple in many programs for a reason. This exercise can elevate your upper-body strength and size to unprecedented levels. If you can bang out ten or more, your fitness is certainly something to be recognized and you’ll get some appreciative stares in the gym. Here are a few more perks.

Maximal Strength

Maximal strength is mostly built using a weight of at least 85% of your one-repetition maximum. If you only stick with training bodyweight pull-ups, there will come a point where you won’t be able to train in the maximal strength zone, because your own weight won’t be challenging enough. This is why strength athletes use weighted exercises in general.

Adding weight to your pull-ups is one of the best ways to improve pulling strength in your upper body and arms. The back directly supports the spine, and many muscles and bones in the body. It’s akin to a tree trunk. Having a stronger back will help your performance by not only being stronger in pulling motions, but by providing a more stable base for your other muscles, for instance stabilizing the arms and scapulae (shoulder blades) in pressing motions.

The weighted pull-up will also directly improve spinal strength (because the lats are attached to the spine from the middle to the sacrum) as well as core resilience, both directly linked to better sports performance. (3)(4)

More Muscle Growth

The weighted pull-up is one of the best exercises to promote back hypertrophy. Period. (6) If you want to improve your posterior chain, adding it to your training regimen will do wonders. It will also build size in your arms and forearms, and most people would be pretty happy with that “side effect.”

If you’re a more seasoned lifter, chances are you can knock out many bodyweight pull-ups. Perhaps you even max out the lat pulldown machine. In both cases, the weighted-pull will most likely be your best bet to further improve your muscle development.

There are several ways to increase the demand on the muscle, but adding weight is one of the most straightforward. The beauty is that you can increase very gradually, by using small plates and making little adjustments. By doing so, you will ensure that you keep building muscle in your back and arms. (5)

Better Grip Strength

Grip is essential for pull-up performance, but also for exercises like the deadlift, or outdoor activities and sports. The weighted pull-up will be a tremendous grip builder, which has the benefits of causing less overall fatigue to the body and nervous system, and not taxing muscles like the lower back or legs. This can be very beneficial for athletes which monitor total volume for body parts or need to recover sufficiently for contest performance.

Moreover, having a weak grip can not only affect performance, but your health. Forearm and grip strength has been linked to wrist, elbow, and shoulder health. (5) If you suffer from tendinopathy or nagging pains in these areas, having a better grip can help. Grip strength is also an indicator of general health as it is linked to longevity, improved brain health, and reduced risk of depression. (6)

Muscles Worked by the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up engages many muscles in your upper body and your arms. Here are the main muscle groups trained by the exercise.

Latissimus Dorsi

The lats are the biggest and strongest back muscle. They go from your hip bone and lower spine to your humerus (arm bone) and are heavily involved in lowering, pulling, extending and internally rotating your arms. The lats also contribute to spinal and trunk movements and core stability. They are the main muscle recruited by weighted pull-ups and they take most of the workload.

Upper Back

The upper back is composed of several muscles sharing similar functions, including the trapezius, rhomboids, and posterior deltoids. They all move the shoulder blades in several ways, assist in pulling motions, and contribute to stabilizing the scapulae during pressing movement as well. As the pull-up requires scapular motion, the muscles of the upper back will heavily contribute to the movement.

Upper Arms

The biceps brachii are composed of two heads — the long portion on the outside of the arm, and the short portion on the inner side. They both go from your radius to your scapula, and flex and supinate the arm (rotate it internally). The biceps contributes to the weighted pull-up through arm flexion. You can’t bend your arms without your biceps.

The pull-up’s pronated (palms down) grip actually puts an emphasis on the brachialis muscle, the strongest arm flexor located just under the biceps, originating from the humerus and ending at the ulna (forearm bone). Having a big brachialis can help your biceps pop because they will push it higher.

Forearms

Because weighted pull-ups require tremendous grip strength, your forearms will be recruited extensively. Many muscles are present in the forearm but the forearm flexors, which are responsible for your grip, will be taxed the most. The brachioradialis, the biggest forearm muscle, will also assist the upper arm in flexing.

Core

To maintain proper posture and be more efficient during this exercise, you’ll have to engage your whole core. The added weight makes your core (abs, lower back, and some hip muscles) work even harder to stabilize your body, especially when the weight is suspended between your legs because it’s further from your center of gravity.

These core muscles do not actively move during the lift, but are contracted isometrically to maintain a stable body position for an efficient pull.

How to Program the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up is a polyarticular (multi-joint) exercise that can be programmed a variety of ways, depending on your goals and strength levels. Perform the exercise towards the beginning of your session, when you’re still fresh, to ensure proper technique and maximal strength. Here are several efficient repetition schemes.

Heavy Weight, Low Repetition

Performing three to five sets of one to five repetitions is the best way to improve your strength level. Keep one or two reps in the tank to ensure proper form at all times, because technique is crucial in strength development. To be able to repeat this effort with quality technique for all sets, aim for long rest periods of three to five minutes.

Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetitions

If you want to build size, three to four sets of six to 12 repetitions is an excellent scheme. You should be near or reach muscular failure on each set, but never at the expense of form. Rest periods of two to three minutes will be your best bet for maximum muscle gains. (7)

Strength-Skill Sets

Because the weighted pull-up is a skill that necessitates perfect form and long rest periods to recover, you should be wary of reaching muscular failure if we want to improve strength. As such, another strength method is to use a lot of very low-rep sets with short rest periods. You ensure your body stays fresh while providing high-quality, heavy weight repetitions.

For instance, one could use an EMOM format (every minute on the minute) and do one heavy repetition at the start of each minute for a total of ten minutes. You could also set a time limit, approximately 15 minutes, in which you perform as many high-quality sets of three repetitions as you can. These methods let you accumulate technique practice while also stimulating strength gains.

Weighted Pull-Up Variations

Using a pronated grip with pull-ups is the standard technique, but you can very easily change muscular recruitment and instill variety in your training by varying your grip angle.

Weighted Chin-Up

This variation uses a supinated (palms facing you) grip. This doesn’t look like much of a change, but the exercise involves more biceps and can put you in a stronger pulling position.

It is a great variation if you struggle with pronated pull-ups or if you want more arm size. If you want even more biceps involvement, use a closer than shoulder-width grip.

Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

A neutral grip (palms facing each other) puts less pressure on your elbow and shoulder joints. Adding weight to the pull-up can often cause pain to achy joints, and this version allows you to do it with less strain.

Additionally, it will emphasize the brachialis (the muscle under the biceps) and forearms recruitment. This will also be one of the strongest pulling grips.

Ring Weighted Pull-Up

This is one of the most challenging variations you can perform. The rings are not fixed like a bar, so they sway and increase the need for total-body stability. As such, your forearms, upper back, and core will have to work extra to halt any unnecessary swinging movement.

This variation will also be the smoothest on your joints. The rings allow you to rotate your hands freely, creating better joint positions and a more natural motion. If you suffer from achy elbows or shoulders, try this movement.

FAQs

I only have a pull-up bar and no way to add weight. Is my back progress doomed?

Adding weight to an exercise is the most straightforward way of improving progressive overload, but if you cannot perform weighted pull-ups, do not worry. First of all, keep in mind that for pure muscle growth, sets of 20 can be as beneficial as sets of 10. So unless you can consistently bang more than 20 pull-ups, you still have some room to grow. (8)

Alternatively, if you’re already strong as possible, or if you just want to try a different technique, there are other effective methods. You can increase the time under tension by adding pauses or playing with tempo (rep speed). For instance, taking a three-second pause at the top of each repetition or using a four-second eccentric (lowering phase).

You can also do the same basic sets, but with reduced rest periods. Go from sets of ten with two minutes of rest to sets of ten with just 90 seconds of rest. If you can do it, you’ve progressed. Finally, you can also pre-fatigue your pulling muscles to make bodyweight pull-ups more difficult. Doing a 15-second pause at the top of the motion before doing normal repetitions will stress your muscles differently. Try to increase this duration over several weeks.

What is the difference between a pull-up and a chin-up?

For some mistaken people, these both designate the same exercises, but they’re different. The chin-up uses a supinated grip, with your palms facing you, and the pull-up involves a pronated grip, with your palms facing away. As such, the chin-up involves the biceps more and the pull-up emphasizes the back musculature in general.

Get Your Pull-Up to the Next Level

Why stick to bodyweight when you can add weight and further improve your fitness? If you want to keep progressing, the weighted pull-up should be part of your arsenal for long-term success. Once you can do sets of ten consistently, you really will be in the company of kings.

References

1. Burd NA, Andrews RJ, West DW, Little JP, Cochran AJ, Hector AJ, Cashaback JG, Gibala MJ, Potvin JR, Baker SK, Phillips SM. Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. J Physiol. 2012 Jan 15;590(2):351-62. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200. Epub 2011 Nov 21. PMID: 22106173; PMCID: PMC3285070.
2. Oranchuk DJ, Storey AG, Nelson AR, Cronin JB. Isometric training and long-term adaptations: Effects of muscle length, intensity, and intent: A systematic review. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019 Apr;29(4):484-503. doi: 10.1111/sms.13375. Epub 2019 Jan 13. PMID: 30580468.
3. Moreno Catalá María, Schroll Arno, Laube Gunnar, Arampatzis Adamantios. Muscle Strength and Neuromuscular Control in Low-Back Pain: Elite Athletes Versus General Population. Frontiers in Neuroscience 12. DOI=10.3389/fnins.2018.00436
4. Hibbs, Angela & Thompson, Kevin & French, Duncan & Wrigley, Allan & Spears, Iain. (2008). Optimizing Performance by Improving Core Stability and Core Strength. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). 38. 995-1008. 10.2165/00007256-200838120-00004.
5. Coombes BK, Bisset L, Vicenzino B. Management of Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy: One Size Does Not Fit All. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2015 Nov;45(11):938-49. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2015.5841. Epub 2015 Sep 17. PMID: 26381484.
6. Bohannon RW. Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults. Clin Interv Aging. 2019;14:1681-1691 https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S194543
7. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, Hester GM, Sellers J, Nooner JL, Schnaiter JA, Bond-Williams KE, Carter AS, Ross CL, Just BL, Henselmans M, Krieger JW. Longer Interset Rest Periods Enhance Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016 Jul;30(7):1805-12. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001272. PMID: 26605807.
8. Thiago Lasevicius, Carlos Ugrinowitsch, Brad Jon Schoenfeld, Hamilton Roschel, Lucas Duarte Tavares, Eduardo Oliveira De Souza, Gilberto Laurentino & Valmor Tricoli (2018) Effects of different intensities of resistance training with equated volume load on muscle strength and hypertrophy, European Journal of Sport Science, 18:6, 772-780, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1450898

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The post How to Do the Weighted Pull-Up — Benefits, Variations, and More appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

When it comes to training your back, pull-ups aren’t your only option. The inverted row — sometimes jokingly called the Australian pull-up because your body is “down under” the bar — targets your back, shoulders, and biceps.

The inverted row is highly effective because it provides benefits to beginners and experienced lifters alike, improving pulling strength, back muscle size, and whole-body stability and coordination. Here’s how to perform a perfect inverted row, along with everything you need to know about this powerful and overlooked exercise.

• How to Do the Inverted Row
• Inverted Row Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of the Inverted Row
• Muscles Worked by the Inverted Row
• Who Should Do the Inverted Row
• How to Program the Inverted Row
• Inverted Row Variations
• Inverted Row Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

Simple and Effective Inverted Row Demonstration

Call it an inverted row, a bodyweight row, an Australian pull-up, or even the light-hearted but derogatory “fat man pull-up.” Whatever term you use, the movement is the same. Take a look at the straightforward technique and then continue learning.

How to Do the Inverted Row

The inverted row is a relatively less challenging bodyweight back exercise compared to the classic pull-up because you’re lifting a lower percentage of your body weight. This makes it a perfect exercise for newcomers. Nevertheless, improper execution will lead to poor muscle recruitment and minimal benefits, so pay attention to good form.

Step 1 — Get Into Position

Lie on the ground in a rack or Smith machine and reach your arms toward the ceiling. Note the spot slightly above your fingertips, and set a barbell in the rack at that height. Return to a lying position with your chest under the bar, and take slightly wider than shoulder-width, palms-down grip.

Keep your legs straight and your heels on the ground. Maintain a stiff core and hips to keep your body in a straight line.

Form tip: Because the resistance comes from leveraging your bodyweight, you can easily scale the exercise to suit your strength level. The steeper your body angle, the easier the exercise will be. The more horizontal your body is, the more challenging it will be. However, your back should not be able to rest on the ground in the stretched position. Instead, if necessary, elevate your feet on a bench or step to increase the difficulty.

Step 2 — Pull Your Chest to the Bar

Flex your abs, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and pull yourself up until your torso touches the bar. It should make contact near your lower chest. Think about driving your chest “up” through the bar toward the ceiling.

Do not let your elbows flare out too much on your sides. Keep them relatively close to your body to improve the recruitment of your lats (back muscles). In the top position, don’t bend your legs or let your glutes hang down.

Form tip: If your chest cannot reach the bar, adjust the height and reposition to reduce the difficulty. Achieving a full range of motion is critical for building strength, stimulating muscle growth, and improving shoulder and upper back joint health.

Step 3 — Stay Tight As You Lower

Keep your entire body tense and keep your shoulder blades squeezed together as you slowly straighten your arms. When you’ve reached full lockout, your back and shoulders should still be slightly off the ground.

Pivot your body on your heels, don’t bend your legs during the exercise. Let your back, shoulder, and arm muscles do the work of lifting and lowering.

Form tip: Maintain a stiff posture and an engaged core for maximum benefits. Ensure total-body tension and do not relax during the eccentric (descent or lowering phase).

Inverted Row Mistakes to Avoid

Just because the inverted row is a bodyweight exercise doesn’t mean you get a free pass to butcher basic technique. Good form matters as much with bodyweight exercises as with free weight movements. Review these frequent mistakes to make sure you’re not doing them.

Losing Posture

The main muscles of the inverted row are the back and the arms, but the whole body is involved in the lift. If your glutes start dropping down and you lose tension and posture, the mechanics of the exercise will change and you will reap less benefits. Your body should form a straight line from your ankles to your shoulder joints.

 

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There’s one acceptable exception to the “straight line” rule: To significantly improve your leverage and make the exercise easier, you can bend your legs and plant your feet flat on the floor. However, you should still keep a straight line from your knees to your shoulders while maintaining tension in glutes, core, and shoulder blades.

Avoid it: Push your heels into the ground to tense your legs and contract your glutes. Imagine having a string attaching your hip bones to the ceiling.

Rowing Too High

In the top position of each repetition, the bar should touch the lower part of your chest. If you’re positioned incorrectly and pull too high, with the bar hitting your upper chest or neck, you turn the exercise into a type of face pull variation.

This is a mistake because it decreases activation of your bigger lat muscles and increases recruitment of your rear deltoids (shoulders) and upper back. A higher pulling position also causes your elbows to flare out to the sides, which can increase strain on your shoulder joint, especially if you lack shoulder mobility.

Avoid it: Prior to beginning your set, when setting up the bar position, be sure your lower chest or upper abs are lined up under the bar. This helps to put you in a good pulling position before the movement even begins.

Pulling with “Broken” Wrists

When any exercise becomes difficult, because of fatigue or excessive weight, the body will naturally try to recruit additional muscles to come to the rescue. This can happen with the inverted row if your arms are much stronger than your back, when your wrists bend during the movement.

Pulling with bent or “broken” wrists will shift more stress to your arms and can cause joint pain and discomfort. It also excessively fatigues your gripping strength which will limit the amount of back work you can achieve.

Avoid it: Keep a neutral wrist position at all times, from the stretched position to the top contraction. Think about pulling with your elbows instead of pulling with your hands. If you have wrist pain, use a neutral grip by placing a football bar (sometimes known as a Swiss bar) in the rack instead of a straight barbell or by switching from a barbell to suspension straps (like a TRX).

Benefits of the Inverted Row

The simplest exercises can sometimes be overlooked, but they are often the ones that can provide major benefits. The inverted row can provide several benefits in terms of strength, muscle mass, and core stability.

More Muscle

Just like the pull-up, the inverted row is a fantastic exercise for building muscle mass in the back, arms, and forearms using just your bodyweight. In fact, it can recruit more lat and upper back muscle than a traditional barbell row (1) The inverted row makes it easy to accumulate volume (repetitions and/or sets) to stimulate muscle growth in your target muscles. (2)

Pulling Strength

Bodyweight movements have a reputation of being less effective for building strength because you can’t move extremely heavy weights but, if you’re a beginning lifter, it can prove very efficient. (3) As a multi-joint exercise, the inverted row is indeed an ideal choice for building pulling strength. (4)

The inverted row demands whole-body coordination and power. Like many bodyweight movements, you can eventually add resistance, like a weighted vest, to provide basic progressive overload. This will challenge the back, biceps, and grip strength of any experienced lifter.

Less Lower Back Stress

Rowing exercises usually involve the lower back to maintain proper posture and provide stability, but this can often be a limiting factor, especially for lifters with pre-existing lower back problems.

The inverted row creates very little spinal load because your spine isn’t put under any significant strain. As such, if you’re having back pain, it is an ideal option for a rowing movement with nearly zero stress on your lower back. Moreover, it also engages your core, which has been linked to less lower back pain and a better core and spinal health. (5)(6)

Muscles Worked by the Inverted Row

A properly done inverted row can be one of the most efficient back exercises in your arsenal. It recruits multiple muscles in your back without straining the often overused lower back like many alternative movements. As a pulling exercise, the inverted row also recruits several support muscles.

Latissimus Dorsi

The lats are the biggest and strongest back muscles. They go from your hip bone and lower spine to your humerus (arm bone) and are heavily involved in moving your arm through a variety of motions. Because they cover so much of your torso, the lats also contribute to spinal stability and trunk movements. They are the main target of the inverted row.

Upper Back

This includes your trapezius, rhomboids and posterior deltoids — all involved in scapular (shoulder blade) motion and joint health. These muscles work similarly to move the shoulder blades in several ways, assist in pulling motions, and contribute to stabilizing the scapulae during pressing movements.

Biceps

Of course, we all know the biceps. On the front of the upper arm, it is the biggest arm muscle and goes from the radius (forearm bone) to the scapula. The biceps are recruited to perform the inverted row, but other relatively smaller muscles will help the biceps flex (bend) your arm.

The pronated (palm down) grip used during the inverted row actually puts an emphasis on the brachialis, the strongest arm flexor muscle. (7) It is actually located just under the biceps, and can help your biceps appear larger because a well-developed brachialis will “push” it higher.

Forearms

Your forearms will be trained by nearly every back exercise because your grip transfers force from the weight toward the target muscle. Several muscles work throughout your forearms, but the forearm flexors on the palm-side of your lower arm are responsible for your grip and will be taxed the most. The brachioradialis, the biggest muscle on the opposite side of your forearm, will also assist in flexing your upper arm.

Core

In order to maintain proper posture and be more efficient during this exercise, you’ll have to engage your whole core. All of your abs (rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis), your erector spinae (spinal muscles), and some hip muscles are recruited synergistically. Your abs are the anterior core muscles running on the front of your torso while the erectors are along your back (beginning at the lower back, they run up to your neck).

Your core muscles do not move through a range of motion during the inverted row, but are contracted isometrically to maintain a strong, stable, and safe body position.

Who Should Do the Inverted Row

The inverted row is versatile and demands bare minimum equipment —any bar or beam that can support your weight. Lifters with a variety of goals and abilities can incorporate this exercise into their routine.

Beginners

The inverted row is an ideal pulling exercise for beginners starting to master their own body’s resistance. The exercise can be scaled in an instant to your strength level by either raising the bar or bending your legs to make it easier, or placing your feet on a bench or adding a weighted vest on — or both — to make it harder.

As pull-ups are significantly harder for inexperienced lifters without a base of strength, the bodyweight row is a great first step to increase pulling strength, general fitness, and whole-body tension.

Physique Enthusiasts

Be it a bodybuilder or someone that just wants to pack on some size, many lifters overlook the inverted row as a muscle-building exercise. Despite being a bodyweight exercise, it can be more efficient than some other rowing exercises, especially for targeting your lats and strengthening your upper back. It also has the benefit of being low-stress on your lower back, so you won’t interfere with recovery from low-back intensive exercises like squats or deadlifts.

General Fitness Advocates

Whether you’re a CrossFit enthusiast, sports athlete, or a Regular Joe that wants to improve their functional fitness, the inverted row is a multi-function exercise for developing several physical qualities. You can program it to improve strength, muscle size, muscular endurance, whole-body stability and coordination. You can even build cardiorespiratory capacities by tossing it into a circuit workout to improve your fitness as a whole.

How to Program the Inverted Row

Bodyweight movements are very versatile in programing, and the range of repetitions can vary considerably depending on your goals and strength level. If you’re a newer lifter, focus on only performing high-quality repetitions and treat it exactly like any other resistance exercise — no cheating on your form to squeeze out extra reps. A more experienced lifter can add external load or use a high training volume to make the movement more challenging.

Unweighted, Low Repetition

When you are at the early phase of training and still developing fundamental strength, coordination, and body awareness, your goal is to improve your form and build a general base. You cannot do too many repetitions because you lack the strength to do it without your form breaking down. Three to five sets of four to six repetitions is a good range to stick with.

You can also use a “total reps goal” approach instead of specific sets and reps. Aim for a modest number, roughly 20 repetitions, and complete them in as many sets of quality repetitions as needed. It could take 15 sets or it could be four. Over time, aim to reach the target in fewer total sets.

Unweighted, High Repetition

If you’re a strong lifter, you can use bodyweight training for high repetitions to build muscle while sparing your joints from excessive loading stress. (8) Aim for two to three sets of at least 15 repetitions to failure while keeping a good form. This will provide a great pump and will challenge more your core and postural muscles because of the longer set duration.

Weighted, Medium Repetition

If you can add external resistance to the lift using a weighted vest, a backpack, or a pair of chains draped across your torso, you can treat this exercise like any other resistance training movement and hit it hard and (relatively) heavy. The traditional bodybuilding scheme of three to four sets of eight to 12 repetitions will be your best bet to promote hypertrophy and provide a challenging time under tension.

Inverted Row Variations

Once you’ve mastered the basic movement, you can very easily switch the focus of the exercise to accommodate your goals or individual needs. Here are some simple tweaks to provide variation to your inverted rows.

Supinated Inverted Row

Using a palms-up grip is a simple change if you want to experience more biceps growth, because the arm muscles will be in optimal alignment. As such, most lifters will also be stronger and will be able to bang out more repetitions or use more weight.

This is similar to using chin-ups in place of pull-ups. The adjusted hand position changes muscle recruitment and emphasizes the biceps and forearms over the muscles of the back.

Neutral Grip Inverted Row

The neutral grip, or hammer grip, can be a welcome relief for lifters with achy shoulders, elbows, or wrists. The stress on these joints is drastically reduced because brachialis and brachioradialis recruitment is increased. As an added bonus, building these muscles will help you build a set of classic Popeye arms.

To perform it, use a football bar (or Swiss bar) instead of a straight barbell. If your gym doesn’t have one, you can use a neutral-grip “V-bar” attachment from the pulldown station and set yourself up parallel to the barbell. Suspension straps, like a TRX or gymnastic rings, would also be effective.

Ring Row

Using any suspension straps like a TRX or a pair of gymnastic rings is the most versatile and joint-friendly row option. You can use whatever grip you want: palm-down, neutral, or palm-up. You can even add a natural twisting motion by rotating your hands during each repetition. Begin pulling with a palm-down grip and rotate to neutral or palm-up as you approach the top position.

The main benefit is that the ring’s instability will challenge your core and your shoulders. This variation is the hardest, but the required stabilization will greatly improve your core and shoulder health and stability, which transfers to overall athleticism and power in other upper body exercises.

Inverted Row Alternatives

Variety is the spice of life, and of muscle growth. (9) If you’re ready to switch things up or if you don’t have a spot to perform the inverted row, you’re covered with these effective alternatives.

Seal Row

The seal row is the free weight equivalent of the inverted row. Lie prone (face down) on an elevated flat bench and grab a pair of dumbbells or a barbell — there even are specially designed stations for this exercise with easy to grab weights. Pull the weights from the stretched position beneath the bench toward your chest, as if performing an upside down inverted row.

Because your body is fully supported, cheating with momentum is very difficult. It also nearly eliminates any strain on the lower back, like the inverted row. With this variation, there’s no need for total-body stabilization, so you can solely focus on using your pulling muscles and develop a great mind-muscle connection.

Pull-Up

They say the pull-up is the king of upper-body bodyweight exercises, and for good reason. It’s a tremendous back-builder. When you’re comfortable with inverted rows, get started with this vertical bodyweight exercise.

Like the inverted row, the pull-up will target more of your lats than your upper back. You can use the same grip variations and set/rep programming schemes as the inverted row.

Bent-Over Barbell Row

The standard barbell row might be an upper body pulling exercise in its purest form. Grab a barbell, bend forward and gather tension in your whole body, and start rowing heaps of iron.

This exercise will demand superior whole-body engagement, particularly your glutes and hamstrings to counterbalance the load. If you want to improve your pulling strength, back muscle size, and total body stability, get familiar with this classic movement.

FAQs

Are inverted rows and pull-ups the same thing?

No. Despite both being bodyweight pulling exercises, they are different. One is a vertical movement pattern while the other works horizontally. This means that muscle recruitment will be similar, but not exactly be the same. The inverted row will recruit more of your upper back, for instance.

Pull-ups are also harder, because your body is completely hanging in the air and you’re required to lift proportionally more of your body weight. The inverted row has your feet supported on the ground and angled, which means that you’re lifting a lower percentage of your body weight.

As a bodyweight movement, when should I do the inverted row?

There are no clear rules because it will depend on your specific goals and strength levels. If you want to develop your strength or technique, include them at the start of your workout. If you’re using them to build muscle mass, they can be performed later in session, after your muscles are fatigued from other exercises.

If you really want to speed up your strength and technique gains as a newer lifter, you can also use the grease the groove technique. Perform a single set of a few high-quality repetitions, several times throughout the day (for instance, you can do it at home under a sturdy table), waiting at least 30 minutes between each set. This training method will develop your strength, coordination, and skill so that you quickly become very good at the exercise.

Get Back to Bodyweight Training

The inverted row is a highly effective addition to any training program, whether you’re just getting started in the gym or if you’re well-experienced. While the pull-up has a much more widely known reputation as being “the” bodyweight back-training exercise, the inverted row deserves plenty of attention and can deliver plenty of results. It shouldn’t be treated as an introductory exercise that’s forgotten once you build some strength. It’s definitely time to get on the ground and start pulling.

References

1. Fenwick CM, Brown SH, McGill SM. Comparison of different rowing exercises: trunk muscle activation and lumbar spine motion, load, and stiffness. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Mar;23(2):350-8. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181942019. PMID: 19197209.
2. Brigatto FA, Lima LEM, Germano MD, Aoki MS, Braz TV, Lopes CR. High Resistance-Training Volume Enhances Muscle Thickness in Resistance-Trained Men. J Strength Cond Res. 2022 Jan 1;36(1):22-30. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003413. PMID: 31868813.
3. Lipecki, Krzysztof & Rutowicz, Bartosz. (2015). The Impact Of Ten Weeks Of Bodyweight Training On The Level Of Physical Fitness And Selected Parameters Of Body Composition In Women Aged 21-23 Years. Polish Journal of Sport and Tourism. 22. 10.1515/pjst-2015-0014.
4. Brandão, Lucas & Painelli, Vitor & Lasevicius, Thiago & Silva-Batista, Carla & Brendon, Helderson & Schoenfeld, Brad & Aihara, Andre & Cardoso, Fabiano & Peres, Bergson & Teixeira, Emerson. (2020). Varying the Order of Combinations of Single- and Multi-Joint Exercises Differentially Affects Resistance Training Adaptations. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 34. 1. 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003550.
5. Joan Aguilera-Castells, Bernat Buscà, Azahara Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe, Alicia M. Montalvo & Javier Peña (2020) Muscle activation in suspension training: a systematic review, Sports Biomechanics, 19:1, 55-75, DOI: 10.1080/14763141.2018.1472293
6. Kumar T, Kumar S, Nezamuddin M, Sharma VP. Efficacy of core muscle strengthening exercise in chronic low back pain patients. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2015;28(4):699-707. doi: 10.3233/BMR-140572. PMID: 25467999.
7. Kleiber, T., Kunz, L., & Disselhorst-Klug, C. (2015). Muscular coordination of biceps brachii and brachioradialis in elbow flexion with respect to hand position. Frontiers in physiology, 6, 215. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2015.00215
8. Schoenfeld BJ, Peterson MD, Ogborn D, Contreras B, Sonmez GT. Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Oct;29(10):2954-63. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000958. PMID: 25853914.
9. Baz-Valle E, Schoenfeld BJ, Torres-Unda J, Santos-Concejero J, Balsalobre-Fernández C. The effects of exercise variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength and motivation in resistance trained men. PLoS One. 2019 Dec 27;14(12):e0226989. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226989. PMID: 31881066; PMCID: PMC6934277.

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Well-developed lats enhance the breadth of your physique by filling the space between your rib cage and arms. The lats support your low back and transmit energy between your hips and shoulders during athletic endeavors.

Finally, the lats are massive contributors to upper body pulling strength. Whether hoisting yourself over a wall at an obstacle course race or drawing in an opponent during a grappling sport, the lats are as useful as they are aesthetic.

We all need a strong, substantial set of lats. You might already train them with pull-ups and pulldowns. Sure, those are great, but there’s an assortment of effective lat exercises that only require a few dumbbells. Here are the best dumbbell exercises to hit your lats.

10 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Lats

• Bent-Over Dumbbell Row
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Dead-Stop Dumbbell Row
• Cross-Bench Dumbbell Pullover
• Kroc Row
• Three-Point Dumbbell Row
• Bird Dog Row
• Bench-Supported Dumbbell Row
• Dumbbell Prone Bench Pull
• Dumbbell Pull-Up Drop Set

Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

Sometimes the simplest exercise is the most effective. The bent-over dumbbell row delivers a heavy training stimulus to the lats and other muscles of the back while reinforcing hip hinge mechanics. In fact, the bent-over row shows comparable low back extensor muscle activity to the Romanian deadlift (RDL). (1)

Unlike the barbell row, which is traditionally performed with an overhand grip on a straight bar, the dumbbell version allows an elbow-friendly neutral forearm rotation. To better target the lats, pull your elbows straight back out to the side. (2)

How to Do the Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

Stand upright while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Bend forward at the hips and keep a slight bend in your knees. Allow the dumbbells to hang from your straight arms, slight in front of your knees.

Row both dumbbells toward the bottom of your ribcage by pulling the elbows and shoulders back. Keep your trunk at a constant angle to the floor. Don’t jerk your upper body up and down to move the weight.

Benefits of the Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

• Maintaining the hip hinge (bent forward) position trains your glutes and spinal erectors while you row. (1)(3)
• Rowing from the bent-over position requires greater spinal stiffness, which may make the bent-over dumbbell row a great accessory exercise for those training to improve their deadlift. (3)
• Depending on your flexibility, the bent-over dumbbell row may also provide the bonus effect of a mild hamstring stretch.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Closely related to the bent-over dumbbell row, the single-arm dumbbell row allows you to adopt a large stance and brace your off-side arm on your leg.

Tasked with managing only one dumbbell at a time, you can focus attention on the target muscles including the lats, teres major, rhomboids, middle trapezius, and posterior deltoids (upper back muscles). Focusing on the mind-muscle connection has been shown to be helpful for engaging the lats. (4)

How to Do the Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Begin with one dumbbell on the floor. Take a staggered stance with your front foot next to the dumbbell. Your working arm will be opposite your front foot — left foot forward with your right arm working, and vice versa.

Lean forward and brace your non-working forearm on your front thigh. Grab the dumbbell with your working arm and row the dumbbell toward your back hip. Maintain a neutral grip with your palm facing your front leg. Lower the weight to a full stretch, nearly reaching ankle-level.

Benefits of the Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

• Rowing one arm at a time with your off-side forearm supported on your thigh helps lock in good form by discouraging hip extension.
• Unilateral (single-arm) rowing with off-side support is easier on the low back. It reduces lumbar erector muscle activity and likely decreases extension forces and shear forces experienced by the low back. (5)

Dead-Stop Dumbbell Row

Think of the dead-stop dumbbell row as a relative of the barbell-based Pendlay row. Like its more popular sibling, each repetition is performed from the floor, which builds raw strength at long muscle lengths.

And like the Pendlay row and the bent-over dumbbell row, discussed above, the exercise requires deep hip flexion and adequate hamstring flexibility. But unlike the bent-over dumbbell row, which can tax the lumbar region, the dead-stop dumbbell row offloads the low back between each repetition while the weight is reset on the ground.

How to Do the Dead-Stop Dumbbell Row

Stand with two dumbbells slightly outside of your toes. Assume a deep hip hinge position, bent at the waist, with your back as straight as possible.

Grab the dumbbells and row them alongside your thighs toward your ribs. Lower both weights to the ground and allow a “dead-stop” on the floor between repetitions. Pause momentarily to unload the weights, without loosening your grip, before initiating the next rep.

Benefits of the Dead-Stop Dumbbell Row

• Because the dead-stop dumbbell row begins and ends in a stationary position on the floor, it interrupts the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) and eliminates the stretch reflex. This decreases momentum and increases muscle recruitment.
• The dead-stop makes the movement more strict by dissuading the use of passive recoil from muscles and other connective tissues. This makes the exercise more challenging and will help you to build starting strength, or strength off the floor.
• As a bonus, dead-stop exercises are often extremely joint- and tendon- friendly, likely due to more gradual loading rates and lower absolute loads required for a training effect.

Cross-Bench Dumbbell Pullover

A hallmark of the “Golden era” of bodybuilding, the pullover has seen cycles of popularity and disuse. Along with straight-arm cable pulldowns, the pullover is a rare “isolation exercise” targeting the latissimus dorsi.

The lats are capable of moving the shoulder through a very long range of movement. (6) While rows train the lats through a significant part of the extension range of motion, the cross-bench dumbbell pullover trains shoulder extension from end-range (overhead position).

Peak resistance in the pullover is encountered when your arms are fully overhead, parallel to the ground. That’s when the latissimus dorsi muscle fibers are at their longest length. Training the lats at long muscle lengths is beneficial for building muscle mass. (7)

How to Do the Cross-Bench Dumbbell Pullover

Support your shoulder blades on a flat bench and bridge your hips to keep a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Begin with one dumbbell in both hands supported above your face. Lower the weight “overhead” behind you until you feel a strong stretch across your lats and chest.

Pull the weight back over your forehead. Stop before your arms are vertical to maintain tension, and repeat. Keep your elbows in a fixed, slightly bent position and turned slightly outward throughout the exercise.

Benefits of the Cross-Bench Dumbbell Pullover

• By keeping your elbows slightly bent and flared outwards throughout, you’ve locked yourself into a position where the dumbbell applies resistance to shoulder extension and internal rotation. Both are actions of latissimus dorsi, leading to increased muscle recruitment.
• The cross-bench dumbbell pullover requires isometric contraction of the gluteus maximus. Not only will you get bonus “glute work,” but contraction of the glutes may actually enhance tension on the lats. Force transmission occurs between the glutes and lats via the thoracodorsal fascia, a sheet of connective tissue in the small of the back to which both muscles attach. (8)(9)

Kroc Row

Some exercises are good for going heavy and others are great for high repetition sets. The Kroc row is designed for both. Dust off the biggest dumbbell you can find and consider using a lifting strap. Aim for no less than 15 reps per set.

Although the Kroc row encourages a small amount of body English to move the weight and get the reps, be disciplined here. Excessive trunk extension or rotation recruits more muscles that are not the target of the exercise. To keep the focus on the lats, the majority of work must be done by the shoulder.

How to Do the Kroc Row

Setup similar to a single-arm dumbbell row, in a split stance with a dumbbell near your front foot. Brace your off-hand on a sturdy bench or on the end of a dumbbell rack — don’t be the person blocking a row of dumbbells, set up to the side of the rack.

Strap in to the dumbbell, brace hard with your off-hand, and accelerate the dumbbell up toward the outside of your lower lower ribs. A small amount of leg drive is acceptable. Lower under control and repeat for high reps.

Benefits of the Kroc Row

• Although the Kroc row is decidedly a lat-building exercise, it allows hearty contribution from the upper traps. The recruitment of this powerful muscle allows you to move more weight for higher reps.
• The Kroc row provides a unique opportunity for heavy loading and “controlled aggression” during your training. It’s the kind of exercise that makes you want to crank up the volume on your favorite lifting music.

Three-Point Dumbbell Row

The lats act primarily on the shoulder with minor contributions to trunk extension and rotation. (10) Emphasis on the word “minor.” If you are struggling with keeping true form or experiencing low back fatigue during the bent-over dumbbell row or other standing variations, then it’s time for a different variation. The three-point dumbbell row may be ideal.

It’s sometimes considered the “default” method of performing a dumbbell row. It’s more supportive than either the single-arm dumbbell row or Kroc row because it requires a large, stable base for moving serious weight with clean form.

How to Do the Three-Point Dumbbell Row

Begin with a dumbbell on the floor next to a flat bench. Place your off-side knee, shin, and palm on the flat bench. Set your other foot a comfortable distance from your hips and keep the foot flat on the floor.

Maintain a neutral spine position as you grab the dumbbell. Keep a neutral grip (palm facing your body) as you row the dumbbell toward the outside of your hip. Lower to a full stretch without touching the floor, and repeat for reps.

Benefits of the Three-Point Dumbbell Row

• Compared to standing variations, the three-point dumbbell row takes significant tension off the low back and hamstrings.
• You’ve unofficially claimed the bench as your designated recovery zone between hard sets. Push your sets hard enough and you’ll need it.

Bird Dog Row

The bird dog exercise is a common rehab and performance exercise that trains “rotary stability,” or the ability to recover from challenges that would tend to rotate your shoulder girdle, spine, or hips. (11) It’s performed on the ground in an “all fours” position with support from only one hand and the opposite leg.

Take this challenging position, move it on top of a flat bench, and add a row. Now, you have a dynamite exercise that integrates the lats and core.

How to Do the Bird Dog Row

Start with a light dumbbell (roughly 20-30% of what you’d use for a single-arm row) placed on top of a flat bench.

Setup with your working-side knee and off-side hand on the bench, and your off-side leg extended behind you. Brace your midsection and stabilize your entire body. Row the dumbbell with a neutral-grip to the outside of your lower ribs. Focus on preventing any rotation of your hips, pelvis, or spine as the weight moves.

Benefits of the Bird Dog Row

• Unilateral dumbbell rows have shown greater muscle activity in the obliques than bilateral rows, cable rows, and machine rows. (5) This variation will hit the obliques even harder than other single-arm rows due to the narrow base of support. (11)
• The bird dog row requires the lowest weight dumbbell to be challenging and effective, making it an appealing exercise for “light” or recovery workouts or periods of injury rehabilitation.

Bench-Supported Dumbbell Row

Although standing dumbbell row variations may look simple, they are notoriously subject to sloppy form. The bench-supported dumbbell row, sometimes called the chest-supported row, restricts the work to only your shoulders to better target the lats. (2) (10)

Because your lower body is essentially removed from the equation and the bench provides rock-solid stability, this is one of the most strict and muscle-focused row variations.

How to Do the Bench-Supported Dumbbell Row

Set an adjustable bench to 45-degrees. If you have long arms, you may need to elevate the bench to maintain the same angle. Using a higher incline will shift focus off the lats and onto the traps and upper back musculature.

Hold two dumbbells and lie chest-down on the bench. The weights should not reach the floor when hanging down straight. Row both dumbbells by pulling your elbows up and alongside the bench. Keep a neutral forearm orientation throughout the exercise.

Benefits of the Bench-Supported Dumbbell Row

• The bench-supported dumbbell row eliminates the use of “body English” in the hips or trunk to cheat the weights up.
• Bench-supported rowing has been shown to result in reduced low back muscle activity, which may be beneficial for those looking to spare the low back in training— say, to prepare for an imminent deadlift session — or to offload the low back in the case of injury. (2)

Dumbbell Prone Bench Pull

Although it often takes a backseat to the bench press, the bench pull is a hallmark of athletic training and testing. The reason? It’s a pure expression of horizontal pulling strength.

The dumbbell version of the bench pull, sometimes called a seal row, alleviates some of the difficulties associated with the barbell version. Most notably, the potential for a shortened range of motion when the barbell hits the underside of the bench.

If you do not have a dedicated bench pull/seal row station, you can easily assemble one with a flat bench and several plates or aerobic steps. However, make sure your setup is secure and at an appropriate height. To ensure a full range of motion, the bench must be high enough to avoid reaching the floor in the stretched position.

How to Do the Dumbbell Prone Bench Pull

Lie on your belly on top of the bench with a folded towel under your forehead to maintain proper neck alignment. Retrieve the dumbbells from beneath the bench by carefully leaning to each side and grabbing them.

Row both weights toward your lower ribs with your palms facing each other. Keep your arms and the dumbbells close to the bench, not angled away.

Benefits of the Dumbbell Prone Bench Pull

• The prone position dissuades compensatory actions such as “shrugging” during the row, which could otherwise rob tension from the lats.
• The setup provides support to the entire spine and head, significantly reducing strain on the spine. You might even find the stretched position comfortable for a moment.

Dumbbell Pull-Up Drop Set

The pull-up is not technically a dumbbell exercise, but I am including it here under the pretense that it can be loaded with a dumbbell. A cop-out? Probably, but the pull-up is too effective as a lat-builder to neglect.

It’s likely the latissimus dorsi is best trained at long muscle lengths. (7) Aside from the dumbbell pullover, which has a very small effective range of motion, no exercise on this list compares to the pull-up for the purpose of training the lats at long muscle lengths.

If you’re strong and can perform several bodyweight pull-ups with good technique, you can load the pull-up heavier by locking a dumbbell between your legs. If you’re up for a serious challenge, perform your dumbbell pull-ups with the drop set technique.

How to Do the Dumbbell Pull-Up Drop Set

Hold a relatively light dumbbell between your ankles, begin performing pull-ups with a neutral or, if available, rotating grip.

When you approach muscular fatigue and cannot perform another full repetition with good form, release the dumbbell on the floor and immediately continue to perform pull-ups until you approach muscular failure again.

Benefits of the Dumbbell Pull-Up Drop Set

• Compared to hanging weights from a dip belt for your pull-ups, using a dumbbell is easier to quickly jettison during a drop set.
• Pull-ups can be used to train shoulder extension by using a shoulder-width grip or adduction when using a wide grip. Both are actions of the latissimus dorsi, leading to increased muscle recruitment and growth stimulus.

The Latissimus Dorsi Muscles

All ten exercises on the list are effective for training the lats because they load or provide resistance to one or more of the actions of latissimus dorsi. The latissimus dorsi primarily acts to extend the shoulder, drawing your arm back toward your body as during rowing. (10)

The latissimus dorsi also adducts the shoulder, drawing your arm toward your midsection as during performance of a wide-grip pull-up or pullover. (10) Secondarily, the lats contribute to internal rotation of the shoulder. The lat muscles even contribute to low back extension and rotation, albeit, these contributions are small. (10)

Average gym-goers can simply plug one or more of the exercises into their training plan, perform their sets, then rest assured they’ve “hit their lats.” Bodybuilders and physique-minded lifters typically divide their back workouts upper body pulling into horizontal pulling and vertical pulling. Think of all the row variations on this list as horizontal pulls, while the pull-up and pullover are vertical pulling.

Due to the biomechanical differences between these movement patterns, it may be prudent to include at least one from each category during your weekly lifting routine.

How Often and How Much Should You Train Lats?

Start training your lats regularly and you’ll notice remarkable things. Clothes begin to fit better, your major compound lifts (like the squat, bench press, and deadlift) start feeling more secure, and you develop mind-muscle connection to the growing slabs of muscle on your flanks. But how often should you hit lats for optimal results? And how much attention should the lats receive?

While there is plenty of nuance to programming, a simple method to plan training frequency is to determine the target weekly total set volume for the muscle or muscle group. Then, work backwards by allocating those sets into your weekly workout split.

For already-fit individuals who want to build more muscle, experts recommend a minimum of 10 sets per muscle group per week is best. (12) More weekly sets (i.e. 20 or more) may offer additional benefits provided the lifter gradually builds to that volume over time. (12) If you are dead-set on improving your lats, a higher volume “specialization” program can be very effective, but again, that volume must be built gradually over time.

Next, take your favorite lat exercises and allocate your target number of weekly sets to each exercise. For example, a moderately experienced lifter might aim for 14 sets per week targeting the lats. If this lifter prefers bent-over dumbbell rows, dumbbell prone bench pulls, and pull-ups, the allocation may be four sets of dumbbell rows, four sets on the prone bench, and six sets of pull-ups.

Now, if this lifter uses a push/pull/legs split and trains six days per week, those exercises can be distributed across the two separate pulling sessions. If the lifter trains with a whole body routine three days per week, the exercises can be distributed across all three workouts, one exercise per session.

Be thoughtful when you plan your lat training. For example, four sets of bent-over dumbbell rows might not be the best choice the day before or the day after a heavy deadlift session due to cumulative lower back strain.

How to Progress Your Lat Training

Intensity (weight) and volume (sets and reps) must be progressed for long-term gains. A simple strategy for progressing intensity is the “two- for two- rule.” Once you can hit two or more repetitions more than your repetition target in the final set for two consecutive workouts, it’s time to use a heavier dumbbell. (13) To progress volume, add one or two sets for each exercise each month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Related: How to Do the Chin-Up for Bigger Arms and a Stronger Back]

However, these progression methods will not remain effective forever. After two or three months, or when your progress stalls, take a deload. Come back stronger and to a new program with subtle variations. Change up some of the lat exercises and start with a slightly lower set volume and higher intensity than your previous baseline.

How to Warm-up Your Lats

Complete a warm-up to prime your body for the dumbbell lat workout. Organize the warm-up in two parts: the general warm-up and the specific warm-up. Five minutes of cardio will suffice for the general warm-up. This activity serves to increase body temperature and promote general movement.

Although any form of light aerobic exercise works, an exercise that involves the upper body is preferable. Ideas include the rowing ergometer, ski ergometer, air bike, elliptical, or jump rope.

For the specific warm-up, start with the exercise that gives you the best connection with your lats — the movement that allows you to “feel” them most. This will vary from person to person based on your leverages, your experience, and your mind-muscle connection.

Complete two or three sets of eight to 12 repetitions using dumbbells lighter than your working weight. Incrementally increase the resistance as you work through your warm-up. Depending on your level of strength, the pull-up might not be the best exercise to start with unless you have access to a pull-up assist machine or resistance bands to counterbalance your bodyweight.

Dumbbells Give You Wings

By surface area, the latissimus dorsi is the largest muscle of the body. (6) It’s not surprising that well-developed lats give your back the appearance of more size. Train them regularly and progressively, ideally while eating a slight calorie surplus, and you’ll notice wings of muscle filling in beside your ribcage. These “wings” won’t allow you to fly, but I suspect walking around with them will make you feel almost as good.

References

1. Lane, C. L., et al. (2019). Comparison of the firefighter candidate physical ability test to weight lifting exercises using electromyography. Work, 62(3), 459-467.
2. García-Jaén, M., et al. (2021). Electromyographical responses of the lumbar, dorsal and shoulder musculature during the bent-over row exercise: a comparison between standing and bench postures (a preliminary study). Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21(4), 1871-1877.
3. Fenwick, C. M., et al. (2009). Comparison of different rowing exercises: trunk muscle activation and lumbar spine motion, load, and stiffness. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23(5), 1408-1417.
4. Snyder, B. J., & Leech, J. R. (2009). Voluntary increase in latissimus dorsi muscle activity during the lat pull-down following expert instruction. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23(8), 2204-2209.
5. Saeterbakken, A., et al. (2015). The effect of performing bi-and unilateral row exercises on core muscle activation. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 94(11), 900-905.
6. Gerling, M. E., & Brown, S. H. (2013). Architectural analysis and predicted functional capability of the human latissimus dorsi muscle. Journal of Anatomy, 223(2), 112-122.
7. Ottinger, C. R., et al. (2022). Muscle Hypertrophy Response to Range of Motion in Strength Training: A Novel Approach to Understanding the Findings. Strength & Conditioning Journal, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000737
8. Santana, J. C., et al. (2015). Anterior and posterior serape: The rotational core. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 37(5), 8-13.
9. do Carmo Carvalhais, V. O., et al. (2013). Myofascial force transmission between the latissimus dorsi and gluteus maximus muscles: an in vivo experiment. Journal of Biomechanics, 46(5), 1003-1007.
10. Bogduk, N., et al. (1998). The morphology and biomechanics of latissimus dorsi. Clinical Biomechanics, 13(6), 377-385.
11. Clemente, P. C., et al. (2022). Perceived exertion, postural control, and muscle recruitment in three different quadruped exercises performed by healthy women. Frontiers in Physiology, 1630.
12. Schoenfeld, B., et al. (2021). Resistance training recommendations to maximize muscle hypertrophy in an athletic population: Position stand of the IUSCA. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 1(1), 1-30.
13. Sheppard, J.M., & Triplett, N. (2016). Program design for resistance training. In: Haff, G., & Triplett N., (Eds.), Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning (4th ed., pp. 459). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

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The barbell row is often considered one of the most fundamental exercises, right up there with the Big Three powerlifts — squat, bench press, and deadlift — because it’s a comprehensive movement for building a base of size and strength. It helps you build a thicker, wider, stronger back while also developing a bigger, stronger set of arms. Here’s how to get the most from this back-training staple.

• How to Do the Barbell Row
• Barbell Row Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of the Barbell Row
• Muscles Worked by the Barbell Row
• Who Should Do the Barbell Row
• How to Program the Barbell Row
• Barbell Row Variations
• Barbell Row Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Barbell Row

The bent-over barbell row can be a very simple exercise to set up and perform. All you need is a barbell, some weight plates, and a floor. Accessories like lifting straps to support your grip strength or a lifting belt to provide additional lower back support aren’t always required.

Master the exercise itself, and then consider adding equipment depending on your specific needs and requirements.

Step 1 — Get Into the Starting Position

Walk up to a loaded barbell and position your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly inside hip-width. The bar should be generally over the middle of your feet. If you are quite tall, you may be more comfortable with the bar positioned against your shins.

Push your hips back and bend at the waist. Keep your back straight and your knees slightly bent. Hold the barbell with an overhand (palms down) grip just outside of your shins. Pull your shoulders back and feel tension in your lats (back muscles) as you prepare to take control over the weight. Keep your head in a neutral position — not looking at the ceiling or tucking your chin down.

Straighten your legs and stand up straight, much like you would in a deadlift. From the locked out position, bend your legs slightly and hinge at your hips until your upper body is slightly above parallel to the ground. Allow the barbell to hang near your legs with your arms extended.

Form Tip: Keep your eyes fixed on a spot roughly one to two meters (three to six feet) in front of you. This will help you maintain a stable body position, encourage consistent bar position between each rep, and reduce the risk of injury due to technical failure.

Step 2 — Pull the Weight Up 

With the bar in a dead-hang position, drive your elbows up towards your hips. The barbell should reach your belly button. Once you get into the top position, focus on your shoulder blades squeezing together and feeling a hard contraction in your back musculature.

Your upper body should remain mostly horizontal throughout the rep. Avoid using your legs to “jumpstart” the weight and don’t allow your torso to drop down to meet the barbell.

Form Tip: It is important to recognize when you begin sacrificing technique for heavier weight. Key indicators that you’ve gone too heavy include: your elbows flaring out to the sides, the bar no longer reaching your belly button, or feeling extra pressure through your lower back which prevents you from holding a strong, stable torso position.

Step 3 — Lower the Weight to Stretch

Once you have completed the concentric (lifting) portion of the movement, remain in a strong and stable position while lowering the barbell under control. Don’t allow the bar to free fall into the bottom position.

Straighten your arms and allow your shoulder blades to release from the retracted position. Feel your back musculature lengthening until your arms are fully extended.

Form Tip: Some lifters will lower the barbell too quickly and not pay attention to the bar path or muscular control. Focus on lowering the barbell in the exact same bar path as you did when lifting it. This will make sure each rep is the same and allow you to maintain tension on the back muscles while reducing the risk of injury.

Barbell Row Mistakes to Avoid

The barbell row may seem simple on paper, but you can still very easily make mistakes that may hinder your progress and training. Below are two of the most common mistakes to avoid.

Lifting with Your Arms

Many beginner lifters quickly form the habit of pulling the barbell up using their arms more than their back muscles. Sure, you can’t perform a row without using your arms at all, but proper muscle contractions should emphasize the larger back muscles more significantly than the relatively smaller muscles of the arms.

If you continue activating your arms first, as the weight increases, your arms will take over the movement and your back will be under-recruited simply because you will not have spent time focusing on feeling the back muscles contracting.

Avoid It: It is important to focus on feeling your back muscles stretch and contract. This can boost the mind-muscle connection, which has been shown to improve results. (1) If you actively drive your elbows into your hips, instead of focusing on your hands pulling the weight up, you can emphasize the lats.

Standing Too Upright 

The barbell row requires you to be set in a bent-over position, or what is referred to as a “hinged position.” While your body doesn’t need to form a strict 90-degree angle, it’s imperative that you maintain some sort of stable and predominantly horizontal angle to perform the barbell row effectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On top of this, some trainees will use a weight that far exceeds their good-form lifting capabilities. This can lead to remaining too upright in order to counterbalance the weight, and the movement becomes more of a shrug than a row. These two factors often work hand in hand, since excessive weight and a lack of hinge stability will lead to being too upright.

Avoid It: If you have trouble maintaining a hinged position, perform the exercise near a wall and get into a hinged position with your glutes firmly against the wall. This will allow you to better leverage yourself as you improve the coordination and strength required to remain hinged while contracting your back musculature. 

Benefits of the Barbell Row

The bent-over barbell row is considered a foundational exercise because it delivers several benefits for multiple muscles in the upper and lower body.

Below are some key reasons to include the barbell row into your workout regimen, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced lifter.

Improved Spinal Stability and Posture 

A common weakness for lifters in the ability to maintain a neutral spine (flat back) during many movements. The barbell row helps to improve postural control in basic positions, which can carry over to strength and stability in other movements. It also strengthens postural muscles like the spinal erectors, which are a key muscle group for lower back health and stability.

Building a Stronger Back 

As your back gets stronger, your ability to brace your upper body will improve. This allows greater overall stability during movements like the overhead press, bench press, and squat.

The barbell row is one of the most efficient ways to build upper-body strength because it coordinates strength through the lats, upper back, lower back, shoulders, arms, and grip. Compared to other variations of rowing exercises, the barbell row allows you to potentially use more weight, which also makes it a more effective strength-builder.

Increased Back Size

Building a wider, thicker back is one of the most efficient ways to improve your physique. The lats are one of the largest muscles on the body and a well-developed upper back can’t often be hidden under clothes, unlike well-developed arms or legs. Making the barbell row a mainstay in your back workout is a time-tested way to pack on size.

Muscles Worked by the Barbell Row

The barbell row is a compound exercise, which means it involves multiple muscles moving across multiple joints to perform the movement.

The primary muscles recruited are throughout the back, while secondary muscles, such as the biceps and forearms, are also called upon.

Latissimus Dorsi

The lats form the majority of your back musculature and are the primary muscle you will be stimulating during the bent-over row. Your lats work to bring your upper arm from in front of your body, or above it, to along your side. This function is why the cue of “pulling your elbows toward your body” helps to recruit the lats.

Spinal Erectors

The spinal erectors run the length of your spinal column, including the section most commonly called “the lower back.” During the bent-over barbell row, your spinal erectors are recruited to stabilize your spine and prevent rounding while you maintain the hinged position.

Because your spinal erectors are required to hold a stable position for the duration of each set, lifters with pre-existing lower back issues often have trouble performing barbell rows and typically choose an alternate exercise.

Scapular Stabilizers 

The scapular stabilizers found across the upper back include multiple muscles working in related roles. Your trapezius, rhomboids, rear deltoids, and teres control actions such as bringing your shoulder blades together and apart, as well as moving them up and down.

This occurs while rowing the bar up and squeezing your shoulder blades together (retraction) and when lowering the barbell back to the start position, releasing (protracting) your shoulder blades.

Glutes and Hamstrings

In a hinged position, your glutes and hamstrings support your body isometrically, much like your spinal erectors work to maintain a stable upper body posture. Many lifters feel a significant stretch in their hamstrings or glutes during a set of barbell rows because the muscles are being worked in a stretched position without a full contraction.

Biceps

The biceps are recruited any time the arm flexes (bends). During the barbell row, your biceps play an assistance role to lift the weight. Your biceps can be more significantly recruited by using an underhand (palms-up) grip, which places them in a more advantageous position to be activated.

Forearms

The wrist extensors along the top of the forearm and the wrist flexors on the bottom are both highly activated during barbell rows to support a strong grip on the bar. Your flexors, in particular, are recruited to stabilize the weight as it is lifted.

For many experienced lifters lifting heavier weights, the gripping strength of the forearm muscles can be a limiting factor during rows, which is why lifting straps may be used to provide additional support.

Who Should Do the Barbell Row

Whether you are training for strength, power, or aesthetics, the barbell row can benefit your training goals. Here are more convincing reasons to include the barbell row in your back workout.

Physique-Focused Lifters 

Bodybuilders, physique athletes, and any lifter wanting to look more muscular can benefit from the barbell row. It applies muscular tension to all muscles of the back and has the potential for moving heavy loads, which can be an effective way of triggering muscle growth. The barbell row has been an essential back exercise for some of the best-built physiques.

Strength Athletes 

Strength athletes can benefit from using the barbell row to build pulling strength as well as total-body stability. The barbell row builds strength that supports upper body pressing and pulling. The lower back and postural stability can also help to improve strength during squats and deadlifts.

How to Program the Barbell Row

The barbell row is a foundational movement which can accommodate a variety of rep ranges, suitable to all lifters, goals, and programs. Below are two common and effective recommendations based on your specific training goal.

Heavy Weight, Low to Moderate Repetitions

If maximizing strength is your goal, three to five sets in the four to eight rep range is a good place to start. Use a weight that allows you to leave at least two reps left “in the tank” to ensure optimal technique. Rowing extremely heavy weights to muscular failure can add stress to the spinal erectors and increase the risk of injury.

Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetitions 

If maximizing muscle growth is your goal, three to four sets in the six to 12 rep range is the ideal rep spread you should be targeting. This will provide you with a bump in training volume, which is beneficial for building muscle. (2) The increased volume with relatively lighter weight also allows you to develop better muscle coordination, and can eventually lead to better recruitment of the back musculature.

Barbell Row Variations

The bent-over barbell row is a versatile and fundamental exercise, but not all lifters are prepared for the challenge. Below you will find related variations that deliver comparable results with slightly varied muscle recruitment or technique.

Yates Row

The Yates row was popularized by one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates. The idea behind this exercise variation was to have a slightly more upright posture while also flipping your grip to a supinated position (underhand). These adjustments better recruit the upper back, traps, and biceps.

The key to this exercise is the bar path and torso stability needed to maximally recruit the muscles being targeted. You want to focus on the barbell being as close to your thighs as possible as you pull up through your elbows.

T-Bar Row

For this exercise, you will either need a dedicated T-bar row machine or you can take a close-grip handle from the cable station and use it with a barbell set inside a landmine attachment.

The T-bar row is less demanding on the lower back, which makes it a great exercise to emphasize the rest of the back muscles. It’s ideal at the tail-end of your workouts to fully exhaust all remaining muscle fibers that were recruited during your workout.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 

One of the most common variations of the barbell row is its dumbbell counterpart. The single-arm dumbbell row allows you to work one side of the body at time and provides stability, which reduces lower back stress. The increased stability also allows you to focus on achieving a longer range of motion to more thoroughly work the target muscles.

This is an effective movement to strengthen muscular imbalances by targeting one side of the back at a time.

Barbell Row Alternatives

Feeling like you have fully exhausted your ability to continue progressing the barbell row or just need a change of pace? Here are some of the most effective alternatives to continue building back size and strength.

Inverted Row 

The inverted row is an ideal bodyweight exercise alternative for the barbell row since you can train the same muscle groups in the same movement pattern. It also only requires your body weight to provide a stimulus for muscle growth and strength-building.

This can be useful as a primary exercise if you are first starting out on learning to coordinate your muscle recruitment in the barbell row or, for more experienced lifters, at the end of your workouts as a finisher after completing your heavier weight training earlier in the workout. 

Seal Row

The seal row, sometimes called a bench pull, is a chest-supported row variation that entirely removes the need to hinge. Because you’re lying prone on an elevated bench, you can more effectively isolate the larger back muscles without recruiting your lower back or lower body.

This alternative provides less stress and tension on the lower back and hamstrings, but it also means the amount of weight lifted may be  less than what you could use with a conventional barbell row. 

Pendlay Row 

The Pendlay row is often confused with the basic barbell row for good reason. The technique, muscle recruitment, and general movement pattern is nearly identical. The key difference is that each repetition of the Pendlay row begins from complete dead-stop on the floor.

This pause between reps assists in maintaining proper positioning, minimizes any momentum, and helps to develop explosive power. This can be a great alternative if you find it difficult to remain set in a proper hinged-position, because you can reset your position between each rep.

Meadows Row

The Meadows row was popularized by legendary bodybuilding coach John Meadows. In this exercise, you are able to increase your range of motion by adjusting your hip and torso position.

The unique body positioning and leverage from the landmine will work the back musculature from a slightly different angle, reduce stress on the lower back, and minimize momentum.

FAQs

I feel my upper back working more than any other muscle, what am I doing wrong?

There are two possibilities. The first is that you may be using too much weight, causing you to stand more upright and shift muscular stress away from your lats and onto your upper back and traps. The second potential issue is that you are not properly set in a strong and stable hinged position.

Reduce the weight and focus on feeling your lats contract during the exercise. Also spend some time focusing on getting into a good hinge position — push your hips back and maintain a more horizontal upper body position for the duration of the set. Slowly increase weight over time once you are strong enough to maintain a stable torso in a hinged position.

Can beginners perform the barbell row?

Absolutely. Beginners can benefit greatly by including the barbell row in their programming. However, it is important to note that if you are a beginner, remember to prioritize technique over added weight and do not hesitate to seek assistance with your technique from a qualified staff member in your local gym. 

Row Until You Can’t Row No More

Many of the all-time great bodybuilders, powerlifters, and strength athletes have built admirable backs by prioritizing the barbell row. It trains every muscle in your back, and builds strength and stability which carries over to other big lifts. It can also be a satisfying exercise to master once you’re able to walk up to an imposing barbell and pull it off the ground.

References

1. Calatayud, J., Vinstrup, J., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., Brandt, M., Jay, K., Colado, J. C., & Andersen, L. L. (2016). Importance of mind-muscle connection during progressive resistance training. European journal of applied physiology, 116(3), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7
2. Schoenfeld, B. J., Contreras, B., Krieger, J., Grgic, J., Delcastillo, K., Belliard, R., & Alto, A. (2019). Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 51(1), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764

Featured Image: MilanMarkovic78 / Shutterstock

The post How to Do the Bent-Over Barbell Row for a Bigger, Stronger Back appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are countless exercises you can perform to build size and strength in the back. When you train the right exercises the right way, you will build your ability to move significant amounts of weight, better protect your spine, and all-around improve your performance in everyday life. Here are 18 of the best back exercises to construct your workouts around.

Best Back Exercises

• Deadlift
• Pull-Up
• Inverted Row
• Suspension Row
• Bent-Over Barbell Row
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Wide-Grip Pulldown
• Neutral-Grip Pulldown
• Single-Arm Kneeling Pulldown
• Lat-Focused Seated Cable Row
• Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row
• Chest-Supported Machine Row
• Landmine Row
• Meadows Row
• Cable Upper Trap Shrug
• Cable Rope Pullover
• Face Pull
• Farmer’s Walk

Deadlift

The deadlift — a noble member of the “Big Three” powerlifts — is best known for its ability to add size and strength to the back and leg musculature. Although it doesn’t directly work the back muscles through a long range of motion, it places a significant amount of tension across the back and entire torso, making it a unique and effective exercise for building mass.

Deadlift technique is straightforward, but it’s a skill-based exercise that takes some understanding and practice to make it safe and effective within your training program.

How to Do the Deadlift 

Stand in front of a loaded barbell with your feet shoulder-width apart with the bar just a few inches from your shins — aligned over the knot of your shoelaces. Drive your hips back and allow your knees to bend slightly as you tightly grip the barbell just outside of shoulder-width with a palms-down grip. Keep your back and torso rigid and your arms straight. Push your legs into the floor as you simultaneously pull your chest and shoulders upwards to lift the bar as you stand up into a fully upright position.

Benefits of the Deadlift

• It works multiple muscles in your back, plus your glutes, hamstrings, and grip strength.
• When performed consistently, your strength can progress substantially, especially as your form improves.
• It’s an exercise that can be performed in many different rep ranges, allowing you to build muscle and strength across the upper and lower body.

Pull-Up

The pull-up provides a potent stimulus to the muscles across the upper body with little need for specialized equipment to get the job done. All you need is any bar that can support your body weight.

If you really want to get a lot out of the movement, control the eccentric (lowering) portion of the lift and focus on keeping your torso rigid throughout the entire range of motion.

How to Do the Pull-Up

Take a pronated (overhand) grip on the bar, slightly wider than shoulder-width. With your body hanging from the bar, ensure your core is engaged to keep rigidity in your torso while minimizing swinging.

To initiate the movement, contract the muscles of the upper and mid-back. Aim to bring your chin up to or above bar level. Drive your elbows down toward your pockets. If you’re on the heavier side or a beginner new to the lift, perform more sets with fewer reps as you build up your strength.

Benefits of the Pull-Up

• You can perform this exercise anywhere there is a pull-up bar, which can be in your doorway at home, in the park, or a fully equipped gym.
• Learning to control and manage your body weight is a great way to build up joint stability as you get stronger.
• You can work the muscles of your back and arms through a long range of motion while also challenging the muscles of your core.

Inverted Row

The inverted row can be an effective bodyweight exercise, particularly for beginners, because you aren’t required to lift your entire body weight. This makes it an effective choice to increase strength on the way to performing a pull-up.

The exercise is also extremely useful when training at home since it requires only a solid bar and a sturdy surface for support. This way, a bodyweight-only workout isn’t limited to only pull-ups to work your back.

How to Do the Inverted Row

Place a bar in a stable rack. Adjust the height of the bar so you can just reach it when lying on the ground. Lie under the bar and grab the bar with an overhand grip. With your arms locked, your body should be in a rigid plank position with a straight line from your neck to your heels.

Lift yourself by pulling your elbows toward the ground while driving your chest toward the bar. Control your body weight back down to the starting position.

Benefits of the Inverted Row

• The inverted row is great for beginners and intermediate lifters aiming to build overall strength and muscle in the upper and mid-back.
• This can be used as a progression to get you closer to performing your first bodyweight pull-up.

Suspension Row

The suspension row is another effective bodyweight movement that progresses the inverted row to another level. By quickly adjusting your stance and body position, you can immediately alter leverage to make the exercise more or less challenging as needed.

This is a great exercise for developing overall strength and body control while allowing for a less restricted arm path. This helps to prevent discomfort in the wrists, elbows, and shoulders.

How to Do the Suspension Row

With your feet at shoulder width, grab the handles and lean back into position. Adjust your body angle as needed to set the difficulty. The more vertical your body, the easier the exercise will be.

With your feet on the ground and your body set in a rigid plank position, drive your elbows back and pull yourself toward the handles. Don’t allow your elbows to flare out to the sides and don’t allow your shoulders to collapse forwards.

Benefits of the Suspension Row

• This is another effective movement that allows the lifter to progress toward their first pull-up.
• The exercise difficulty can be quickly and easily adjusted by repositioning your stance and body angle.
• The suspension trainer allows for a less restrictive arm path compared to a traditional barbell, allowing you to better adapt the row to your individual structure and reduce joint strain.

Bent-Over Barbell Row

The bent-over row can add a lot of versatility to your training program. It can be performed with a traditional barbell, a hex bar, kettlebells, or dumbbells. For more efficient skill development, stick with one variation for at least several weeks before switching it up.

The basic barbell row allows you to build strength across the upper and lower body. The muscles of the posterior chain (lower back, glutes, and hamstrings) work to keep your lower body stable throughout the movement, while the muscles of your upper back, mid-back, and biceps help row the bar toward your stomach.

How to Do the Bent-Over Barbell Row

Set up as you would for the deadlift, standing with your feet hip-width apart in front of a loaded barbell. If you have exceptionally long legs, you may need to place the barbell onto blocks to allow for a more comfortable starting position. Hinge at the hips and allow your arms to hang down.

Tightly grab the bar just outside of shoulder-width with an overhand grip. Drive your elbows back and up as you focus on pulling the bar toward your upper abs, between your sternum and belly button.

Benefits of the Bent-Over Barbell Row

• You can effectively train the muscles of the upper, mid, and lower back, as well as the glutes and hamstrings.
• Simple variations can be performed with kettlebells, dumbbells, a hex bar, cables, or a traditional barbell.
• Due to the demands of this movement, you can build up functional strength throughout your core and low back, helping you prevent injuries in your everyday life.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

This single-arm row variation was one of the most popular among Golden Era bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger for building muscle size and strength across the entire back.

It can also help you build arm and grip strength, as well as work on muscular asymmetries that may have developed from past injuries or time away from the gym.

How to Do the Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Stand behind the head of a high-angle incline bench. Lean over and place one hand firmly against the top of the bench with the same-side leg forward, positioned under your shoulder.

Reach your free hand down to grab a dumbbell by your feet. Keep your palm facing your body as you drive the weight back and up until your elbow is even with, or just past, your torso. Control the dumbbell back down to the stretched position.

Benefits of the Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

• By working the body unilaterally (one side at a time), you allow for more versatility with your program design, with the added ability to address any muscular imbalances.
• In addition to building up muscle size and strength across the back, you will also improve your grip, which can carry over to any other movement that requires holding a weight.

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

Aside from the fact that you’re sitting while performing this move, a lat pulldown is essentially the same movement pattern as a pull-up. This makes the pulldown one of the most effective weight training (non-bodyweight) exercises to work towards a pull-up.

The cable’s constant resistance helps create a more stable environment while improving time under tension, which can lead to increased muscle size.

How to Do the Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

Grasp a long bar attachment slightly wider than shoulder-width, with a palms-down grip. Sit down and set your legs securely under the thigh pads. Keep your core tight and your torso upright while pulling the bar down toward your chest.

Think of pinching your shoulder blades together in the bottom position. Resist the weight as you slowly return to the starting position.

Benefits of the Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

• The cable’s constant resistance helps create a more stable environment while improving time under tension.
• This is a great exercise to strengthen your back, arms, and grip if you are working up to your first pull-up because you can progressively add weight and build strength.
• The wide, pronated grip allows you to emphasize the muscles of your upper back.

Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

This pulldown variation has you pulling with a neutral-grip (palms facing each other). This adjustment allows you to place more focus on your lats and biceps compared to your upper back.

A neutral-grip gives your arms a stronger biomechanical advantage by recruiting more biceps into the pulling motion, while the elbow position activates more back muscles. This allows you to move heavier weights more safely compared to other pulldown grips.

How to Do the Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

Grab a neutral-grip attachment (palms facing each other) and sit on the seat with your legs secured under the thigh pads. Keep your core tight and your torso upright while pulling the bar toward your chest.

Aim your elbows forward, not sideways, to ensure stress remains on the lats. Resist and control the motion back to the stretched position.

Benefits of the Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

• This exercise gives you a way to progressively work towards your first pull-up.
• The cable’s constant resistance helps create a more stable environment while improving time under tension.
• The neutral-grip puts you in a great position to bias the lats and biceps compared to the upper back, adding variety and customization to your back training.

Single-Arm Kneeling Lat Pulldown

This unilateral exercise can add variety to your back training. It works the lats through a long range of motion and challenges tissues the rear delts and teres major.

The kneeling position reduces lower back strain, encourages core stability, and ensures a long range of motion. This exercise is relatively advanced because it involves both upper and lower body positioning, so take time to nail down your setup and technique.

How to Do the Single-Arm Kneeling Lat Pulldown

Grab a single handle attached to a high cable pulley. Step back with the opposite foot and kneel on the ground, keeping your front foot flat on the floor. Squeeze the handle and drive your elbow toward your hip.

Control the weight when returning to the starting position. Maintain a kneeling position as your arm, shoulder, and back are stretched before performing the next rep.

Benefits of the Single-Arm Kneeling Lat Pulldown

• This exercise builds back and core strength with minimal lower back strain.
• The cable’s constant resistance increases time under tension throughout the range of motion.
• The setup of the exercise can be adjusted to an individual’s structure, by changing the cable’s height and distance from the pulley.

Lat-Focused Seated Cable Row

This seated row variation uses specific hand position, upper body position, and arm path to place a large amount of muscular tension on the lats.

By maintaining a slight forward lean and utilizing a neutral-grip, your body is in a better position to engage your lats during the movement and minimize the role of the upper back and traps.

How to Do the Lat-Focused Seated Cable Row

Sit in the cable row station with your feet on the platform and your hands grasping a wide attachment with a neutral-grip (palms facing one another). With your core tight and your torso position leaned slightly forward at the hip, pull toward the top of your abdomen.

Do not round your back. Control the weight as you return back to the starting position. In the stretched position, don’t allow the weight to pull you far forward out of a strong postural alignment.

Benefits of the Lat-Focused Seated Cable Row

• The cable’s constant resistance creates a more stable environment while improving time under tension throughout the range of motion.
• This variation is great for building size and strength in the mid-back.
• The neutral-grip allows you to emphasize the lats and biceps.

Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row

The supported position takes your low back out of the equation, giving you more stability to isolate the work to the muscles in your upper and mid-back.

This exercise can be performed with dumbbells or kettlebells in a prone position on an incline bench, or more horizontally in a cable station. Both will effectively place tension across your traps, rhomboids, rear delts, and lats, but may depend on your equipment availability.

How to Do the Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row

Lie face down on an incline bench set around 45-degrees. With a dumbbell in each hand, drive your chest into the bench while rowing the weight until your elbows are even with, or just past, your torso. Slowly lower the weight to a full stretch before repeating additional reps.

Benefits of the Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row

• The chest support takes stress off the lower back, increasing your ability to isolate muscles of the upper and mid-back.
• This movement encourages strict form and reduces the chance of momentum-based cheating.
• It’s easy to set up and only requires an adjustable bench and a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells.

Chest-Supported Machine Row

This machine-based variation has you pull the load toward your chest. Your general arm path will be similar to a seated row, which aligns the rowing motion with the muscles of the lats, rear delts, and upper back (traps, rhomboids, and teres major).

Your grip will have a significant impact on the muscles being biased during the exercise. A neutral-grip (palms facing each other) will focus more on the lats, while a semi-pronated grip (diagonally between palms facing down and facing each other) will focus more on the rear delts and upper back.

How to Do the Chest Supported Machine Row

Sit in the machine and grab the handles with your chest against the pad and your feet against the provided supports. With your chest pressed firmly into the pad, pull the handles toward you, extending your elbows behind your body. Control the weight as you return to the starting position.

Benefits of the Chest Supported Machine Row

• The machine provides a clear and consistent movement path, allowing you to focus more on the muscles working and less on maintaining a steady pulling position.
• The chest support and foot pads allow your entire body to brace more effectively, delivering more stability and allowing you to lift heavier loads.
• The multiple grip options allow for more individualization and control over what muscles are being emphasized.

Landmine Row

This bent-over barbell row variation is effective at placing tension across the traps, rhomboids, rear delts, and lats. This movement also recruits the posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings), low back, and abs for total-body stability.

The unique leverage moves the bar along a slightly angled path rather than completely vertical, which creates different muscular stress in the top position compared to dumbbell or barbell rowing movements.

How to Do the Landmine Row

Slide a barbell into a landmine attachment sleeve or wedge it into a corner of the wall. Stand over the barbell with one foot on each side, a few small steps behind the weight plates.

Position a landmine row attachment onto the front of the barbell and grasp the handles. If your gym doesn’t have a landmine row attachment, use a rope handle or V-bar attachment and place it around the bar just behind the weight plates.

Hinge at the hips and keep your legs bent. Maintain a tight core and a neutral spine. Pull your hands toward your waist. To increase the range of motion, load the bar with 10-pound or 25-pound plates instead of larger 45-pound plates.

Benefits of the Landmine Row

• This variation can be performed anywhere you have access to a barbell, whether locked in a landmine sleeve or wedged into a corner at your gym. 
• It challenges multiple muscles of the back, glutes, hamstrings, and abs.
• Different stances and body postures can be used (such as a more upright torso or more horizontal torso) to add variety with an emphasis on different back muscles.

Meadows Row

This exercise, popularized by the late bodybuilding coach John Meadows, has become known for its ability to build up thickness in the back — specifically the rear delts and teres major.

This exercise is unique in that it’s unilateral and has the lifter standing perpendicular to the barbell positioned in a landmine setup. The landmine alters your leverage during the lift, which places unique stress on the muscles.

How to Do the Meadows Row

Assume a staggered stance with your front foot perpendicular to a barbell loaded into a landmine sleeve. Hinge at the hips and grip the bar with an overhand grip, using lifting straps to secure your grip on the bar. Rest the elbow of your non-working arm on your front thigh.

Row the weight up at an angle, so your hand ends up just outside your chest and your elbow is pulled back. Lower the weight into a full stretch. Load the bar with smaller 10-pound or 25-pound plates to ensure a long range of motion.

Benefits of the Meadows Row

• The exercise builds thickness in the upper back by emphasizing key muscles, including the rear delts and teres major.
• The staggered stance creates a need to resist rotation of the torso, adding a challenge to core strength and stability.
• Because of the very stable base and strap-assisted grip, much heavier weights can be used compared to a dumbbell row.

Cable Upper Trap Shrug

Shrugs are typically performed with free weights such as dumbbells or a barbell. However, the movement can be optimized with the cable pulley because the angle of resistance from low cables matches the fiber alignment of the upper traps — on diagonal angle rather than strictly vertical — which increases muscle activation.

High-tension from the cables also means a more effective workout with relatively less weight, making the movement less stressful on joints and more stressful on the target muscles.

How to Do the Cable Trap Shrug

Stand in the middle of two low-cable pulleys, with your knees slightly bent and your hands firmly grasping a single handle from each pulley.

Keep your core stationary as you shrug your shoulders up and in toward your ears. Don’t swing your torso or drive with your legs. Control the weight as you slowly return back to the starting position.

Benefits of the Cable Trap Shrug

• The cable resistance allows a longer time under tension, creating a greater stimulus for muscle growth.
• This variation lines up the resistance with the muscle fibers of the upper traps, maximizing muscular tension while minimizing stress around the shoulder joint.
• The exercise delivers significant muscular stress without extremely heavy weights, making it ideal for lifters with joint pain.

Cable Rope Pullover

The cable rope pullover, sometimes called a stiff-arm pulldown, is great for placing tension strictly on the lats. It avoids the arms-overhead stretched position required for dumbbell pullovers, making this a great alternative for lifters with upper back or shoulder mobility restrictions.

Using a longer rope or strap allows each arm to move in a more individualized arm path, which creates even less strain on the shoulder joints and more muscular stress on the lats.

How to Do the Cable Rope Pullover

Stand in front of a high-pulley cable station, holding a rope attachment with both hands. Lean slightly forward and keep a soft bend in your arms. Keep your torso rigid and abs tight while driving your upper arms down. Pull the attachment toward your hips as far as possible.

Control the weight as you return back to the starting position. Don’t allow your arms to bend when lifting or lowering the weight.

Benefits of the Cable Rope Pullover

• The peak contraction of the movement creates extremely high muscle activation in the lats.
• This exercise is one of the few ways to effectively isolate the lats without involvement from other back muscles.
• It provides a more effective resistance compared to the dumbbell pullover because the cable resistance is constant throughout the full range of motion while a dumbbell pullover delivers less resistance at the top of the movement.

Face Pull

To facilitate increased growth and strength of larger back muscles, your smaller muscles often act as synergists. They add strength and stability to the joints connected to those muscles, which allows them to function optimally and efficiently. The face pull is effective for training the upper back muscles around your shoulder blades, helping improve postural strength and control.

Unlike several exercises on this list, the face pull shouldn’t be used to break any strength records. Go light with higher reps. As you build up strength, you can start to slowly increase the weight, but moving heavy loads is not the best use of this exercise.

How to Do the Face Pull

Attach a rope handle to a high-cable pulley and adjust it to near eye-level. Grab the rope with your palms facing each other. Take a few steps back so there’s tension in the cable and extend your arms in front of your body.

Pull the rope toward your face and flare your elbows out and back. In the contracted position, your wrists should be close to your ears and your elbows should be in-line with your shoulders

Benefits of the Face Pull

• The face pull increases your scapular strength and stability, which is crucial for upper back bracing during movements like the deadlift as well as overhead pressing.
• It works the muscles between the shoulder blades such as the traps and rhomboids, while also building up strength in the rotator cuff muscles, improving overall shoulder joint health.

Farmer’s Walk

This loaded carry isn’t a strict “back exercise,” but it’s effective for placing tension across the muscles of the upper and lower body simultaneously. The postural muscles of the spine, as well as the upper back and traps, are challenged to a very high degree.

When performed consistently, it can build grip strength, core strength and stability, and improves postural strength and control. This exercise mimics many activities performed in your daily life, and can be performed by all ages and experience levels.

How to Do the Farmer’s Walk

Find a stretch of open space, as long as possible, and walk while carrying a pair of dumbbells, kettlebells, or even a trap bar. Keep your hands at your sides and your shoulder blades pulled down and back, not shrugged up. Remain upright and don’t allow your back to round forward as you fatigue.

When walking with load in your hand, the challenge becomes maintaining a steady, upright position. Focus on taking slow, controlled steps while moving a straight line with total-body stability. Don’t allow the weights to make you drift laterally.

Benefits of the Farmer’s Walk

• Can easily be performed anywhere you have open space and weights to hold onto.
• It builds grip and core strength, while also improving postural strength and control.
• It can be easily adapted to training for conditioning or fat loss by increasing the total duration or length of the walk.

The Back Muscles

The back is made up of a group of muscles that work together to achieve a wide range of movement patterns. As such, certain muscles will be biased more or less depending on the exercise being performed.

The primary muscles when it comes to training the back include the latissimus dorsi (lats), teres major, trapezius (traps), rhomboids, rear delts, and erector spinae (lower back).

When training your back, you will be using both muscles anatomically located more superficially (like the lats and traps), as well as deeper (like the rhomboids or erector spinae) within the back and torso. The back muscles have many different functions and are designed to work in synchronicity with one another, or as a unit.

Latissimus Dorsi

Commonly referred to as the lats, the latissimus dorsi are most widely known for their role in adducting the arm toward the body (bringing the upper arm towards the body’s midline), as well as medially rotating the arm around the back of the body (similar to “opening your chest” during a stretch).

During back movements, the lats play many roles — most notably helping stabilize the pelvis and interacting with the abdominal muscles in everything from respiration, maintaining shoulder positioning, to protecting the spine. (1)

Teres Major

The teres major attaches on the upper arm, next to the lat attachment, and stretches across to the lower part of the scapula. Sometimes referred to as the “little lat,” this muscle, along with the teres minor, are not technically part of the rotator cuff but share many roles with the muscles of the rotator cuff when it comes to glenohumeral (shoulder) stabilization.

The teres major also assists the latissimus dorsi in adducting the arm (bringing it closer to the body), as performed during a lat pulldown motion. (2)

Trapezius

The trapezius is a big muscle that spans across the better part of your upper and mid-back. This muscle has three divisions — upper, mid, and lower — and each plays an essential role in stabilizing the shoulder blades.

All three sections of the muscle are hard at work during pulling movements to help maintain tension and stability in the back. (3)

Rhomboids

The rhomboids are positioned directly below the traps in the middle of the back (between the shoulder blades). Both the major and minor divisions of this muscle retract, elevate, and rotate the scapula.

Weakness or loss of function of the rhomboids can be a significant contributing factor to a winged scapula (when the shoulder blades “point” away from the body), which makes it even more important to keep these muscles strong and working properly. (4)

Rear Delts

Also known as the posterior deltoid, the rear delts primary function is to bring the arm back around the body (shoulder extension), assisting the lats and teres major.

A flared arm position, with the elbows aimed out to the sides, makes the rear delts a primary mover during an exercise. This type of movement is how the muscle plays a big part in your back strength and development. (5)

Erector Spinae

These muscles, also known as the spinal erectors, are positioned deep within the torso and are responsible for controlling the axial skeleton — which includes the skull, vertebral column, and ribs. The spinal erectors primarily control flexion/extension, side bending, and rotation of the spine.

The lower back, in particular, is critical for stabilizing the pelvis and spine during movements such as the deadlift or many bent-over movements previously explained. (6)

How Often Should You Train the Back

To optimize muscle growth, train your back two to three times per week, depending on how many total days per week you’re training. Since the back is filled with different muscle groups, all with different fiber alignments and jobs, it’s important to train the back using many different exercises and rep ranges.

Depending on your training split, each workout may include a different amount of training volume. Anywhere from 10 to 16 total sets per week is a great starting point. Advanced lifters could potentially exceed 18 to 20 sets per week, especially if their goal is to emphasize a specific part of the back over another.

To achieve this total volume, choose three to four exercises and divide the sets up evenly across your training week. It’s generally a good idea to have a balanced ratio of vertical pulls (pulldown or pull-up variations) and horizontal pulls (rowing variations) to ensure balanced development across the entire back.

How to Progress Your Back Training

Since the back can be trained with a wide variety of exercises, it’s possible to steadily add weight to each specific exercise every week. As little as two-and-a-half to five pounds per week can be a sufficient increase to stimulate growth when the sets are taken near failure.

For multi-joint (compound) exercises like the barbell row or deadlift, you can add slightly more weight more quickly compared to an isolation-based exercise like dumbbell pullover or cable rope pullover.

If you find any exercises require more time to improve your technique, be sure to perform those movements towards the beginning of your workouts to avoid training them when fatigued.

If you’re new to lifting in general, simply improving your technique in an exercise can lead to gains in strength and muscle size across a few months’ timespan. Keep in mind that whenever you add a new exercise into your routine, it will take your body a few weeks to get used to the new challenge and nail down the technique.

How to Warm-Up Your Back

One of the most effective ways to warm-up for any muscle group is going to be with the exercises you are performing in that day’s training session. For example, if you’re performing chest-supported rows, you can warm-up by performing reps with light weight and raise the intensity (load lifted) as you proceed toward your working sets.

This ensures that the appropriate muscles and joints are being primed, reducing the risk of injury and improving your overall training performance.

If you need additional time to warm-up, include exercises that work the muscles surrounding the joints you’ll be working in that session. For a back workout, that would include the elbow and shoulder joints.

Building a Complete Back

Designing a back workout doesn’t need to be an arduous process. To be effective, choose three to four exercises that train multiple muscle groups and progress them over time with varying rep ranges. Be sure to train the back both horizontally (with rows) and vertically (with pulldowns) for complete development. This detailed list gives you plenty of options to choose from, ensuring a bigger, stronger back in the long-term.

References

1. Jeno SH, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Back, Latissimus Dorsi. [Updated 2020 Aug 13]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021. 
2. Barra-López, M. E., López-de-Celis, C., Pérez-Bellmunt, A., Puyalto-de-Pablo, P., Sánchez-Fernández, J. J., & Lucha-López, M. O. (2020). The supporting role of the teres major muscle, an additional component in glenohumeral stability? An anatomical and radiological study. Medical hypotheses, 141, 109728. 
3. Ourieff J, Scheckel B, Agarwal A. Anatomy, Back, Trapezius. [Updated 2020 Aug 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021. 
4. Farrell C, Kiel J. Anatomy, Back, Rhomboid Muscles. [Updated 2020 Jul 27]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021. 
5. Elzanie A, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Deltoid Muscle. [Updated 2020 Aug 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021. 
6. Modes RJ, Lafci Fahrioglu S. Anatomy, Back. [Updated 2021 Mar 27]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021.

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