Lat Pulldown Idiots

Seriously though, I think 4/100 people at my gym know how to use the lat machine correctly. Myself included. I don’t judge when I see the improper uses but I just noticed alot of people doing it wrong. Thought I would share

I only see 1/25 do it correctly at my gym…

[quote]son of liars wrote:
I only see 1/25 do it correctly at my gym…[/quote]

snap, i use to be one of those people who only did chins, then i realized i could work my lats better incorporating both

its funny when you see someone using there bodyweight to move the stack as opposed to there arms and back

So if people are doing it wrong what is the proper way of doing latpulldowns

You have to go deep on lat pull downs, your head should almost be touching the floor behind you when you’ve finished the rep.

what kind of mistakes do you normally see? I’ve been going heavier on pulldowns recently, I hope I’m not doing them wrong. How can you use your bodyweight if you’re sitting down?

not leaning right back and using the bodyweight to hoist the stack.

A LITTLE cheating CAN be used effectively - as always, but many guys tend to stack the pin and swing on the bar.

They thin k they look strong i guess.

jj

Enlighten us oh wise one.

The lat pull down machine should only be used once you have finished all your sets of chins (even if you can only do a few). When you are strong enough on chins it should be ditched all together.

[quote]JamFly wrote:
The lat pull down machine should only be used once you have finished all your sets of chins (even if you can only do a few). When you are strong enough on chins it should be ditched all together.[/quote]

Really? Have you got anything to back this up with? or is it just a fact that everyone knows and anyone who doesn’t must be wrong/stupid…

I have nothing against lat pulldowns. But personally I don’t do them.

Rather, I start with weighted chins, then move on to bodyweight neutral grip, fat bar, pronated, towel chins, or some other variation.

Is that you in your avatar? Looks lik your pulling a solid amount of extra weight!

I personally rarely do lat pull downs but I was pointing out that there are very few instances in training where you can apply broad, vague rules to every person and every situatuon, ie don’t do lat pull downs or do do bicep curls

[quote]JamFly wrote:
The lat pull down machine should only be used once you have finished all your sets of chins (even if you can only do a few). When you are strong enough on chins it should be ditched all together.[/quote]

Im not that great at chins/pull ups but my dad dose weighted pull-ups and Lat-pulls and has the best back of anyone I know or have ever met. So saying that “When you are strong enough on chins it should be ditched all together” is a load of Bull!

I never do Lat pull downs unless Im training with my brother who loves them and goes super heavy.

I dont see why to do them if you can do pull ups anyway, unless its just for variation and different grip etc.

I know what you are saying about not using it properly, alot of people use their body weight to pull it down and use far too much arm

So by using bodyweight you mean leaning back? Well I keep my back pretty much straight, I guess I’m doing them right. I honestly didn’t realise there was a way to do them wrong.

Re: pulldowns vs chinups, it’s a silly debate. sure if you can do chinups instead it’s a better exercise, but that doesn’t make pulldowns worthless. don’t worry so much about what other people are doing.

[quote]toby_w wrote:
JamFly wrote:
The lat pull down machine should only be used once you have finished all your sets of chins (even if you can only do a few). When you are strong enough on chins it should be ditched all together.

Really? Have you got anything to back this up with? or is it just a fact that everyone knows and anyone who doesn’t must be wrong/stupid…[/quote]

Agree.

Lat pulldowns are another way to hit the muscles, and I’ve had periods where they worked my lats better than pullups and chins.

Saying that lat pulldowns should be ditched once you can do chins is pretty ignorant.

[quote]Tube wrote:
So by using bodyweight you mean leaning back? Well I keep my back pretty much straight, I guess I’m doing them right. I honestly didn’t realise there was a way to do them wrong.

Re: pulldowns vs chinups, it’s a silly debate. sure if you can do chinups instead it’s a better exercise, but that doesn’t make pulldowns worthless. don’t worry so much about what other people are doing.[/quote]

I do close-grip pulldowns exclusively, and you have to lean back slightly at the bottom of the movement so that the triangular piece doesn’t hit your chin on the way down to your upper chest.

I’ll have to check how far I pull down, it’s entirely possible I’m not using a full range of motion. I’m really trying to get my back training together at the moment.

[quote]JamFly wrote:
The lat pull down machine should only be used once you have finished all your sets of chins (even if you can only do a few). When you are strong enough on chins it should be ditched all together.[/quote]

Of course, because if you use your bodyweight, it MUST be a better exercise, right?

Funny thing is, this obsession with pull ups doesn’t seem to extend to other BW exercises. I don’t see a lot of people recommending push ups over the bench press or dips instead of shoulder pressing.

My opinion is that there’s no reason not to use both or either. As long as you’re doing something to work your back and working out with intensity.

I never really cared if people were doing Pulldowns in place of Pull/Chin ups, because this meant that the Pull up bar was usually free.