
Lat pulldowns: 3 sets of 10–12 reps to give your lats some extra love. Chin-ups: 4 sets of 6–8 reps to work the upper back and biceps. Your workout sheet probably looks like this: Plus, lat pulldowns are often used as an assistance lift for the chin-up. Thing is, the minimum weight you can use is your bodyweight, and so it can become hard to venture into higher rep ranges, especially if you’re still relatively new to lifting weights. In fact, if anything, chin-ups and pull-ups are better than lat pulldowns for building muscle in our biceps and upper back. That gives you a near-perfect alternative to the lat pulldown. If you’ve got a barbell home gym, chances are you’ve got a squat rack that has a chin-up bar. Lat Pulldown Alternative with a Barbell Home Gym So, ideally, we’d find a substitute that works our arms and upper back, but the main thing we’re looking for is an exercise that works your lats hard through a large range of motion. #Barbell pullover full
The strength curve isn’t ideal, since the lift is easiest where our lats are strongest (in a deep stretch), but it still works them hard through a full range of motion. It starts with your lats in a deep stretch, works them through a full range of motion, and our performance is limited by our strength. What that lat pulldown is best at, though, is bulking up your lats. It will even work the long head of your triceps a little bit, since they help to pull your elbows closer to your body. It’s a lat lift, hence the name: the lat pulldown.Įven so, as much as the lat pulldown works our lats, it’s still a compound lift, and it still works a wide variety of other muscles, ranging from your rear delts to your abs to your forearms.
When you use an overhand grip, it prevents your biceps from fully engaging, and when you use a wider grip, it emphasizes your lats over your other upper-back muscles. Lat pulldowns are often done with a wider, overhand grip. More like the grip you’d use when doing pull-ups. The more popular way of doing lat pulldowns is with a wider, overhand grip, though. It’s a bigger lift that works both your biceps and upper back. If you use an underhand, shoulder-width grip, it’s similar to a chin-up. There are a couple different ways of doing lat pulldowns.
Lat Pulldown Alternative with a Dumbbell Home Gym. Lat Pulldown Alternative with a Barbell Home Gym. What Muscles Does the Lat Pulldown Work?. As always, in the image, I’ve only labeled the targets and synergists that are in view. As with the barbell deadlift, multiple muscles of your legs and core work to stabilize your body during the barbell rack pull. Support your lower back with a weight belt when lifting very heavy. Since the barbell is raised off the floor, you can use more weight than you can with the deadlift, and there is less involvement of your legs. The exercise is great for developing body-wide strength and helping you to improve the middle and top portions of your deadlift. The barbell rack pull is basically the barbell deadlift with the barbell raised off the floor. If your grip starts to fail when lifting heavy, use wrist straps, grip hooks, or a mixed grip (one hand pronated, the other supinated).
If lifting very heavy, hold your breath as you make the lift. To optimize mechanical leverage, keep the barbell close to your body. Keep your knees and feet pointing in the same direction. Keep your back straight, hips low, and head up. Inhale as you push your bottom backward and lower the barbell down the front of your legs to the safety pins in a controlled manner. At the top of the lift, squeeze your glutes and pull your shoulders back. Keeping your head up and your back and arms straight, exhale as you stand, push your hips forward and drag the barbell up the front of your legs until you are fully standing. Straighten your back, lower your hips and raise your head. Grasp the barbell with a pronated (overhand) grip, with your hands shoulder-width apart. Stand with your legs almost touching the barbell, with your feet shoulder-width apart and pointing slightly outward.
The barbell should be just under knee height. Place a barbell on the safety pins of a power rack.Synergists: Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Adductor Magnus, Soleus, Latissimus Dorsi, Wrist Flexors (the latter two only if you lift heavy).Target muscles: Gluteus Maximus, Erector Spinae.Facebook Pinterest Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Exercise details