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back exercises > Machine Lateral Pull-Down
 
 

 


Like the Assisted Pull-Up, this exercise not only works the back muscles but also the biceps muscles and the muscles of the forearms, improving the strength of your grip. It is a good exercise for beginners because it allows them to build up strength before progressing to body-weight pull-ups and chin-ups.

1 Adjust the kneepads to comfortably support your legs and to help stabilize weight then stand up and grip the bar with your hands a shoulder-width apart before pulling the bar back down and taking your place under the knee support.

2 Stay seated and extend your arms up and above your position, then pull the bar down until it reaches your upper chest.

3 Make sure that your shoulders are down and your elbows pulled back and hold for a second before returning to the start position.

4 Slowly extend your arms back up, stretching fully and keeping your "tall" posture. Repeat for the desired number of reps.
  


 

Variations:

- change the angle of your upper body when pulling down by leaning back slightly more. Maintain your "tall" posture, though, and do not hunch forward.

- try using a close underarm grip (a,b) - doing this makes your biceps muscles work harder during the exercise - or make your hands slightly wider than a shoulder-width apart in order to work the back a little more 

Precautions:

- if your technique starts to fail, make sure that you reduce the amount of weight being used