A common exercise such as lat pull-downs is designed to work the back muscles. In fact, it is not much different from pull-ups on a horizontal bar. It will be an excellent addition to such basic exercises as pull-ups, allowing you to work your back more thoroughly. This is especially useful for those who, due to lack of experience, cannot perform pull-ups correctly and after several repetitions lose control of the technique. If when doing pull-ups the body weight is minimal, then here you can take a smaller weight to improve the technical side of the workout. When performing deadlifts, it is easier to control the work of your back and not allow your arms to “steal” the load. There are several types of exercise, let's find out what they are.

The handle of the exercise machine is taken with a straight, widest possible grip. The wider the grip, the better the back works. You need to sit tightly on the bench, pressing your hips with the upper bolster. When the starting position is accepted, you can begin the deadlift. You need to pull the handle towards the upper chest, trying to feel the work of the back muscles as much as possible. If you don't yet understand how your back works, just try pulling the weight by bringing your shoulder blades together. Jerks during deadlifts are unacceptable, as they significantly reduce the effectiveness of the exercise. At the end point, you need to hold the projectile for a couple of seconds and, as controlled as possible, slowly, return to the starting position. The main goal when performing deadlifts is to keep your back muscles tense throughout the movement.

note

In the basic version, the main load is received by the middle part of the back. Therefore, many experienced athletes lean back (and quite strongly), which allows them to load the latissimus muscles. But if the goal of the training is to give your back a lumpy appearance, then keep your torso perpendicular to the bench. Charles Glass (famous trainer, bodybuilder) recommends lowering the handle as low as possible while pulling a block, trying to hold it in the lower position for a couple of seconds. This little trick allows you to additionally pump the middle part of the back muscles. But keep in mind that you won’t be able to lower the handle below your chest with too much weight.

In terms of technique, this exercise is almost no different from the previous one. However, here the handle is taken with a reverse grip. That is, the palms turn towards the body. They need to be placed as close to the center of the handle as possible. If done correctly, you can achieve a good load on the

Important nuances

Reverse-grip lat pulldowns engage the biceps and, to a lesser extent, the forearm. These muscles do not have the same resource as the back, so they get tired much earlier. Thus, there is a risk that the back will not be worked to the proper extent when performing deadlifts. Wrist belts can solve this problem. With their help, you can continue the exercise, despite forearm fatigue.

Another way to ensure high-quality back work is to use special equipment. Here, special attention should be paid to the position of the shoulders. When an athlete takes the handle of the exercise machine, the shoulders themselves move forward and upward. They need to be pulled back and down in a circular motion, this will be the starting position. In this case, the arms will be slightly bent, and the handle will be slightly lowered down. From this position you need to do deadlifts. If everything is done correctly, the back muscles will receive a good load, and the arms will be excluded from work almost completely. Pulling the upper block to the chest in this form involves reducing the weight in order to maintain the correct technique. Therefore, you will have to do more repetitions to tire out the muscles.

Parallel grip

To perform this version of the exercise, you need to install a special handle with two parallel handles. Typically, such a handle is used in the technique. This method is much easier than the previous two. Therefore, here you can take more weight.

In the starting position, the body leans back slightly. The point of contact will be the middle of the chest. At the top point of the exercise, you need to try to stretch your body up as much as possible. Do not lean back too much and pull the weight with your body weight. The pull-down of the upper block to the chest in this design, like other versions of the pull-downs, is performed exclusively by the back muscles. Before you pull the handle down, inhale, and when it touches your chest, exhale.

Subtleties of the exercise

When performing an exercise such as pulling the upper block to the chest with a parallel grip, you do not need to fully straighten your arms. You should always leave a slight bend in your elbow to avoid unnecessary stretching of the ligaments and joints. You should not throw weight, it should always be under control. This will help make the exercise safer and more effective. Like other types of deadlifts, this type requires special attention to the muscles of the back and arms. It is especially important to monitor the tension in your back at the top point. This exercise primarily targets the lateral spinal muscles, but leaning backwards can also target the teres muscles.

Alternative

How to replace the traction of the upper block to the chest? As already mentioned, this exercise is very similar to pull-ups on the bar. Therefore, for those who have a crossbar at home, there are no problems. But if there is none, then you will have to show a little more ingenuity. You can replace the exercise with a bent-over row of a barbell or dumbbells. Here the back muscles will be worked from a different angle, but this is not scary, the main thing is that they will work well. If you do an exercise with dumbbells, the grip can be either straight (as with a barbell) or neutral (dumbbells parallel to the body).

The second exercise that can replace the overhead pull-down is a pullover with a barbell. To begin, you need to lie down on a bench and place your hands with the barbell behind your head. In the starting position, your elbows need to be bent so that they are close to your forehead. This angle must be maintained throughout the entire range of motion. You need to lower the barbell until the muscles feel a good stretch, and raise it until the barbell is at chest level. To make the exercise as effective as possible, monitor the level of elbow bend - it should not change.

Conclusion

Seated chest rows, unlike pull-ups, give the athlete the opportunity to fully concentrate on working his back and not be distracted. In addition, it allows you to vary the weight, which means it is suitable for beginners and those recovering from injury. If you work out at home, you can find an alternative to lat pulldowns. The main thing is to remember that you can effectively work out your back muscles only when the correct technique is followed and other muscle groups are excluded from the work.

This is a basic exercise that almost completely imitates pull-ups. In fact, these are “pull-ups in reverse”: in this case, it is not you who are pulled up to the bar, but the bar (more precisely, the handle of the exercise machine) “pulled up” to you. As a result, not only all the back muscles work, but also the rear deltoids, biceps, long heads of the triceps and forearms.

In this version of the exercise, the load from the latissimus muscles is slightly shifted to the upper and middle back. Don't go for heavy weights. The main thing in this exercise is the quality of the execution technique. Don't slouch, don't lift your buttocks off the bench. Try not to shift the load to the biceps, but to use the back muscles as much as possible.

Grab the handle with a wide grip, palms facing forward. Sit on the machine, position your thighs tightly under the rollers. Press your feet to the floor. Keeping your back straight, as you exhale, lower the handle down behind your head, bringing your shoulder blades together as much as possible. As you inhale, slowly lift the handle to the starting position.

Do not use inertial force. Perform a slow, controlled movement through a full range of motion. Don't slouch or round your shoulders. Keep your chest open and your shoulder blades pulled together and down. A slight bend back while sitting will provide a more precise execution of the bar row and activate the abdominal stabilizer muscles.

Take the handle of the exercise machine with a straight wide grip and sit on the seat. As you exhale, pull the handle down (slightly below chin level), slightly tilting your torso back. As you inhale, return to the starting position.

As you row, push your chest out to meet the movement of the handle. The shoulders should move back and down, the shoulder blades should be brought together. Pay very close attention to the technique so that exactly the muscles that are supposed to work, namely the latissimus dorsi muscles. To comprehensively develop your back muscles, perform lat pulldowns with different grips. The close grip row will shift the emphasis to the very bottom of the latissimus muscles.

To perform this variation of the exercise, we will need a handle with parallel handles, which is usually used for lower pulley rows. In terms of technique, this is the easiest version of the exercise, so you can use slightly more weight here than in other options. As in the previous versions, the latissimus dorsi muscles are mainly loaded here.

What muscles work in the vertical block row exercise?

» Basic: back muscles, latissimus

» Auxiliary: biceps, shoulders

How to do lat pull-downs correctly

Good day, dear subscribers and readers. Today on the agenda, under close scrutiny, we will consider the exercise - traction of the upper block to the chest, which is aimed at developing the spinal muscles, in particular the latissimus. The horizontal pull-down is a basic exercise that uses not only the elbow joint, but also the shoulder joint.

When deadlifting, part of the load is taken by the biceps, forearms and deltoids. Our main task today is to learn how to use only the latissimus muscles during vertical rows and minimize other muscle groups.

What does the upper block pull look like in motion?

Technique

Grab. To learn how to pump your back with this exercise, you need to understand the mechanics of the movements and pay attention to the width of your grip. If you take the handle too narrowly, the biceps are more heavily loaded. If the grip is wide, the back works better.

But such a wide grip does not give us full amplitude in the movement; it turns out to be short. The key point is to find that intermediate position at which the back will be well loaded and the amplitude will remain large. To begin with, you can try starting with a medium grip, then go to the wide side.

Back. We remember that in all back exercises you need to maintain a bend in the lower back for proper contraction of the back muscles. Do not hump her under any circumstances. This will work not your back, but your arms and shoulders. When the buttocks are pulled back and the chest bulges forward, the back muscles begin to actively engage in work.

Elbows. When performing a vertical pull-down on your back, your elbows should go back behind your lats. This is achieved by slightly tilting the body back from the vertical position.

But most people in the gym make the mistake of leaning too far and pulling the handles at an angle. Remember, the cable must fall strictly vertically down, even with the body tilted back. This is achieved this way: before performing the pull, you need to move a little forward, closer to the simulator, so that when you lean back, the pulling cable is perpendicular.

At the top point, do not drop the handle so that the weight does not rest on the joints. It is necessary to maintain tension in the back muscles, thus stretching the lats. At the bottom, it is better to take a micro-pause and peak the spinal muscles, tighten them as they should.

Back exercise:

There are several types of traction:

» Narrow grip

» Wide grip

» Reverse grip

If you perform vertical block rows with a narrow grip, the load is transferred to a greater extent to the lower back. The biceps are also included in the work.

The most popular variation is the wide overhand row. With this option, all the latissimus dorsi muscles are included in the work as much as possible.

With a reverse grip, both your back and biceps work. If your biceps are poorly developed, then you should not perform such deadlifts, because they will take the lion's share of the load.

As for the questions, which traction is better or more effective? It all depends on your goals and level of preparedness. If you are a beginner, we recommend starting with the classic version of the vertical row - with a wide grip. We recommend a narrow grip for those who have a weak lower back. For those who want to pump up their back and load their arms at the same time, the reverse-grip vertical block row is an excellent option. It can be used on biceps day.

Execution Sequence

1.Go to the machine, sit on it so that your knees are placed under the rollers, adjust their position.
2. Approach the projectile forward as close as possible
3.Grip the handles with a comfortable grip, slightly wider than your shoulders, fingers on top.
4.Tilt your body slightly back from the vertical position
5.Take a deep breath and begin to pull the bar towards your chest until it touches
6. Elbows are in the same plane with hands and back
7.At the bottom, make a peak contraction, squeezing your shoulder blades additionally
8.Return the bar to the starting position slowly
9. At the top point, do not fully extend your arms and maintain tension in your back, further stretching it
10. When lowering to the chest, exhale, while lifting the bar, inhale.

Regulation No. 1

Regulation No. 2

Errors

» Don't lean back too much

» Do not pull the bar at an incline, only vertical

» Pull the bar only with your back muscles, not with your biceps.

» Elbows move along the body

» Keep your head down, look forward

» Perform the exercise smoothly and without jerking

You can replace the vertical block row to the chest with a vertical row in the Hammer simulator

Number of approaches and repetitions

» For men: 8 - 10 repetitions 3-4 sets.
» For women: 6 - 8 reps 3 sets.

Upper block pull-down to the chest on video

conclusions

To correctly perform the exercise, pulling the upper block to the chest and engaging the back muscles, you need to remember the basic rules:

» The lower back is always arched

» We sit as close to the projectile as possible

» The force vector should pass through our chest and spinal column

» Pull with your back

To pump up the back muscles, especially the wings (latissimus), you need to do various pull-downs: to the chest, lower back, behind the head, pull-ups and other exercises. The lat pull-down is one of the main exercises to achieve this goal.

Why include exercise in your workout?

The vertical pull-down is a basic exercise that simulates pull-ups. Therefore, it is important to perform it to strengthen the back muscles. Naturally, working on the horizontal bar without weights, the athlete will achieve little. In order for muscle growth (hypertrophy) to occur, good progressive loads are needed.

The lat pulldown allows you to use weights that exceed your own body weight. At the same time, there is no danger of falling down and falling - after all, you are sitting. Block traction is very important, and now you know why.

Exercise options

You probably noticed that there is only one handle on the top block - long and slightly curved at the edges. In fact, there are other options, but the vertical block pull is done with just this one.

To fully utilize the entire area of ​​the latissimus muscles, you need to pull the weight with different grips: behind the head, to the bottom or top of the chest, to the neck. There are options for a wide grip, narrow, forward and reverse and their combinations.

Each nuance can significantly change the exercise. Most often, one complements the other, which we will talk about next. For example, a wide grip vertical row can be complemented by a narrow grip.

Technique

Pulldowns with a narrow or wide grip, behind the head or to the chest while sitting are variations of the same exercise. Each of them has its own characteristics that every athlete simply needs to know. This knowledge will give a tangible advantage when using a block simulator.

Narrow grip

This is a reverse grip vertical row. Set the weight to 10–15 kg for warming up in the block machine. Adjust the seat so that your legs fit snugly between the seat and the leg support bolsters. If the bolsters are too low, you will not be able to sit properly. And if it’s high, a large weight will lift you up during exercise in the block simulator. Vertical rows with improper form are a bad idea. In this case, the position of the hands should be parallel.

1. Stand up and grab the handle with a narrow reverse grip. The distance between the hands is 10–15 cm.
2. Sit with your arms straight with the weight up, feel the weight.
3. Using the strength of your latissimus muscles, bring your elbows down. At the same time, the handle (bar) of the exercise machine is pulled towards your chin.
4. Raise your head slightly up so that your face does not interfere with the trajectory of the weight.
5. Pull the handle down to your neck while sitting, trying to shorten your wings as much as possible: the weight should drop to your chest.
6. There is no need to lean back, otherwise it will be a different traction option. We do everything while sitting, without lifting our pelvis from the seat.
7. Hold the weight at the bottom for 1-2 seconds, then return to the starting position. Practice the technique with light weights. Warm-up is 10–15 repetitions.

Set the working weight to do 3 sets of 10 reps. If you can’t pull down on the last reps, or you need to do them with jerks, reduce the weight by 5 kg (usually the step in the block machine is just 5 kg).

This version of the exercise, along with the lats, actively uses the biceps, but the amplitude of movement is maximum.

Wide grip

Option 1: Reverse Grip and Pulldown

This is also a vertical row with a reverse grip. Place a weight of 10–15 kg and adjust the seat of the machine as described just above.

1. Stand up and grab the handle with a moderately wide grip. Your hands should be slightly wider than your shoulders.
2. Sit down, stretch your arms up. Lean back a little so that the cable of the block machine stretches under the weight of the weight you installed. Your torso is the counterweight.
3. Pull the weight downward with the force of your wings so that your elbows point 45 degrees down.
4. Bring the bar of the machine to the top of your chest, maintaining the angle of your body.
5. Put the weight back. Do 10-15 warm-up reps.

Place a working weight and perform 3 sets of 12 times. This pull of the upper block to the chest pumps up the bottom of the wings.

Option 2: direct head grip

This is a vertical row with a wide grip behind the head:

1. Grasp the bends of the bar with your hands with an overhand grip. This grip is considered wide.
2. Sit down. The body must be positioned strictly vertically; deviations back or forward are inappropriate in this case.
3. We tilt our head slightly down so that the back of the head does not interfere with the movement of the bar.
4. Using the force of the wings, we pull the weight down behind the head, touching the neck.
5. Hold the weight in the lower position for 1-2 seconds and return to the starting position.
6. We do 10–15 warm-up approaches.

Next, set up a working weight and perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions while sitting. This version of the exercise will be more difficult and traumatic than the others, so it is better to use it for experienced athletes. It is believed to best engage the teres major muscle.

Option 3: straight wide grip to the chest

This is a vertical pull-down to the chest or a vertical pull-down with a wide grip to the chest:

1. We grab the bar in exactly the same way as in the previous exercise.
2. We tilt the body a little back, and also tilt the head a little back.
3. Using the force of the wings, while sitting, we pull the weight to the top or bottom of the chest. In this case, by deflecting the body, we achieve the desired angle for proper muscle function. Such an effect cannot be achieved by pulling a horizontal block.

This pull of the upper block to the chest pumps the top of the latissimus muscles. In addition, there are handles for doing parallel grip rows. This is acceptable, but it is better to pull a horizontal block with a parallel grip.

The overhead row is an exercise for the back muscles. It’s not for nothing that we always focus on the phrase “with the power of wings.” This means that you need to clearly feel what you are working with, which muscles are involved in the process.

The fact is that a significant part of the load from this deadlift can be taken up by the strength of the biceps, and the rest can be carried out with the wings. In this case, the meaning of the exercise is lost. And it’s the biceps that will get tired. Usually in humans they are much stronger than the wings. Therefore, when the weight goes to the latissimus muscles, they immediately begin to experience discomfort, sometimes even hurt and “fail”. The weight immediately becomes heavy.

When you're lifting a heavy weight and it feels light, think about whether you're doing the exercise with your biceps. There is a wide range of specific exercises for them, but here they simply help, but do not dominate, as is often the case with most novice athletes.

Elbow position

Raise your hands up in front of the mirror. Pay attention to your wings, turn your elbows in different directions - what do you see? The wings are moving. Therefore, the position of the elbows during any deadlift decides how much of the lats will be worked.

This is why there are different hand positions. It is necessary to hold your elbows in a strictly defined way in each grip variant. This will ensure that the necessary areas of the spinal muscles work. During the exercise, your elbows need to be fixed so that they do not “float” from side to side.

Also watch your shoulders. In any case, the movement of the arms will be parallel, but one shoulder may be higher than the other.

Jerks, cheating, injuries

If you do jerks, it means you took a lot of weight. Turn it down and do everything smoothly.

Some people pull the bar down using their own body weight, giving the movement an initial acceleration, and then use their muscles to return it back. This is dangerous, you risk damaging the ligaments.

The exercise involves the posterior bundles of deltoid muscles. They are very vulnerable, and for their sake we do a warm-up to warm them up properly. If it’s not so easy to pull the latissimus muscle, then it’s easy to pull the shoulders. It is enough to make a sharp jerk on the “cold” muscle. The easiest way to do overhead pull-downs is with a reverse grip; this is where shoulders are most often injured. Be careful and the vertical block pull will serve you well!

Hello everyone. You are reading another article on my blog, and I am incredibly happy about it. Well, since you are here, I think you will be interested to know what the vertical block row means for girls, why it is special and what advantages and disadvantages it has. I will also briefly talk about the simulator itself on which you can perform this very deadlift. Do you think it’s time to move on to presenting the main idea?

In order to achieve something in terms of fitness, sports or physical education, you need to visit gyms, and visit them regularly, working out on various block exercise machines.

What is a block trainer?

This is a cable trainer. The cable is attached on one side to the handle, and on the other to blocks on which you can install the counterweight (working weight) you need. It is this simulator that allows you to perform vertical rows, and, as a rule, horizontal ones too.

For example, such simulators include.

What is so special about vertical rows for girls?

First of all, it pumps the muscles of the upper back, with a secondary effect on certain muscles of the arms and neck. But that's not all. This exercise opens up a good prospect for the weaker sex to learn and gain strength for this basic exercise.

Depending on the nature of the loads and goals, representatives of the fair sex can work both on strength indicators and on the so-called “drying” of the upper shoulder girdle and upper back. And yes, work is also possible if any of the girls are interested in this.

But in every barrel of honey there is a spoonful of what? That's right, fly in the ointment. Although the block exercise machine has proven its usefulness and indispensability, it is still not working with free weights or your own weight, as is the case with full pull-ups: the abdominal muscles (rectus and obliques), as well as the lower back, are largely excluded from the work.

And the pulling technique is quite specific for an untrained person - either you need to keep your back arched, or you need to pull not with your biceps, but with your shoulder blades... In short, there are a lot of “problems” in the technique, but I’ll tell you about them a little lower.

Vertical row technique

The technique, as I already said, is quite specific, but if you master it, then consider that you have achieved certain results. So, let's begin.

Grab the handle of the machine - it hangs above your head or at face level (it all depends on the height of the machine) - but take it so that your palms are located on the bends of the handle (that is, wider than your shoulders). Next, sit down on a special seat, place your knees under the “bolsters” so that the counterweight does not lift you when it is lowered.

I'll make a retreat right away. If your task is to use the back muscles as much as possible, then use a wide grip (palms on the folds), and if you want to simultaneously work on the biceps of the arms and forearms, then you can use a medium or narrow grip. Please note that I did not talk about completely eliminating certain muscles from working. With any grip they are involved, but to a greater or lesser extent. Thus, the latissimus dorsi and biceps muscles work constantly with different grips, but the load on them varies. Do you know what I mean? I think yes.

There is one more nuance. This is a forward or reverse grip. With a reverse grip, the forearms and different parts of the biceps will be strained to the maximum, and depending on the width.

Let's continue studying the technology. Where did I stop? Oh, yes - you crouched down and held the handle of the “block”. Afterwards, you need to clearly establish your torso, and not start fanatically lowering the handle to your chest.

The back should be arched in any case. Have you caved in? Now you can move on to bending your torso. Lean slightly backward if you are pulling towards your chest, or forward if you are pulling behind your head. Didn't you know that this was possible? Well, I’ll explain how this is done below, although both methods are very similar in implementation, but differ in the nature of the influence.

So, you have already leaned back a little, thereby removing the necessary weight from the rest of the blocks. Amazing. Now you are ready to go. Lower the handle to your upper chest. But you need to pull not with your hands, but with your shoulder blades. To put it simply, you should tense the muscles of the shoulder blades, trapezius and deltoid muscles, and not the biceps muscles of the arms.

Afterwards, you can slowly lower the block to the starting position until your arms are almost fully straightened. Note, almost complete.

Block pull behind the head and to the chest

These two exercises differ in that they are performed differently and affect the back muscles. Naturally, when the position of the handle changes, the muscles work slightly differently. It is generally accepted that pulling to the chest affects the width of the back, and pulling behind the head affects its thickness.

And if we talk about detailing the muscles, then... to be honest, I don’t know what will happen. Try it, at least it won't get any worse. Let me know in the comments if you decide to try experimenting.

Pulling weight

Achieving your goal depends on your weight. The weight should be small (about 50% of the maximum), if your task, dear girls, is to make yourself more beautiful. If stronger, then increase it to 70 - 75%. The number of approaches and repetitions varies depending on the weight. When it’s small, it’s a lot; when it’s big, it’s less.

Dear girls, pay your attention to the training course of Yuri Spasokukotsky, which is specially designed for the fair half of humanity. The course is called " TRAINING COURSE FOR GIRLS».

Find out more about the course »»

The vertical pull-down can be a great way for girls to achieve their goals. As you can see, you can work on strength, endurance, relief and mass. The range of influence of the exercise is large, and its potential is inexhaustible.

Best regards, Vladimir Manerov

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