How To: Lat Pulldown | 3 GOLDEN RULES

The slightest change in your form can take the focus of this exercise our of your LATS and place more emphasis on your biceps and upper back. But after you watch this video you will know EXACTLY what to do to not only master the exercise, but build some serious muscle with it!

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Today we’re going to talk about the 3 golden rules for how to perform a lat pulldown properly. A lat pulldown is a great exercise that’s going to target almost the entire back, mainly focusing on width. However, you will also be involving other muscles in your back like your traps, rhomboids and rear delts, as well as the biceps to a degree. Keep in mind this article will only cover the OVERHAND grip version of the movement, and we will cover the UNDERHAND grip version in another article.

Golden Rule #1: Proper Elbow Positioning
You want to make sure that you’re pulling the weight down properly, so that you’re not only maximizing your pulling strength, but you’re also placing your shoulders in a position where they’re not compromised so that you don’t have to worry about shoulder impingement issues. What happens with most people with this movement, is they grab the weight and sit down, and while you are supposed to keep your chest up during the movement, what tends to happen is the weight comes down and the elbows go back. That’s not what you want to do, and you’re actually not going to feel that much mat engagement doing it this way.

The correct way to perform this movement is keeping your elbows slightly in front of you and then in-line with your hips as you pull down. This is going to give you MORE pulling power, so more strength to pull more weight, and it’s also going to place your shoulders in a position to where they’re not compromised and you won’t have to worry about shoulder impingement.

Golden Rule #2: Never Pull The Weight Behind Your Neck
You always want to pull the weight down in front of your body, and not behind your neck. Pulling the weight down behind your neck is unnecessary, as it can be dangerous for your shoulder joint, as well as your cervical spine. Proper form should have you pulling down in front of you until the bar touches your chest. Improper form will see you pulling the bar down behind your head.

What’s going to end up happening is you won’t be able to lift as much weight to overload your lats as much as possible. Remember how we just talked about how you want to keep your elbows in-line with your hips to really feel that stretching and tearing in your lats? Well, if you’re pulling the bar down behind your head, your elbows will be pulling backwards, which is not optimal for back growth. So skip behind the neck pulldowns, and just do them the regular way!

Golden Rule #3: Do Not Pull The Weight With Your Biceps
You want to pull the weight using as little of your biceps as possible, while trying to keep as much of the focus as possible on your lats. If you’re a beginner, this is a concept that might seem kind of weird to you, because you don’t quite have that mind-muscle connection (MMC) developed yet. However, there are some tricks that you can apply to the movement to develop that MMC, and for those of you who have already established a MMC, this will help you make it even stronger.

The next time you do a lat pulldown, instead of gripping the bar with your thumb wrapped underneath, I want you to put it on top. It might not seem like a big deal, but what happens mentally is that once you let go with your thumb and place it on top of the bar, you start to kind of visualize your hands more as just hooks that are in place to help you pull the weight down, as opposed to gripping and pulling as hard as you can with your hands. Once you have hooked the bar, you’ll sit down in place, and then visualize pulling the weight down with your elbows. If you’re able to do that, you’ll quickly see a difference in how your back is engaged. If you don’t believe me, do a regular set squeezing the bar as hard as you can with your thumb UNDER the bar, and you’ll feel it more in your biceps. Then put those thumbs on top, focus on pulling with your elbows, and you’ll feel it more in your back.

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[ScottHermanFitness]

The slightest change in your form can take the focus of this exercise our of your LATS and place more emphasis on your biceps and upper back. But after you watch this video you will know EXACTLY what to do to not only master the exercise, but build some serious muscle with it!

[JaredBeach]

I like that his accent gets stronger over time just like we do

[jcool]

1. 0:35 Elbow positioning
2. 1:31 Never pull the weight behind your neck
3. 2:36 Do not pull down the weight with your biceps

[Tywild]

I’ve been lifting for three months consistently and I still forever have not felt that much of a burn in my lats until now. Thank you so much!

[jinochillies]

I love that halfway through his accent just changes

[jonathanjoestar]

"Squeezing the bah as hahd as you can"

I swear to god I tried to listen as I did the exercise but I ended up laughing

[LumisKnight]

Oh my God, you just saved me. This whole time I pulling with my elbows back instead of putting my elbows in front of me.
Good stuff

[waynedelaune]

I’ve only been doing this for a few weeks. I appreciate the tips on how to use proper form when lifting. I’ve definitely been doing the last pull down wrong. Because I never feel it in my last. My biceps seem to take all the work. I’m definitely going to incorporate the hook method on my next workout! Thanks Scott!!

[jedired-i]

solid and straight to the point. your an OG and underrated in the youtube fitness community

[dezato]

That feeling when you get a forearm pump from the lat pulldown: 🤡

[puneetacharya]

Man, this vid was really helpful, especially for a novice just starting out in the gym. It's really annoying when there are a bunch of self appointed personal trainers everywhere, teaching you the wrong stuff, videos like this help me make sure I'm doing it right. Thanks a ton, Scott!

[mauricecooper]

No wonder i was in pain: not doing pulldowns right. At least i know now. Thanks, bro!💪😀👍

[deegrace]

Great form and advice. I’m a 55 yo-Had cancer removal on back couple years ago so I need to do this right and move the tissue and muscle. Love all, short and to the point and the hook tip is key!

[derrekburton]

I always found this movement a bit awkward, but that's because I was never shown how to do it properly. I avoided it for a little while, but since watching your videos (the VS series one as well) and making the adjustments you talk about, I have really begun to love this exercise and use it on almost every lat day session. Thanks Scott!

[VinnieRodriguez]

4 years later and still so refreshing hearing these tips. No one is talking about this in 2022 and he gave some great unique ways to improve form here. Thanks Scott!!

[FelipediOliveira]

Damn!! I did lat pulldown yesterday. Now i have to wait until the next back day to try this tip out. It was absolutely helpful though, man. Greetings from Brazil!!

[bodhiwilson]

I tried what you said, hooked the bar, and focused on pulling my elbows back.. HOLY EFFING ISH!! Thanks for the tip!!

[mandyfooyeh]

Female lifter here. I've been watching your videos for a few years now, and I really appreciate the way you break down and deliver information. Safe, science-based, practical, and accessible info. Thanks so much for the awesome work. 💪

[chuckmccoy]

I'm 77 years old and been working out since I was in high school and after watching your video I realized I have been doing lat pull-downs wrong all these years!

[jonase]

The hook hand thing helped a lot I just tried it, thank you very much