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CLOSE
GRIP LAT PULLDOWNS
CORRECT FORM
1)
With a support above your knees to offset the upward pull of
the weight on your body, grasp the narrow/close-grip pulldown
bar with your palms facing each other.
Your body should be straight with the grip directly above your
head. |
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2)
As you pull the bar downward, begin the movement by pulling
your shoulder blades down and inward. Your arms will naturally
follow.
3) As the handle approaches your head, lean slightly
backward by extending your middle back. Stick your chest up
simultaneously to meet the handle. |
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| 3)
At the bottom of the movement, your shoulder blades should be
squeezed completely together. Try to contract your back muscles.
Pull the handles down as far as you can go. |
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4) Exhale as you
pull the handle downward, inhale as the handle raises.
MUSCLES
USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
This
is one of the most problematic exercises in terms of executing proper,
safe and effective form to target the correct muscles. You should
feel this primarily in your middle back, between and below your shoulder
blades. If you are feeling strain, fatigue or burning up closer
to the back of the shoulders, or in the arms, you are probably not
beginning and ending the movement by squeezing the shoulder blades
together.
Beginning weight-lifters almost universally make this mistake. You
are extending backward not only to avoid cleaving off your nose as
the handle passes your face, but also because the latissimus dorsi
muscle also contributes a lot to extending your spine. This is a secret
way to get a little more out of your lats.
If you feel strain in front of your elbows, you are over-using your
biceps muscles and need to concentrate more on using your upper back
in the manner described. Do not attempt to work through the pain in
your biceps because if it is close to your elbow, the strain is
occurring at the biceps tendon. This could turn into a tendonitis
down the road.
EFFECTIVENESS
The
close-grip pulldown differs from the wide-grip
pulldown because of the position the lats are working in throughout
the movement. It is doubtful that this results in a drastically different
portion of the lats being worked (i.e. the "inner back").
It works the same portion, only differently. The primary motion
difference is occuring at the shoulders and elbows.
With the close-grip lat pulldown, the shoulders are extending (from
all the way overhead - to in front of your body - to down next to
your body). This is also going to involve your biceps muscles as well.
With the wide-grip lat
pulldown, the shoulders are adducting, which means coming from
overhead down alongside your body (as if your arms were wings
and you were flapping them).
The lats let you perform both movements, and therefore it is important
to do both the close-grip and wide-grip
lat pulldowns for complete upper back development. Some people
may overtrain by doing both. In that case, switch between the two
every 2-4 weeks.
HELPFUL
WITH TRAINING FOR
Bodybuilding, Tennis,
Racquetball, Football,, Martial arts, Boxing, Basketball, Baseball
and all throwing sports, Golf, Wrestling.
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