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The wide grip lat pulldown is a great exercise to target the upper back muscles. It mainly targets the Latissimus dorsi which is one of the three large muscle groups that make up your back.
Those who don’t know, Lats are also known as wings and they give you that V-shape torso appearance men love so much.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown Muscles Worked
Latissimus Dorsi – Lats as they are commonly known as, give you wings and a V-shape appearance to your torso. Other secondary muscles worked include teres major and trapezius (upper).
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown Benefits
– Assistance exercise for muscle groups that are involved in pulling exercises i.e. biceps, teres major, trapezius etc.
– Helps to get you that V-shape torso appearance you want if your diet is on point and cardio is included in your training regimen regularly.
How to Perform Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
– Place a wide grip bar at about shoulder width apart from each other.
– Sit down on a stable bench
– Grab the bar with both hands, palms facing outwards.
– Pull the bar overhead till your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Keep elbows slightly bent throughout the motion.
– Exhale and pull the bar down to your upper chest region while keeping your elbows slightly bent. Inhale while going back to original position.
You can also perform this exercise using an underhand grip i.e. palms facing you throughout the motion, however it puts unnecessary stress on your wrist so I would avoid using it myself.
Reps and Sets
– I like to perform this exercise using 4 sets of 8 reps.
– Rest time between sets should be minimum 30 seconds for best results.
You can also perform other compound exercises (exercises that work multiple muscle groups) before performing the lat pulldowns.
Make sure you warm up first by doing 1 set of 10 reps with a fairly light weight.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown Variations
There are different variations to the wide grip lat pulldown exercise. You can perform them using an underhand grip, overhand grip or a neutral grip (palms facing each other throughout the motion).
You can also perform this exercise with cables or dumbbells as well as on all types of machines – a lat pulldown machine or a seated row machine.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown vs Close Grip Lat Pulldown
The close grip lat pulldown is an isolation exercise that mainly targets the Latissimus dorsi. It works on the same muscle group as wide grip lat pulldowns.
The number of reps and sets performed is similar to that of wide grip lat pulldowns. Rest time between sets should be more than 1 minute for best results.
– Close grip is safer than wide grip as it eliminates the elbow stress caused by wide grip lat pulldowns.
– If you want to get big, go with close grip. If you want to get bigger and stronger always focus on compound exercises before isolation exercises.
– Close grip is easier than wide grip so beginners can opt for it first. You can then switch to the wide grip variation if you find the close grip variation too easy.
– Also, there are more attachments you can use for wide grip lat pulldown compared to the close grip version. If you have access, it’s better to focus on wide grip.
Tips:
- Focus on getting a full range of motion when pulling the bar down. You don’t want to short change yourself even if it means taking the bar down to about waist level (raise your legs up on a bench for support).
- Keep your back straight when pulling the bar down. Don’t try and lean forward or backward – be perpendicular to the floor at all times. You will get a much better workout this way and less chance for injury.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown vs Underhand Grip Lat Pulldown
Underhand grip lat pulldown is an isolation exercise that mainly targets the Latissimus dorsi. It works on the same muscle group as wide grip lat pulldowns and close grip lat pulldowns.
The number of reps and sets performed is similar to that of wide grip lat pulldowns. Rest time between sets should be more than 1 minute.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown Alternatives
Wide grip pulldown is a compound exercise that can be replaced with different compound exercises such as wide grip seated row, close grip lat pulldown and chin up.
If you do not have access to a gym, dumbbells can also be used in place of a bar for this exercise. It will still give you the same results provided correct form is maintained.