Lat pulldowns are a popular back exercise for their simplicity, beginner-friendliness, and relative safety. While they’re a staple of many athletes’ pull days, hypertrophy specialist Dr. Mike Israetel suggests four alternative exercises that are better bang for your buck.
These variations offer two key advantages: a superior stretch and maximum tension when the muscles are lengthened, both critical for maximizing growth. (1)(2)(3)(4)
[Related: 5 Science-Based Hacks for Muscle Growth That Actually Work]
Israetel’s Beef With Pulldowns
Israetel prefaced his argument by rating pulldowns a “super good” back exercise, but with two flaws he can’t overlook. For one, pulldowns don’t optimally stretch the back.
There’s no misalignment between the upper arm bone and joint.
The bottom third of a pulldown — between the face and chest — also poses limitations.
The bottom end promotes growth the least but takes the most energy away from you.
Israetel insists the stretch or top portion of pulldowns is more important for muscle gains. Pulldowns do this less efficiently.
4 Lat Exercises To Do Instead
Israetel believes these four variations offer better mechanics than pulldowns for muscle growth:
- Straight-Arm Pulldown
- Lying Pullover
- Bodyweight Pull-Up
- Assisted Pull-Up
Straight-Arm Pulldown
The most challenging part of straight-arm pulldowns is when the back muscles are fully lengthened. As you pull down, the resistance decreases, which Israetel considers most optimal.
Lean over and push your chest out where your torso is [roughly parallel to the floor].
As you pulldown, don’t push the hips forward. Instead, lift your head to let the bar pass below your face. Then, slowly raise and lower your chest and torso to maximize the lat stretch.
It’s tough to make up an exercise that’s better than that.
Israetel encourages using a variety of grips to mix up the stimulus.
Lying Pullover
Dumbbell or barbell pullovers create the least force in the contracted position or when the arms are extended above the chest. The key is to do it slowly and pause in the full stretch.
This exercise is almost ideally stretch-biased.
One common drawback of pullovers is joint discomfort, so don’t rush to big weights. Consider swapping dumbbells for barbells and vice versa.
Pull-Up/Assisted Pull-Up
Lastly, while pull-ups seem like reverse pulldowns, Israetel doesn’t consider them equal. Pulldown machines typically create friction, making the concentric more challenging and the eccentric less challenging.
“In a free motion bodyweight movement like the pull-up, your eccentric is not facing any frictional forces that oppose it, and your concentric doesn’t get forces to help it out,” Israetel includes. “You get a lot of eccentric force demand, which causes a lot of delayed onset soreness and probably muscle growth.”
If you can’t do bodyweight pull-ups, Israetel considers assisted pull-ups a middle ground between pull-ups and pulldowns. He recommends pulling up explosively, then concentrating on a slow, controlled descent, allowing the back muscles to fully lengthen.
“When you reintroduce pulldowns, the novelty will give you some awesome growth right from the start,” concluded Israetel.
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