Seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a fitness advocate for the last six decades. He continues to share tips to help fellow fitness enthusiasts, including his Arnold’s Pump Club members, get in better shape. One of his most recent tips on his Instagram pages was performing the wide grip lat pulldown.
The video begins with trainer and author Adam Bornstein performing a traditional front lat pulldown, explaining how it can help add width to the upper back and make the waist appear smaller. Schwarzenegger then performed a set of his own, sharing the following tips:
“You don’t have to do it just to the front,” Schwarzenegger said. “Spice it up. Do a few sets in the front, then do a few to the back, or sometimes switch it around within a set.”
Schwarzenegger alternated standard reps and behind-the-neck. “I like to go back and front because it attacks different muscles, and they have to respond, making your lats grow.”
Behind-the-neck lat pulldowns boast a controversial reputation because many athletes and trainees feel they harm the shoulders and rotator cuffs. Some advocates for the movement feel this reputation was created by lifters who perform behind-the-neck pulldowns incorrectly.
Schwarzenegger and his team share research that supports that behind-the-neck pulldowns don’t need to be avoided if the lifter does not have a prior shoulder or rotator cuff injury. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concluded that the exercise is safe, but traditional lat pulldowns are preferable. (1)
The front lat pulldown has been shown to be the most effective variation. Other research has shown that, as long as the lifter has healthy shoulders, behind-the-back variations can effectively provide the training stimulus needed to make improvements. (2)
Schwarzenegger’s advice differs from that of another Mr. Olympia winner. Six-time champion Dorian Yates has previously opposed any version of the wide-grip pulldown, opting for a medium-grip or narrow-grip variation instead.
References
- Sperandei, S., Barros, M. A., Silveira-Júnior, P. C., & Oliveira, C. G. (2009). Electromyographic analysis of three different types of lat pull-down. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 23(7), 2033–2038. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b8d30a
- Padovan, R., Toninelli, N., Longo, S., Tornatore, G., Esposito, F., Cè, E., & Coratella, G. (2024). High-Density Electromyography Excitation in Front vs. Back Lat Pull-Down Prime Movers. Journal of human kinetics, 91(Spec Issue), 47–60. https://doi.org/10.5114/jhk/185211
Featured Image: @arnoldspumpclub on Instagram
