HOW TO DO A WIDE-GRIP LAT PULLDOWN | Beginner's Guide

what's up guys today we'll be walking through how to properly execute the lat pulldown exercise the lap pull down is such a foundational exercise but one that can be so easily done and correctly we'll be taking you step by step with how to do the lat pull down with proper form let's get started [Music] the main focus of a lat pull down is to exercise your lats which are essentially the muscles on the side of your back that give you wings and help make your waist look smaller given that our focus is on our lats for a lap hold on exercise we will be talking about optimal form to use to best engage our lat muscles my feet are flat on the ground at all times and the cushion on my thighs has been adjusted to touch the top of my thighs hands are positioned on the bar where it is comfortable for me not all the way on the ends you definitely don't need to put your hands on the grips especially if you're short like me positioning your hands too far on the edge will not allow a full range of motion therefore making the exercise less efficient it'll take some plane around but simply just experiment with different hand positions until you find what works for you it's a little difficult to see right now but you'll also notice that my scapulas are pulled down and back i maintain the scapular retraction throughout the entire exercise this helps to keep me stable and to better isolate my lats without having other muscles take over as a result of doing this my chest will come slightly up which will look like a slight rounding of the back which is okay as long as it's a result of scapular retraction and actually what we want to see in order to execute this exercise efficiently you'll also notice that my elbows come straight into the sides of my rib cage when i pull down this is another important factor to keep in mind because it keeps the exercise a lot focused once we start pointing our elbows behind us when we pull down this no longer becomes a lat focused exercise because your other mid to back muscles have taken over so to keep it latch focused make sure to draw your elbows straight into the sides of your ribcage and not behind you i am also pulling down only to the top of my chest any further down than that then it becomes a tricep exercise instead of a lat exercise as i pull down i exhale and as a return back to starting position i inhale exhale inhale exhale inhale let's go over that all one more time feet are flat on the floor pad is adjusted so it touches the top of your thighs hands are positioned to wide enough for you to engage your lats but not too wide so as not to get a full range of motion throughout the entire movement i keep my shoulder blades retracted down and back which will automatically bring my chest up slightly when i pull down my elbows do not come behind my back but right into the sides of my ribcage i exhale as i pull down and inhale as i return back to starting position i pull the bar down to my upper chest and not any lower than that now let's go over a few common mistakes to avoid as always before we start laughing and shaming just be sure that you're not the one at the gym making these mistakes let's take a look from the side first we have correct form on the left and incorrect form on the right on the right you'll see that i bring the bar too low making this a tricep exercise instead of a lat exercise my shoulder blades are not retracted causing my shoulders to come all the way up to my ears my butt is coming off the seat because the weight is controlling me i am not controlling the weight and my elbows point behind me as i pull down no longer making this a lat focused exercise from the back you'll see that my grip is too wide limiting my range of motion i'm pulling the bar too far down again my shoulders are not retracted down i am pulling my elbows behind me instead of into my sides and my butt is coming off the seat please keep in mind that it is easy to make these mistakes but as long as you are aware of what good form looks like and keep practicing you'll be just fine [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i hope that this video was helpful for you and if it was don't forget to give it a thumbs up if there are any other questions you have about the lat pulldown or other suggestions of videos you'd like me to do like this for other exercises please drop a comment down below and let me know if you haven't already make sure to subscribe to my channel and turn on the notification bell so you don't miss more good informational videos like this for daily workout and fitness tips like me on facebook and follow me on instagram i'll see you guys all again next week [Music]