Lat Pulldowns

A good weight for a lat pulldown would differ from person to person. If you’re new to performing the lat pulldown, start with a light weight and focus on learning good technique. Once you’ve learned how to execute a lat pulldown with good form, you can add more load to a manageable weight that challenges you but also doesn’t compromise your form. As you perform these consistently week over week, you will find your body will get stronger, and you can adjust the weight if needed.

If you don’t have access to a lat pulldown machine, an alternative piece of equipment you can use is a resistance band and a wooden stick. Make sure you can attach your resistance band to a …

The lat pulldown targets the same muscles and replicates the same vertical pulling down motion as the pull up.

Both can be good exercises to help build back muscle and upper body strength. The lap pulldown is performed using a weight-adjusted cable exercise machine whereas a pull up is typically performed hanging from a bar using your own bodyweight.

The lat pulldown is good if you do not have the strength to pull your own bodyweight or if you want to perform drop sets, as you can adjust the resistance on the machine. As it requires less core and scapula control, it can be easier and more manageable for beginners.