The thing i love about Dr. Mike is that there is no right answer its simply options. I feel like so many fitness influencers day you HAVE TO do things a certain way and that way may only work for certain people
Fr, not everyone has the same muscle insertions, muscle size/proportions, and so many other small little things that make 1 thing better for 1 person and another thing better for another person, its not about what an influencer says its right its about what is right for YOU 🫵
I really like this type of gym content man. It’s informative, but also says when it doesn’t know. That’s how I can tell someone isn’t bullsh*tting too much. Keep up the good work
I love that you just say I have no idea and let people know it’s okay if they do something a little different as long as they can get results. You’re the best dude
Sometimes when I do lat pull downs I’ll do a “21” variant where I hit above the chest line, mid chest, and below chest for 7 each. It’s a big burn and really engages a big range of my lats.
@@tallispayne9892 I’ve been working out for a long time, so sometimes I do it for variety. Repeating the same workouts can be effective, but boring. Whenever I do this variant, I feel an engagement at different angles of my lats which normally I wouldn’t hit with regular lat pulldowns. Also a great forearm workout because of the necessary grip for the high rep count. Not saying you have to do it, just sharing.
I would do the opposite. Below chest, then mid, the above. That way as the set gets harder you can get more reps. Kind of like a mechanical dropset. Personally, I do end of set partials: Chest to bar till failure, then top of my head to failure.
Going any slower than he already is wont benefit any more, studies have been made suggesting that the optimal period is 2-8 seconds, and he is clearly above 2. Otherwise, your comment gets a solid B+😊
@cowflick1180 and bud your American u don't lifted or play sports ur lazy over weight man talking like u know yes slower u go when doing reps and holding way better and for u lol your comment gets soild c+ wake up give ur nuts a tug bud
@@azitaulava personally, I like the close neutral grip attachment that you usually see at cable row stations. Lets me get a really intense lat stretch at the top. Wide overhand grip I feel more in the teres than the lat.
Great tip!We have the option of doing 1 arm at a time as well on a machine at my gym.I am 52 and am on a high rep,low weight program.So I do 20-25 each arm and then 25 both.It really gets me pumped.💪🏼Finally growing myself some baby lats,lol.😁
This is the exercise I get corrected with a lot at the gym and everyone tells me something different. You’re the only one that says it doesn’t matter where because it’s different for everyone. I wish everyone would just leave me alone. 😂😂
I keep having the same issue at the gym yet my body is telling a different story. I’m glad I came across this video. It’s extremely reassuring. I keep having men trying to “correct” me, but the pull-down at the sternum seems to suit me best due to my chest being larger.
@ I can literally feel it working on my lats and my back is definitely getting muscular. I’ve never hurt myself doing it so yes, they should just leave us alone.😂
@ yes! That’s exactly what I’ve noticed as well. My back looks incredible compared to 5 months ago. I can see my spine now so I think we’re doing things correctly 😂
Idk in my experience if you are too focused on getting the bar to touch, you wont get too big... Full rom for me is simply when my lats and back are fully squeezed and contracted, which for me stops right above my chest. I dont limit the weight beyond that expectation and my back is known to be quite wide. The kind of rom you see in the video (below sternum) is something i only use for mobility and therapy purposes.
I never felt lat pulldowns in my lats until I made it a goal to do the weight stack for 10 and going to failure. Horse cocking heavy loads was the answer for me all along.
You can do these seated on the ground against a cable setup to hit more upper lats vs lower lats, the difference of anchoring your body against the frame of the cable machine vs anchoring your legs...
Logical thinking with no BS attached. When it comes to fitness on YT it’s difficult to weed thru the BS until I found this dudes beautifully shaven skull.
pulling lower down engages your triceps a lot more and takes the strain off the biceps, which I think allows you to pull more with your lats in the end
You do work different parts (or rather functions of the lats) with different grips not with extra shortened position. And of course you do feel extra burn when you squeeze the muscle extra hard. Doesn't do anything for hypertrophy tho.
I wrote off lat pull downs years ago. Never got the mind muscle connection down. Until recently. For me; More of an upright position, almost no lean back, and touch the mid pecs is when I feel the contraction FINALLY after years of missing it
Same boat, spent like an hour straight determined to hit them. Took a ton of different approaches and realized I'm too tall. I am basically starting them halfway down so I have never really needed to use my back and just force the weight down with shoulders and biceps. Moved to the floor, did one arm at a time and started feeling them fire. Big improvement. Sometimes just getting a bit of activation is the actual hard part.
So true thank you, I am 59 Anderson never been to a gym in my life until a back injury at work, I have been struggling to achieve the ideal form and was getting deflated.
What I found is that as a taller person doing a neutral grip lat pull down is better for me ... or at least feels better I feel a deeper stretch at the top and a stronger contraction at the bottom
Great advice. I really like your channel man, you do a great job of explaining workouts without being arrogant like everything you say is gospel. Subscribed thanks for the content
This type of advice is what makes him different from others who just badmouth him. You gotta find what suits you best and gives you the best possible gains.
That’s what I like about dr Mike all these online coaches saying you should be doing this that sometimes what works for someone doesn’t for another and some things need slightly adjusting that’s the beauty of weight lifting
In my opinion (kinda based on Derek Lunsford video with Jesse James) the lower you touch the lower the tension is set on your lats. Simulate a lat pulldown and you will see that the lower and more in front you go the lower you will feel the tension. I personally have a good upper and decent mid back but my lower lats were insanely shit so I still pull lower
I also feel the same no clue either. So i do 3 variations of pull downs and also add the pull-ups. My back session goes more then 3 hr in Jym including my bicep aswell and i very much enjoy my back and bicep workout.
When I first got back into working out, as I had gotten really out of shape and literally dangerously unhealthy, I could only muster a few chin-ups, no pull-ups, so I used the lat pulldown, I would do a quick pull to the sternum and hold for about a second and then allow the up motion. I don't know if pulling to the sternum ( I picked due to a slightly fuller range of motion ) made the difference or not but I easily moved into pull-ups. I will still use the lat pulldown depending on the routine but I love my pull-ups.
You might find if you do the pulldown to your chest work out after workout switch it up a little bit and go pull down to the bottom of your chest. You’ll get a different burn and a different soreness the next day just a little change.
Athlean x did a tutorial for lat pulldown where as the bar comes down, he turns his elbows in which causes more tension on the lats. I tried it and sure enough, it worked. I’m suprised this ‘expert’ hasn’t pointed that out. Since this guy says seed oils are good for you, I struggle to take him serious
The problem occurs when people internally rotate at the shoulders, shrug, and try to press the bar down to get depth on the pull down. The angle of your upper arm in relation to your torso should not change.
Which ever one feels the most comfortable for you and your range of motion at the time. Some of them may take lighter weight and a little time to get comfortable with
Touching yourself with a bar keeping you big as hell 💪
hell yeah, love touching myself!
Get a personality bro, see these posts on everyones videos
Dont worry just another one of those unoriginal comments that will die in a few days. People cant think for themselves lol
What did this man do? 😂
Shutting the fuck up keeping u big as hell
Mike just seems like the chillest dude to meet. He has become one of the realest men on this platform
The thing i love about Dr. Mike is that there is no right answer its simply options. I feel like so many fitness influencers day you HAVE TO do things a certain way and that way may only work for certain people
Were all the same generally but when it comes to fine tuning we are all different.
Influencers? what about all the people at the gym that just go up to you and correct you when you didn’t ask them to 😂😂😂
Fr, not everyone has the same muscle insertions, muscle size/proportions, and so many other small little things that make 1 thing better for 1 person and another thing better for another person, its not about what an influencer says its right its about what is right for YOU 🫵
I really like this type of gym content man. It’s informative, but also says when it doesn’t know. That’s how I can tell someone isn’t bullsh*tting too much. Keep up the good work
I love that you just say I have no idea and let people know it’s okay if they do something a little different as long as they can get results. You’re the best dude
Sometimes when I do lat pull downs I’ll do a “21” variant where I hit above the chest line, mid chest, and below chest for 7 each. It’s a big burn and really engages a big range of my lats.
Why not just do one set of targeting so you can gauge failure/ RIR more accurately instead of doing that fancy rubbish
@@tallispayne9892 I’ve been working out for a long time, so sometimes I do it for variety. Repeating the same workouts can be effective, but boring. Whenever I do this variant, I feel an engagement at different angles of my lats which normally I wouldn’t hit with regular lat pulldowns. Also a great forearm workout because of the necessary grip for the high rep count. Not saying you have to do it, just sharing.
Interesting stuff dude, I'd like to try these...
If only I could afford a gym membership😅
I would do the opposite. Below chest, then mid, the above. That way as the set gets harder you can get more reps. Kind of like a mechanical dropset.
Personally, I do end of set partials: Chest to bar till failure, then top of my head to failure.
@@tenshi0077Pullups are superior to lat pulldowns. You don't need a gym to build muscle.
Dr. Mike, you're the man. I've been working out for just over 1 year and you've been a massive help. Much appreciated
Hey coach, I’d like to see you go a little slower on the eccentric. Otherwise, solid B+. 😊
😁
If I was being really picky, I'd like to see a short pause at the bottom.
@@patrickkearney8774 😂😂
Going any slower than he already is wont benefit any more, studies have been made suggesting that the optimal period is 2-8 seconds, and he is clearly above 2. Otherwise, your comment gets a solid B+😊
@cowflick1180 and bud your American u don't lifted or play sports ur lazy over weight man talking like u know yes slower u go when doing reps and holding way better and for u lol your comment gets soild c+ wake up give ur nuts a tug bud
Great tips on lat pulldowns. I love how you explained the differences in grip variations.
This is such great advice. It's true people have different bodies. Which works for you maybe painful for another or it doesn't work.
Suppinated close grip with big top stretch is what does it for me
Facts! Couldn't feel they were worked hard til this
Such a great workout for your back man. Can’t argue with the results
Love the content this man brings to us !
It's crazy dude because I would always switch between these two motions and never could figure out what way is the right way.
Neutral grip. That was my big difference
@@gavinmorgan8691 with mag grip?
@@azitaulava personally, I like the close neutral grip attachment that you usually see at cable row stations. Lets me get a really intense lat stretch at the top. Wide overhand grip I feel more in the teres than the lat.
I really like your videos. You give people many options to do the exercise correctly for their body.
Thank you very much.
I really like the content you share! Definitely was a good follow!
Interesting… I’ve always brought the bar to my sternum. I should try the other way. Thanks!
Great tip!We have the option of doing 1 arm at a time as well on a machine at my gym.I am 52 and am on a high rep,low weight program.So I do 20-25 each arm and then 25 both.It really gets me pumped.💪🏼Finally growing myself some baby lats,lol.😁
Really appreciate your vids and knowledge brotha. I always liked coming to the bottom of the pecs and feeling the squeeze
I am training for high pull-ups so I touch the sternum
Next in demand is the best row variation for lats
This is the exercise I get corrected with a lot at the gym and everyone tells me something different. You’re the only one that says it doesn’t matter where because it’s different for everyone. I wish everyone would just leave me alone. 😂😂
I keep having the same issue at the gym yet my body is telling a different story. I’m glad I came across this video. It’s extremely reassuring. I keep having men trying to “correct” me, but the pull-down at the sternum seems to suit me best due to my chest being larger.
@ I can literally feel it working on my lats and my back is definitely getting muscular. I’ve never hurt myself doing it so yes, they should just leave us alone.😂
@ yes! That’s exactly what I’ve noticed as well. My back looks incredible compared to 5 months ago. I can see my spine now so I think we’re doing things correctly 😂
Thank you Doctor Mike for all the help and information.
I love the straight forward no BS answers.
Very informative thank you
With new lengthened partial science now, no need to touch chest. 😋
The correct answer is mastering wide grip pull-up, best exercise for lats. 🙌🙌👍
Doing this first will help
Unless you weight next to nothing
I really appreciate your take on different exercises.
Idk in my experience if you are too focused on getting the bar to touch, you wont get too big...
Full rom for me is simply when my lats and back are fully squeezed and contracted, which for me stops right above my chest. I dont limit the weight beyond that expectation and my back is known to be quite wide.
The kind of rom you see in the video (below sternum) is something i only use for mobility and therapy purposes.
love this dude chill way of explaining things 😊
Love this!! Could you PLEASE PLEASE make one with the "seated row", I always struggled with the classic way.
I mean this is such well comunicated simple and good information. I feel it both ways and is fun to do both
I never felt lat pulldowns in my lats until I made it a goal to do the weight stack for 10 and going to failure. Horse cocking heavy loads was the answer for me all along.
You can do these seated on the ground against a cable setup to hit more upper lats vs lower lats, the difference of anchoring your body against the frame of the cable machine vs anchoring your legs...
Logical thinking with no BS attached. When it comes to fitness on YT it’s difficult to weed thru the BS until I found this dudes beautifully shaven skull.
pulling lower down engages your triceps a lot more and takes the strain off the biceps, which I think allows you to pull more with your lats in the end
Love them Lat pull-downs ❤❤. One of my fave exercises
I get super sore and feel lots of activation when I pull to the sternum and lean back a lot, but not when I pull to the clavicles
Thanks. Do what feels right and engages the target muscle.
I like this man, you are real and explain things in great detail man, thank you.
Truth
definitely working different parts of the lat where you pull it down to ...for me going below the chest always felt like a better burn
You do work different parts (or rather functions of the lats) with different grips not with extra shortened position. And of course you do feel extra burn when you squeeze the muscle extra hard. Doesn't do anything for hypertrophy tho.
I wrote off lat pull downs years ago. Never got the mind muscle connection down. Until recently. For me; More of an upright position, almost no lean back, and touch the mid pecs is when I feel the contraction FINALLY after years of missing it
Same boat, spent like an hour straight determined to hit them. Took a ton of different approaches and realized I'm too tall. I am basically starting them halfway down so I have never really needed to use my back and just force the weight down with shoulders and biceps. Moved to the floor, did one arm at a time and started feeling them fire. Big improvement. Sometimes just getting a bit of activation is the actual hard part.
So true thank you, I am 59 Anderson never been to a gym in my life until a back injury at work, I have been struggling to achieve the ideal form and was getting deflated.
What I found is that as a taller person doing a neutral grip lat pull down is better for me ... or at least feels better I feel a deeper stretch at the top and a stronger contraction at the bottom
I just stopped doing pull downs and starting doing lat prayers and got way more growth out of it.
This voice is such a soothing way to teach you 😂
This is the best dude on fitness ans nutrition online. He never seams like a fraud like 90% of the influencers online
Great advice. I really like your channel man, you do a great job of explaining workouts without being arrogant like everything you say is gospel. Subscribed thanks for the content
That "no clue" was filled with emotion.
This type of advice is what makes him different from others who just badmouth him. You gotta find what suits you best and gives you the best possible gains.
Bros head got a pump too
Horsecock yates rows with 2x bodyweight=back gains
Not for long if you value your spine
horsecocks keeping you big as hell
I don't think I've ever known a person not like pulldowns. They might be the 2nd most popular exercise after benching.
That’s what I like about dr Mike all these online coaches saying you should be doing this that sometimes what works for someone doesn’t for another and some things need slightly adjusting that’s the beauty of weight lifting
The one with the greatest range of motion
neutral bar changed my perspective on pull downs
I love the way this is explained
I go just under the chin just like a pull up basically and try to pause. Then slowly release back up.
Thank you Mike
Scientist/doctor: “NO CLUE just try everything” some how such a great answer
This guy is the Neil Degrasse Tyson of weightlifting. He explains things so well
Behind the Neck :-D
The Real classic :-D
I love these guys man, Jared Feather has the build I want, same height too
Sternum pull might also be good for muscle up training
I love you Dr Mike. We have the same bald guy head vein.
Or eye-level lengthened partials with big emphasis on stretch and not on contraction
In my opinion (kinda based on Derek Lunsford video with Jesse James) the lower you touch the lower the tension is set on your lats. Simulate a lat pulldown and you will see that the lower and more in front you go the lower you will feel the tension. I personally have a good upper and decent mid back but my lower lats were insanely shit so I still pull lower
Lat moves elbows towards back. Sternum touch gives more movement of elbow to your back. Seems like it'd improve gains.
I like the close grip pulldown using the mag grip attachment.Straight bar irritates my forearm for some reason
I also feel the same no clue either. So i do 3 variations of pull downs and also add the pull-ups. My back session goes more then 3 hr in Jym including my bicep aswell and i very much enjoy my back and bicep workout.
Having no clue is keeping you big as hell 🔥
Love your videos brother
I'm a lat prayer guy thanks to you dad
For me it comes down to preference and the bar ur using I recently tried the one that’s like a v with hand grips it’s great
This is probably my most favorite weight exercise for me you can sit or stand😁
When I first got back into working out, as I had gotten really out of shape and literally dangerously unhealthy, I could only muster a few chin-ups, no pull-ups, so I used the lat pulldown, I would do a quick pull to the sternum and hold for about a second and then allow the up motion. I don't know if pulling to the sternum ( I picked due to a slightly fuller range of motion ) made the difference or not but I easily moved into pull-ups. I will still use the lat pulldown depending on the routine but I love my pull-ups.
I fucking love you for this bro
you can also go same depth as the sternum, but in the direction of your belly button, pretty nice for lower lats IMO
I go for a deep stretch than pull the bar to just below the clavicles and get great activation and burn deep in the muscle
I’ve honestly noticed that my lats have exploded ever since I added the lat pulldown
I didn't know that. Thanks
Clavicle would probably be optimal bc if your pulling it down more without proper form other muscles might take over
Thank you
I’ve been pulling the bar down to my cervix for the past 4 mesocycles. I gotta try this next time
Great teacher
You might find if you do the pulldown to your chest work out after workout switch it up a little bit and go pull down to the bottom of your chest. You’ll get a different burn and a different soreness the next day just a little change.
Athlean x did a tutorial for lat pulldown where as the bar comes down, he turns his elbows in which causes more tension on the lats. I tried it and sure enough, it worked.
I’m suprised this ‘expert’ hasn’t pointed that out. Since this guy says seed oils are good for you, I struggle to take him serious
Lay pull downs is always a hit and miss for me on back day, some days they feel great other days I can’t feel shit but my traps and biceps
Bro makes a vid just to say “no clue” hilarious
Good advice
The problem occurs when people internally rotate at the shoulders, shrug, and try to press the bar down to get depth on the pull down. The angle of your upper arm in relation to your torso should not change.
I do 4 sets. 2 sets to clavicle, 2 sets to sternum
Play with the grip width too.
At lightweight I go to the sternum and it makes it slightly harder.
Which ever one feels the most comfortable for you and your range of motion at the time. Some of them may take lighter weight and a little time to get comfortable with
I actually feel the highest lat fatigue pulling an inch or so below my sternum with a narrow grip.
Great tip
I'll stick with slow and /or negative pullups with different grips and different body leaning positions.
Wheres your results??
Bio-mechanics will play a role. Doing the movement mostly correct will still show results. Find your own form that's optimal for you
Thanks bro
depends on how long or short your arms are