how do you do your lat pulldowns

[SVTMuscle*]

I prefer to lean back a little back and pull the bar down, but some keep their back dead straght and pull the bar straight down... anyone have a right/wrong answer?

It seems that leaning back on lat pulldowns hits more inner back and straight seated hits pure lats?

[helium3]

I prefer to lean back a little back and pull the bar down, but some keep their back dead straght and pull the bar straight down... anyone have a right/wrong answer?

It seems that leaning back on lat pulldowns hits more inner back and straight seated hits pure lats?

i sometimes alternate between behind the neck and in front,depending on the machine used i spin round and face the oposite way and pull down behind the neck hits it slightly different.i think leaning or straight is cool but some people cheat by starting straight and rocking backward.

[kloter1]

I bring the bar down and touch the very top of my traps. I try and squeeze for a sec then raise the weight.

[BlueAndromeda73]

I put a little arc in my back and pull the bar down to the top of my chest and really pinch the lats at the bottom

[singern]

I think the more important issue here is FORM.
Make slow, deliberate and concentrated movements. No jerking the bar, or leaning back to get a swing.

I strongly believe you can get better results using less weight, and perfect form.

JMO

[Grizzly420]

I think lats really hard to target yu have to try to pull down with your lats before starting to pull with the bi's then let the rest work together.

[Ih8urdsm]

ideally on pulldowns, or pullups, you would use straps, and hardly grasp the bar with your fingers, concentrating on pulling back with your lats and from the elbows, not bringing in much forearm or bicep because of not grasping the bar.
I prefer to do 2-3 sets of weighted pullups, and then 2 sets of pulldowns, leaning back slightly, because i can pull my shoulderblades together more doing the pulldowns than when i do the pullups.

[Mizfit]

I lean back a little and pull the bar a little below my traps. - Alwasy in front of my body, never behind my head.

I sit straight occasionally , but feel i can watch my form better in the mirror leaning back.

[SVTMuscle*]

Yeah i agree with the Canadian!

[ascendant]

I put a little arc in my back and pull the bar down to the top of my chest and really pinch the lats at the bottom

this guy seems to have the most effective way to directly target the lats, not leaning back, but arching the back is how to most effectively target the lats. my lower back stays almost perpendicular to the floor, and my upper back gets arched back so that as i pull the bar down, it hits my upper chest and i'm pulling the bar directly at my lats.

pulling it down while keeping straight up pulls the bar way too far in front of the lats, working the biceps and rear delts far more than the back. leaning too far back takes the work away from the lats and puts it into the rhomboids. many people like leaning back cause they can go heavier, but if you want to work your lats with this exercise, that's not the optimal way to do it.

i tend to focus on my rhomboids and lats seperately during my back workouts as after all, they are two very different muscle groups, so this is how i almost always perform my lat pulldowns.

[GunTotingHipGangster]

i feel that pulling down with my back straight that i work my lats more

when i lean back at about a 45 degree angle to the floor and pull the bar to my chest i feel it alot more in my rhomboids...this is more like a row where with a straight back is more of a pull up type motion

[mcpeepants]

does it matter if you pull it in front instead of behind the neck. I prefer in front of the neck.

[ascendant]

does it matter if you pull it in front instead of behind the neck. I prefer in front of the neck.

behind the neck increases the chance of rotator cuff damage. i have rotator cuff issues, so i don't do behind the back very often as some days i can get away with it, others it makes my shoulders ache. i think variation is good, but i wouldn't do behind the back very often if you like having rotator cuffs that are still in one piece.