Discover lat pulldown alternatives for a strong back.

Explore home-friendly options and effective bodyweight exercises.

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Theselats exercisescan help you strengthen the muscle effectively.

woman sweating in the gym

certified personal trainer based in Beverly Hills, California

Exercises like pull-ups and chin-ups are good examples, but not everyone can do these exercises.

Lat pulldowns are great as an alternative topull-ups.

What are your lats and what do they do?

Woman walking on a treadmill at the gym.

Lats or the latissimus dorsi muscles are the largest muscles in the upper body, Moretti says.

People dont often realize that they also play a big part in pushing movements.

This one move offers the following benefits.

Full body female athlete in sportswear using rowing machine during fitness workout in gym.

It also helps build upgrip strength.

it’s possible for you to use a weight lower than your body weight and work up the strength.

It improves athletic performance

Strong lats are crucial to athletic performance and for injury prevention, Moretti says.

Happy woman dancing and listening to music near a green empty wall outdoor in the city.

certified personal trainer based in Beverly Hills, California

The lat pulldown improves strength with pulling and pushing, along with overall upper-body strength.

A notable 2013 study inSports Biomechanics3found that lat pulldowns actually works your core better than pull-ups do.

They help prevent the slouched posture that often develops from sitting in front of a computer all day.

Healthy female training in the gym, performing a hip thrust.

Strong lats are critical for overall health and exercise performance.

Most people cant do these with proper form or are only able to do a couple of repetitions.

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The following exercises are great lat pulldown alternatives and also help build up strength for pull-ups or chin-ups.

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Banded lat pulldown

For this exercise, youll need a resistance band.

These will work your lats and are a staple in most bodybuilding routines, Peak says.

Prone banded lat pulldown

This exercise strengthens your back muscles in a slightly different way.

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Your back extensor muscles kick in as your body works hard to fight gravity.

This will hit your lats, as well as the lower and mid back, Peak says.

Dumbbell pullover

This is another lat-strengthening move that only requires dumbbells.

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It also helps improve and maintain shoulder range of motion.

FAQ

1.

Is it necessary to do lat pulldowns?

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Pull-ups or chin-ups are also effective exercises if you have the strength to lift your body weight.

Can I do a lat pulldown without a machine?

Anchor the resistance band to a high point and pull down in that same motion.

Can I do a lat pulldown with dumbbells?

you’re able to strengthen similar muscles as the lat pulldown machine using dumbbells at home.

Ronai, Peter M.S., FACSM, ACSM-CEP, ACSM-EP, EIM Level III, CSCS.

ACSMs Health & Fitness Journal 23(2):p 24-30, 3/4 2019.

| DOI: 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000469

Doma K, Deakin GB, Ness KF.

Kinematic and electromyographic comparisons between chin-ups and lat-pull down exercises.

2013 Sep;12(3):302-13. doi: 10.1080/14763141.2012.760204.

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