The lateral or ‘lat’ pulldown exercise is widely recognised and utilised as a primary exercise for developing strength and size in the upper back muscles. This particular machine exercise primarily targets the Latissimus Dorsi muscle, which encompasses the shoulder blade region and through training provides you with the desirable ‘V’ shaped back. As with many exercises, the Latissimus Dorsi muscle is not the only muscle recruited during the performance of this exercise. There are numerous surrounding secondary muscles which also act to bring about either assistance to the prime mover or add a stabilising element to the movement.

Through manipulation of your hand positioning and grip during this exercise it is possible to either add or remove emphasis from the Latissimus Dorsi muscle. Normally for this exercise, a long handled bar is utilised on the machine. Consequently, this article will focus on the effects of both the wide grip and narrow grip techniques to determine what effect, if any, this has on the recruitment of the Latissimus Dorsi and other secondary muscle groups.

Wide Grip:

This is probably the most commonly utilised version of the lateral pulldown exercise. The grip selected is achieved by placing your hands towards each end of the bar, wider than shoulder width apart. The bar should always be pulled down in front of your head as this will reduce any unnecessary strain on your neck throughout the exercise. In this position, research has demonstrated that the Latissimus Dorsi muscle produces the highest activation levels, which in simplistic terms, means that this muscle is being primarily recruited to produce the movement. Also activated, but to a lesser extent, is the Biceps Brachii muscle which mainly exerts its effects around the elbow joint.

Narrow Grip:

An alternative to the wide grip approach detailed above moves the hand positioning in the opposite direction. With the narrow grip selection your hands are placed approximately shoulder width apart with your palms facing towards you. Again the bar is pulled down in front of your head for identical reasons mentioned previously. In this position, although the Latissimus Dorsi muscle is still considered the prime mover, there is a greater activation demonstrated by the Biceps Brachii muscle as the closer hand positioning places this muscle into an advantageous position.