Lateral Pull Down Without Chairs

The lateral pull-down works the latissimus dorsi muscles located on the sides of the back. Besides the lats, the exercise also targets the middle back, biceps and shoulders. If you don’t have access to a pull-down machine with a seat or bench, you can do the lateral pull-down just as effectively without a chair. As always, check with your doctor before doing the lateral pull-down, especially if you suffer from a prior back injury or medical condition.

  1. Instructions

    • For best results, always practice proper form when doing lateral pull-downs. Stand in front of a pull-down machine and grasp the wide bar. Position your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with your palms facing downward. Step back one or two feet until your arms are fully extended at chest level. Hinge your torso forward about 30 degrees. Keeping your arms straight, pull the bar down until it reaches your thighs. Return your arms to the starting position. Repeat for a total of 12 repetitions. The work should come from your lats. To be sure, keep your lats tight and don’t let your elbows bend.

    Variations

    • If it’s more comfortable, hold the bar with an underhand grip, with your palms facing upward. To better target your tricep muscles, position your hands at shoulder-width or closer together. You can also perform the lateral pull-down with a rope attachment or a shoulder-width straight bar. To boost the intensity of the exercise, allow the bar to travel over your head rather than stopping at chest-height. This utilizes your muscles more because it allows for greater range of motion.

    Considerations

    • It’s easy to use your biceps rather than your lats when doing lateral pull-downs. To better isolate the lats, focus on contracting and pulling your lats inward as you go down. Imagine you are tugging them down in a semi-circular motion. Do not lean back as you pull the weight down, which uses your body weight rather than muscle. If you experience forearm discomfort, place your hands in a hook grip in which you put your thumb on the top of the bar with the rest of your fingers rather than around the bottom. This lessens the strain on your forearms and can make the exercise more comfortable.

    Safety

    • Do not pull the bar behind your neck when doing standing lateral pull-downs. This puts stress on your rotator cuff and can lead to injury. Never lean back, which puts stress on your lower back and can cause pain. Instead, keep your body upright at all times with your elbows close to your sides and your neck in a neutral position. Never jerk the weight or use momentum to complete a repetition. This will not only decrease the tension in your arms, it can result in injury.