Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

Lats
Biceps
Upper Back
Shoulders

Equipment: Cable

New to this

Your first wide-grip lat pulldown

What weight should I start with on the wide-grip lat pulldown?

Pick a weight you can pull for 10 reps with the last two feeling hard. For most beginners that's somewhere around 50 to 70 lb, but the stack numbers vary so much between machines that the rep target is the better guide.

Set the thigh pad snug before you start. If your body lifts off the seat at the bottom of each pull, the pad is too high or the weight is too heavy.

Sets of 8 to 12 are the sweet spot.

What usually goes wrong on the wide-grip lat pulldown?

You lean way back and turn it into a row. A small lean is fine. If your torso is at 45 degrees, drop the weight.

You pull the bar behind your neck. Pull to your collarbone instead. Behind the neck puts your shoulders in a position they don't like and gives you nothing extra.

Your arms do all the work. Think about driving your elbows down toward your ribs rather than pulling with your hands.

If the cable station is taken

Any pulldown variation trains the same muscles. Grip width changes the feel more than the result, so take whichever handle is free.

How to do it

Sit down on a pull-down machine with a wide bar attached to the top pulley. Make sure that you adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your height. These pads will prevent your body from being raised by the resistance attached to the bar.
Grab the bar with the palms facing forward using the prescribed grip. Note on grips: For a wide grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance wider than shoulder width. For a medium grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance equal to your shoulder width and for a close grip at a distance smaller than your shoulder width.
As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.
As you breathe out, bring the bar down until it touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back.
Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. The upper torso should remain stationary and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work except for holding the bar; therefore do not try to pull down the bar using the forearms.
After a second at the contracted position squeezing your shoulder blades together, slowly raise the bar back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched. Inhale during this portion of the movement.
Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.