If you want to place well in bodybuilding shows at any level, you’re going to need to develop an impressive back. To do so, you’ll need to stimulate the thousands upon thousands of muscle fibers in the back using a variety of approaches to what is essentially a single movement, the lat bar pulldown. The stance and hand positioning we employ can change our results. Let’s learn more.

Standard wide-grip pulldowns

This movement is the tried-and-true standard for growing the muscles of the back. Most bodybuilders believe the wider the grip, the wider the lats will be forced to grow. Six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates has proclaimed this movement ineffective due to the fact the wide grip causes the biceps to fail long before the biceps – but there are thousands of other bodybuilders and trainers who believe this movement is the best available option for hitting the upper and outer lats. Let your experience in the gym guide you to your own personal belief.

Dickersons

If you want to develop the upper and inner back, this movement may be right for you. This exercise was named after the great 1980s Mr. Olympia champion Chris Dickerson, who swore by the movement. It was championed by 1988 Mr. USA John DeFendis, who also believed in its effectiveness. To complete Dickersons, stand up at the lat pulldown machine. Keep your back very arched, and use a wide grip hand positioning. Look up at the ceiling. Keeping your elbow forward, complete lat pulldowns with locked arms and very good form. You’ll need to keep your weight used moderate, which means you’ll be able to move into the 10 to 15 repetition per set range. Focus on the contraction felt by the muscles of the back, not the weight you’re using. The lats and middle back in particular will be scorched like never before from using this movement.

Underhand close-grip pulldowns

This movement is very popular among power bodybuilders, who wish to be able to move a great deal of weight. By keeping the hands close together, you are able to move a great deal more weight than you can when you are forced to spread the arms wide. However, there is also the risk you are undermining your own efforts by placing too much of the workload on the biceps, and not enough on the back. Some have even called this exercise a ‘glorified chin-up for the back’.

Many degrees along the way

Moving your hands along the bar from the widest to closest grip hand positioning will slightly alter the area of the back being stimulated, each inch of the way. Experiment with incremental changes in hand positioning, and use your journal to record the location of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) that occurs in the 2 to 4 days following the workout. If you feel soreness in a new area, it’s a safe bet you have just found the hand position to isolate that new area.

The bottom line is that if you stick to the basics – heavy pulldowns – you’ll develop an impressive back. Experimenting with various grips may just allow you to develop that impressive back much sooner!

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