Exercise Instruction for Proper Form: Upper Back Exercises: Pulldown and Row

This post continues the series instructing about the proper way to perform the most common exercises. It follows up with the chapter dedicated to upper back exercises, focusing now on pulldowns and rows.

Whereas pull-up/chin-up should be the basic exercise on your routine for developing the width of your back, lat pulldowns can be an option when you are not strong enough to move your bodyweight, or just as a complement in your workout. A pulldown is basically a pull-up mimicking movement, but performed in a specific pulldown machine. As pull-ups, it presents several variations depending on your hands position (Underhand Cable Pulldown, V-Bar Pulldown, Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown), having each position a different effect on your back muscles. Refer to the previous post for more details.

This exercise starts by sitting in a pulldown machine with the legs positioned under the kneepads and the feet flat on the floor and grabbing the bar/handle with the desired hands position. Then pull the bar down until it touches your upper chest. Focus on keeping your elbows back as far as possible, while arching your back slightly. Hold and squeeze at the point of contraction, and slowly raise the bar/handle back to the starting position. Do not lean back too far or pull the weight down using your body weight during the movement. Avoid the behind-the-neck version of this exercise, as it can lead you to injury.

Being significantly different from a regular pulldown, the Straight-Arm Pulldown exercise also works the lats. Stand in front of a lat pulldown machine with your arms outstretched towards the bar. With an overhand grip, keeping the elbows slightly bent, the wrists locked, and the torso erect, pull the bar down towards your body in an arcing motion until the bar almost touches your thighs. Then slowly allow the bar to come back until reaching the shoulder level.

Rowing exercises are fundamental for adding size and thickness to the back. Three main categories of rowing exercises exist. The first one comprises the exercises in a bent over position. Bent Over Barbell Row starts by standing over a straight bar with feet about shoulder width apart. Bending your knees, lean over and pick the bar up, with an overhand grip a little wider than shoulder width. Then, while keeping your knees slightly bent, bend at the waist until your torso is at an angle anywhere from 15 to 45 degrees to the floor. From this position, pull the bar straight up to your waist focusing on pulling your elbows back, and then lower the bar back down slowly. It is important to keep the head up and the back straight (or slightly arched) during the whole movement, since rounding the back can result in a serious injury. Furthermore, do not swing or use momentum to lift the weight. This exercise can be also performed using an underhand grip with hands shoulder width apart (Reverse Grip Bent-Over Row).

Another variation is One-Arm Dumbbell Row, which uses a dumbbell, and works each side of the back by itself. For working your right side, you must start resting you left knee and lower leg on a flat bench and then lean forward so that you support the weight of your upper body with your left arm on the bench and you keep your right leg almost straight, and positioned to the rear and out of the way. An alternative setup is to keep your leg foot on the floor well ahead of the right, with the leg slightly bent. For both setup options, grab the dumbbell with the right hand and, keeping the back straight and almost parallel to the floor and the left arm locked at the elbow, pull the weight up as far as possible, by pulling your elbow back. Then slowly lower the dumbbell to the starting position.

The second category comprises the rowing exercises performed in a cable station. Seated Cable Row starts by sitting down at a low-pulley rowing machine and placing your feet against the footrests or platform near the bottom of the weight stack. Keep your knees slightly bent throughout the entire movement to reduce stress on your lower back. Bending only at the waist, lean forward and grasp the pulley handle in front of you. Again, several hand positions are possible (close grip, wide overhand grip, underhand grip, one arm at a time). With your arms stretched out, lean back at the waist until your torso is perpendicular to the floor. This is the starting position. Keeping the back straight and looking forward, bring your elbows back until the handle touches your waist. Then, slowly return to the starting position. There is a variation of this exercise involving also the lower back, in which you lean forward and backward accompanying elbows movement.

The final category comprises the exercises where you lay/sit positioning the chest against the top of the pad and pull the weight up/back until elbows are behind back, without lifting the body off from the pad. This category includes for instance T-Bar Row and Seated Lever Row. Again, you can use a palms down, palms up, or palms in position depending on what part of your back you want to involve more.

You can find further information about all these back exercises in the article “All Out Back Training” by John Giljum and the book “The Insider’s Tell-All Handbook On Weight-Training Technique” by Stuart McRobert.