OUT OF ALL the

"The lat pulldown is one of the best tried and true ways to grow your back," says Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., MH fitness director. While you can typically find one of these heavyweight rigs in most gyms, that's not always going to be the case. You might not find one of them in a small hotel fitness space, a "functional' CrossFit box, and especially not in your cobbled-together garage training set-up. So, what should you do instead when you need to train the big muscles of your back?

Replicating the lat pulldown is tough to do, but these four alternative exercise options will serve you well in the times you can't make it to the gym and need a substitution.

Let's talk about what the lat muscles do to get a better picture of what body movements we're trying to recreate. The lat muscles, or the latissimus dorsi, are the largest muscles in your back. The lats stretch from below the shoulder blade to the low portion of the back. It has two primary roles: adducting the arm, or bringing the upper arm inward towards the torso, and extending the shoulder, or pulling the upper arm back behind our torso.

The lat pulldown machine is such a valuable piece of equipment because it allows you to hone an important movement pattern: vertical pulling. This is a reliable way to build back musclebut it's not something that's easy to accomplish. You can also perform a vertical pull with a classic pullup, but not everyone is strong enough to be able to pile up rounds of pullup reps. Since you're using the machine, rather than your bodyweight, you can perform a vertical pull more reliably.

"None of [these moves] can fully replace the lat pulldown," says Samuel. "That machine is that good and that special. But we can come really, really close as long as we're focusing on these ideas."

Why: This creative move works when you're stuck with little to no equipment and still need to hit your lats for back day. It works through that moment of peak contraction that you would traditionally hit at the bottom of the lat pulldown. You'll need two chairs or two benches of the same height, or anything that you can drive your elbows down into. Don't underestimate this moveit's tougher than it looks.

How to Do It:

Sets and Reps: Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 3 to 5 second holds.

Why: This is a more obvious replacement for the lat pulldown machine. If you have a band, you can set yourself up a makeshift rig. It won't be as effective, as the band won't provide a ton of resistance off the beginning of the rep when there's not much tension through the band. You will have quality resistance at the end of the movement when the band is the most stretched, so make sure to hold the contraction at the bottom of the movement.

How to Do It:

Sets and Reps: Aim for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Why: The band-resisted dumbbell row presents a challenge to both the beginning and end of the motion, and will combine horizontal and vertical planes. It's going to require a bit more lat engagement at the beginning of your traditional dumbbell row.

How to Do It:

Sets and Reps: Aim for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.

Why: The classic pullup utilizes the vertical pulling movement pattern in a similar way to the lat pulldown. It has its limitations though: the bodyweight exercise is much more difficult to perform properly, and if you do have the strength to do them, it's difficult to load beyond your bodyweight without specialized equipment. The seated pullup and chinup allows you to scale the difficulty, making it easy to tailor to your ability. If bodyweight reps get too easy, you can prop your feet onto a bench or a chair and place a medicine ball or sandbag onto your lap to load up the movement.

How to Do It:

Sets and Reps: Aim for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.

Cori Ritchey, NASM-CPT is an Associate Health & Fitness Editor at Men's Health and a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor. You can find more of her work in HealthCentral, Livestrong, Self, and others.

Originally posted here:
4 Lat Pulldown Alternative Exercises to Build Back Muscle - Men's Health