High-Tension Full Range
Pulldowns - Hit the ENTIRE Range of Motion of Your Back
Training
the back is not always about moving heavy weights. In fact,
sometimes going TOO heavy can actually compromise the form you
need to focus on the smaller muscles of the back, to achieve
maximum contraction and development.
That's
where this exercise comes in...
You
use relatively light weights and you focus completely on keeping
tight form and developing massive tension in the muscles of
the back.
It's
a two-part movement that focuses on the two major planes of
movement of the back...vertical (i.e. the standard pulldown
and pull-up) and horizontal (i.e. rowing movements).
This
covers both movements in one continuous-tension exercise.
First,
get yourself set up in the pulldown machine. I like the V handle
for this exercise, but you can use the straight bar, too.
Start
with a weight you could easily do 15 to 20 reps on (or more)
for a regular pulldown.
Pull
the handle to about the half-way point of the exercise. This
is going to be your start position for the pulldown half of
the exercise.
Drop
your shoulders, inhale (to expand your chest, which increases
lat activation), then pull the handle down to your chest.
Hold
for a moment and squeeze then let the handle come back up to
that half-way position. Control it, though, don't just let it
come up. You want to keep that tension on.
Repeat
this for 8 to 10 reps. It's a very deliberate, almost choppy
movement...stopping and holding the tension at the top and bottom
of each rep to eliminate momentum.
Once
you've hit your reps on the pulldown part, lean back. This is
the "row" part.
Pull
the handle to your chest, inhaling as you do so to expand the
chest. Again, hold at the bottom and squeeze, getting tension
in the lats.
Now
let the handle come up to about the half-way point of the range
of motion. Like in the pulldown, we're not letting the elbows
straighten in order to keep tension on the lats.
Pull
the handle back down to your chest, hold and repeat for your
reps.
You
will feel a MAJOR burn with this one. Your lats will never get
a chance to rest, as they do with with the straight-elbow stretch
position of the pulldown and cable row, and you will be hitting
them from 2 different angles, which will activate more muscle
fibers in the lats (not to mention more of the "detail"
muscles of the upper back.
With
this one, you NEED to really lighten up the weight to allow
yourself to hit perfect form and pause on each rep. This is
a critical point. If you go too heavy, you'll diffuse the tension
as you'll need to start using momentum to do the movements.
When
done correctly, this one is a killer!
