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General Exercise Principles

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Pullups & Pulldowns

General guidelines for all Pull-Up and Pulldown movements
(unless specifically stated otherwise)

  • back flat / abs tight, elbows in as close to body as possible (avoid letting them flare)
  • attempt to remain perfectly vertical throughout (avoid leaning / throwing hips back)
  • keep wrists, elbows & forearms in a straight line as close to perpendicular to the ground as possible
  • relax the arms to minimize their involvement, focus instead on stabilizing from the back 
  • contract the scapula (shoulder blades) & lats throughout while pulling through the elbows (as opposed to the hands)
  • on the concentric, pull the shoulders back, aim chest to the bar, & drive the elbows simultaneously towards the floor & away from each other; avoid any ‘shrugging’
  • on the eccentric, extend / protract the scapula & let the shoulders roll forward at the extreme
  • ‘shove’ hands outwards throughout (intent)
  • when performing with an overhand-grip, don’t allow the elbows to come behind the body (drive them towards the lats).  When performing with a neutral / underhand-grip, end the concentric with elbows as far behind torso as possible, chest touching the bar.

 

Pull Ups / Chin Ups (incl. ‘Assisted’) – overhand / neutral / underhand grip

BLP2

At the top

    Exercise Specific:

  • variable hand grip and spacing is acceptable (besides very narrow) from workout to workout – though stick with the same choice during each individual workout
  • if / when performing Assisted Machine Pull-ups, place knees at the back of the pad unless directed otherwise.

 

Ring Pull-Ups

    Exercise Specific:

  • during the exercise, consider your hands like hooks – do not pull with the biceps or forearms
  • allow pronation of the shoulders at the bottom of the rep (you may need to rotate your hands / arms externally on the way down so that your palms end facing away from you at the bottom)
  • take a neutral-grip during the concentric portion of the rep.

 

Push-Away Pull-Ups – advanced exercise

    Exercise Specific:

  • the focus is spent on the eccentric / lowering portion of the movement
  • do what it takes to get to the top, then slowly ‘push away’ extending the arms straight out in front; really fight against the descent while staying as high as possible
  • make an extra effort to try and maintain a vertical plane (as depicted above, you can see it is not easy!).

 

Lat Pulldowns – Overhand, Reverse, or Neutral Grip

Performing with an Overhand Wide-Grip

Performing with a Reverse-Grip

    Exercise Specific:

  • as a general rule, position body as appropriate to achieve a vertical plane of movement (slide butt forward if necessary) – depending on your structure, you may however find that to achieve full engagement of the lats, you need to lean backwards slightly instead
  • if the above is true for you, or you are instructed specifically to perform the exercise with a backward lean, lean from the hips, NOT from the spine (keep the abs tight).
  • If performing with a reverse or neutral-grip: take a shoulder-width grip on the bar, and end with elbows behind the body at the bottom, chest touching the bar.

 

Incline Supine Overhead Reverse-Grip Pulldowns

Extended at the top

End position

    Exercise Specific:

  • set-up:
       > if possible, attach leather straps to the pulley instead of a bar (to avoid ‘over-supinating’ the hands)
       > place a bench facing away from the apparatus and set at a high incline
       > a spotter may be required to pass / take the weight when beginning / ending each set.
  • with a neutral-grip and slight arch in the back, expand the lats on the way up (push them towards the ceiling)
  • aim for a strong stretch at the top
  • aim wrists to hips and finish with elbows behind torso as much as possible at the bottom.

 

Hammer Iso Lat Pulldown

Supinated-grip

    Exercise Specific:

  • chest up tall, no arching from the lower back or hips.