Stop Wasting Lat Pulldowns on Chest-Pulling Ego Lifting

Pulling the bar to your chest on lat pulldowns doesn’t build more muscle—it just makes the movement harder and limits the weight you can actually use. Less weight = less tension = less growth.

Instead, aim to pull the bar just below your chin. That’s where your lats are most engaged without your form falling apart. You’ll lift more, feel the stretch and squeeze better, and actually target the lats instead of turning it into a hybrid struggle lift.

Save the mid-back work for heavy rows—that’s where you’ll get real meat on your traps and rhomboids with more load and better angles.

Use pulldowns to grow your lats.
Use rows to build your back thickness.
Train smart. Grow more.