women's health - REVERSE GRIP PULLDOWN

STRENGTHENS

LATS (BACK), BICEPS, SHOULDERS

STARTING POSITION

Sit with your knees securely anchored under the lat machine’s pad. Raise your arms and grasp the bar hanging from the cable with your hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing you, which is called an underhand grip. Lean back slightly, lift your chest upward, and pull your shoulders back and down. Keep your arms fully extended without locking elbows (A). See inset 1.

MOVEMENT

Bring your shoulder blades together and use your upper back muscles to pull your arms toward you (B). HARD

Pause with the bar close to your upper chest, and squeeze your shoulder blades together (see inset 2).

Keeping your shoulders pulled back and down, straighten your arms to allow the bar to return to the starting position (A). EASY

During the pause, allow an arch in your lower back and aggressively contract your upper back.

Extras: I reverse the traditional overhand position on this exercise for two reasons: (1) It is not the ideal positioning for optimal shoulder function. (2) The overhand position causes a widening of the shoulders and upper back. Men like this “cobra look” on themselves. But we women don’t care for building these “wings.”

Why It’s Perfect for You

The reverse-grip hand position puts more emphasis on your back and tightens up the area around your underarm without creating width. This is the best remedy for bra bulge under the arm and around the back, trouble zones for many women. This movement also strengthens and tightens the triceps (the backs of the arms). This is an important exercise for shoulder health and injury prevention.