Great tips from Lyle McDonald discussing lat movements:
“With most pulling movements, including the Cable Row, many lifters tend to complain of not being able to ‘feel’ the back. They may get a tremendous arm pump but the lat seems to go unused. As usual, this generally has to do with improper form (which is often secondary to using far too much weight).
One of the key aspects of getting the lats involved has to do with what happens at the shoulder. In a properly done pulldown The shoulders should elevate (move up) at the top of the movement and active shrug down at the end (in the Cable Row the shoulders move forwards and backwards).
If the shoulders aren’t moving down during the pulldown, it’s an arm movement. One good cue that has been around for years is to think about pushing the elbows down, as opposed to pulling with the arms. This tends to put more focus on the lats rather than the biceps.
A third and important issue is that the torso needs to remain upright or, ideally, with a slight arch in the low back. If you think about lifting your chest to the bar as you bring the bar down (or pull yourself up in a chin), you’ll get it right. If you’re hunched over at the bottom, you’re getting a wonderful workout for your abs but not effectively training your lats. I’ll cover each of these issues below.” –Lyle McDonald
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