1Lower back arches and leans back
What you see: The trunk swings back and the low back sways to drag the bar down.
The fix: "Round your lower back", "tuck it". A slight lean is fine; the swing is not.
Form guides · Upper body
The lat pulldown: pull with your back, not your lean.
A gym staple that is easy to do badly. Here is how to make it work your back.
What good looks like.
The lat pulldown trains the big muscles of your back that pull your arms down and in. The common habit is to lean far back and arch the lower back to heave the bar down. Brad cues the lower back on every pull he coaches: "round your lower back", "tuck it". It keeps the trunk still so your back does the pulling.
- Knees locked under the pad, sitting tall.
- "Tuck it": low back flat, ribs down.
- Grip a little wider than your shoulders.
- "Drop the traps" first, then pull the bar to your upper chest.
- Let the bar rise slowly until your arms are straight again.
- "Chin in", head back
- "Chest out", shoulders back
- Lower back still: "tuck it"
- Elbows down and back
The faults a trainer sees most
What goes wrong, and the cue that fixes it.
The cues in quotes are the words Brad Glaser uses with his own clients.
2Shrugging
What you see: The shoulders ride up toward the ears.
The fix: "Drop the traps." Start each rep by pulling your shoulders down.
3Head pokes forward
What you see: The chin juts out to meet the bar.
The fix: "Chin in", "head back".
4Pulling behind the neck
What you see: The bar comes down behind the head.
The fix: Pull to the top of your chest, in front.
Make it easier, make it harder.
Easier
- Lighter weight.
- Band pulldown, anchored above you.
- One arm at a time.
Harder
- Assisted pull-up.
- A pause with the bar at your chest.
- A slow three-second return.
Move within a range that feels comfortable, and stop any exercise that hurts. Have a health condition, or been inactive a while? Ask your doctor what is right for you first. VeraForma is coaching, not medicine. It does not diagnose, treat or cure anything, and it does not replace your doctor or physio.
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More form guides
Built by Brad Glaser · NASM Master Trainer · NASM-CPT, CES, PES · 20+ years · has certified 100+ personal trainers.
He owns a personal-training studio in Southern California. The same method he uses standing next to a client, built into the app.
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