Parallel Lat Bar

If you've already guessed that a lat bar targets your Latissimus Dorsi or more simply your "lats", you'd be correct. The lat muscles are found in your outer back and are responsible for aiding many pushing and pulling activities that your body performs every day. Therefore, strengthening your lats can help you perform simple tasks such as pulling open doors, reaching up and pulling things down off of shelves and performing sports that have you pushing, catching or throwing overhead.

Lat pull-downs are probably the single best exercise to strengthen tone and add mass to your outer back. To perform lat pull-downs a parallel lat bar is attached like a narrow shaft from the hook of your cable crossover machine. You'll recognize the lat bar as the long narrow bar that bends downward slightly on either side.

Now, I always hear different theories at the gym over when to use a wide grip versus a narrow grip for lat pull-downs.

I find an easy way to remember which does what is this way:

• The wider the grip, the greater the emphasis is on your upper lats, rotary cuffs, middle trapezius (in the upper back), lower traps and rhomboids (both in the middle back).
• The narrower your grip, the greater the emphasis is on your lower lats and lower traps (in the middle back).

However, I'm sure many muscle heads would agree with me when I say it's equally important to do a mixture of wide- and narrow-grip pull-downs in your routine in order to completely develop and strengthen your entire back.

To perform basic front cable pull-downs:

• Sit facing the cable stack and position your thighs under the bench supports.
• Grasp the lat bar with a slightly-wider-than shoulder-width overhand grip.
• Pull the bar down towards your upper chest. The bar should be at your collarbone.
• Fully extended your arms to return the bar to starting position.
• Repeat.

Anna's Tip: The rigid lat bar may be comfortable for your wrists; I know it is for mine. For this reason I substitute the rigid lat bar for a swivel bar to alleviate the pain in my wrists.