How to do pull-downs for a strong back

Train your back with pull-downs without ruining your shoulders!

The upper back is the body area that requires the greatest technical skills of them all.

You might have seen my young self do pull-ups and pull-downs with poor attention to perfect form, and now this is what you think is the correct way to train to gain strength and muscle mass in the upper back.

Don't get fooled by seeing obvious muscle mass being activated in my muscle training: of course the muscles are working, but how well and how efficient?

The gym rat style of pushing down on pull-downs and pull-ups is a pet peeve of mine nowadays. I know that is how I´d tear my shoulders sooner or later.

I already did tear both my shoulders, one of those times was doing pull-ups on my 40 years birthday! What a great gift, this challenge to rebuild my torn rotator cuff transformed my back training.

In my work as coach and fitness trainer I host form check sessions and technique workshops. I meet my clients on ZOOM, WhatsApp or Google Meet to practice how to lift to gain strength and muscle.

Why does safe training becomes a necessity as you grow older? Your joints won't let you get away with sloppy form anymore!

Why do many clients resist relearning and feel that decades of training means you have nothing to improve upon for better gains? There is a lot of pride and fear of judgment, nobody wants to be a beginner! It is ridiculous and it limits self-growth and muscle growth.

Another reason for resistance to relearn how you lift is not being aware of the lack of proper form.

The way we train when we're young is not the way we keep training for life, that is for sure.

So...If you just like me notice your body says no to lifting if you're not focused on how you do it, then you have two choices:

Either relearn to keep training and building... Or keep getting strains, aches or injured in the same areas over and over!

Watch the Pull-Down Video