Having built his legacy off ‘Blood and Guts’ back training routines, Dorian Yates never had a problem growing his lats. Perhaps that’s because of the way he practiced some popular movements, like the lat pulldown. Instead of performing wide grip pulldowns, Yates took to an Instagram reel explaining why the underhand grip offers a better range of motion and thus, more gains.
During his illustrious career, Yates denied a wave of aesthetic bodybuilders a chance at holding the prestigious Sandow trophy. From besting Shawn Ray, and Kevin Levrone, to Flex Wheeler, Yates’ understanding of training paid off massively on the sport’s biggest stage.
The lat pulldown serves as one of the most popular movements among back routines. While Yates utilized the lat pulldown machine, he took a less traditional approach to completing the movement. He believes conventional pulldowns with an overhand grip were a waste of time. Below, he explained why and how you can reap more benefits from his variation.
Bodybuilding Legend Dorian Yates Shares Why Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns Are a ‘Waste of Time’
Dorian Yates doesn’t utilize a wide overhand grip on the lat pulldown machine. Instead, he implemented underhand pulldowns with a more narrow hand placement. This is because it allows for a greater range of motion. In addition, his variation will keep the biceps in a better position throughout each repetition.
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“Because this is a very short range of motion. Also, I’m putting the biceps in a weaker position. So, if I go here, a much bigger range of motion, and biceps are in a better position. You don’t ever ever need to do this fucking exercise, a waste of time.”
“Put your hands here, pull, squeeze, control, keep the chin up, keep the head up, pull,” shares Yates.
Yates revealed that underhand pulldowns were the second exercise in his routine on back day. He described his hand placement as being closer than shoulder width.
“Underhand pulldowns!
This was usually second in my back routine where the biceps came into play for a pulling exercise. I did underhand pulldowns on the lat pulldown station and eventually performed them on the Hammer Strength underhand pulldown machine… either is fine to use.
The hand placement is just closer than shoulder width and pull with your elbows, drive them into your lats and hold for a second with a slow negative.”
The validity of Yates’ training tactics was brought into question by exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel as well as ‘Hypertrophy Coach’ Joe Bennett. They evaluated and critiqued the back workouts performed by Yates in his prime. Overall, they were impressed with his form and identified areas in which he could better optimize his training performance.
Aside from his latest guide on the lat pulldown, Dorian Yates also gave tips for strengthening the rotator cuff and protecting the shoulder during workouts. He found immense success simply by hanging from a pull-up bar, sharing that it’s best to do three one-minute sets to loosen up the joints before training.
Sporting one of the widest and most defined backs of all time, Dorian Yates’ training tips are perfect for anyone struggling to grow. He believes overhand pulldowns to be a waste of time and implored his following to try out his underhand grip variation.
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