I find straps (thumbs over the top and not wrapped around the bar) and pulling "from the elbows" helps with pulldowns. Also not using a particually heavy weight.
I go for 12-15 reps on them.
I see a lot of people going silly weight for low reps and all they get it pumped biceps, fail.
agreed
what amazes me is despite my constant and lengthy explainations of pre exhaust techniques for helping to isolate muscles ill be willing to bet no one applies this to this problem.
Problem: Biceps dominate rowing motions keeping the back underworked.
Solution: Exhaust the biceps with isolation work prior to compound
Details: In order to take the biceps out of the equation and bring the back into play you must pre ehaust the large fibres in the bicep. These are your strongest fibres and the ones that allow you to lift the heaviest weight. These can be fatigued easily with a few short sets (3x5) of very heavy isolation work or the use of a different compound technique. By fatiguing these your body will automatically (outside of your control) engage the back muscles more readily in the exercise.
This is a natural priciple that is somewhat counter intuitive but it works. Try it yourself do your bicep work before back work, keep it heavy and low volume (as you do not want to fatigue all your fibres, or else you wont be able to pull enough to work your back).
Another way to help encage the back in cable rowing movments is to focus on partials at the last third of the concentric portion (pull the cable to your body and only perform the motion from this point to about a foot from the chest and back) this removes the acceleration assistance afforded by the biceps. In a wide grip pull or row the biceps are only the prime movers for about 1/3 - 1/2 of the movement (the first part of the concentric with the arms fully extended) beyond about half way (i reiterate this is a tip for wide pulls/rows only) the back becomes the prime mover anyway with the rear delts playing a large supporting role. Thus by performing the reduced range of motion with lower weight you will find your back and delts get hit intensley with only minor bicep involvment.
Another tip to avoid typical 'ego training' is to ensure with every rep you can hold the bar to your body for a solid few seconds at the top of each repetition. I see lots of people rowing 100kilo but i know none (other than myself
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) who can hold it to their body at the top of every rep for a few seconds, this again imbalances bicep effort versus back and will only make the ratio worse with every train. The reason the 'pro's' are always seen training this way is because this is how they move the most impressive weight and thus the best for fan videos and photo shoots. Off camera they will train mostly with much lighter weights and a strict form as their goal is not shifting huge wights but hitting the muscles as hard as possible!
Have fun
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