Exercise Type: The front lat pull down is an excellent mid-range exercise, meaning that it is great for building mass in the lats. The lats are a pair of very large triangular muscles of the back with the muscle originating at the humerus (upper arm bone) and stretching across the back, inserting at the lower four ribs. There are several accessory bars that can be used in this exercise. The one pictured is a "half-moon" bar. If you do not have access to a half-moon bar, use a shoulder-width grip on a regular bar.

Instructions: Arch your back and slightly lean back as you pull the weight to your chest, but don't throw your body back in order to jerk the weight down.

This is the positive (or concentric) portion of the motion and should take 2-3 seconds. Breath out on the way down. Focus on pulling with your lats, pull down to your upper chest and squeeze and release to a full extension (3-4 seconds on the negatives).