Weighting game: for a brutal upper lat blast, try the weighted Smith machine pull-up

Muscle & Fitness, March, 2008 by Sean Waxman

WHILE IT'S RARE to see a Smith machine featured on the "Power and Strength" page, this move has every right to bear the title hardcore. The weighted Smith pull-up is as tough as it looks, maybe tougher. And if you haven't been hitting those heavy pulldowns with regularity, this exercise will expose any and all weaknesses. Get ready to build strength and size and add width to your lats.

Here's how to perform the move correctly. Set the hooks or supports in a Smith machine or power rack at about waist height. Set up a bench a few feet away from the bar, parallel to it. Take a wide, pronated (overhand) grip on the bar and squat down to hang under it. Place your feet on the bench in front of you so your body forms an L, with a roughly 90-degree angle at your hips. Have your partner place weight plates across your lap. From a hanging position, powerfully pull your chest to the bar, squeezing your lats hard, then slowly return to the start position and repeat.

As this is primarily an upper lat exercise due to the wide grip, it's great for expanding the width of your wingspan. Its benefits aren't limited to that area, however--you can shift the emphasis to the lower lats by using a close, reverse grip on the bar. If you want the best of both worlds, alternate grips each workout to ensure more balanced development.

The weighted Smith machine pull-up is a solid exercise to keep in your arsenal for introducing variety to any back routine dominated by the usual fare (barbell rows, one-arm dumbbell rows, pulldowns, etc.) Turn to it as your primary movement for adding strength and mass, or as a great way to incorporate drop sets when you want to push past failure and get an incredible pump. Yet no matter how you use it, we highly recommend enlisting the help of an attentive spotter.

Sean Waxman is a strength coach, guest lecturer and owner of Pure Strength, Inc. Sign up for his free newsletter at purestrength.com

BY SEAN WAXMAN, CSCS

RELATED ARTICLE: YOUR BIG BACK WORKOUT

This sample workout incorporates the weighted Smith machine pull-up as your starting move.

EXERCISE                        SETS  REPS

Weighted Smith Machine Pull-Up  2      6
                                2     12
T-Bar Row                       2      6
                                2     12
Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown       3     10
Back Extension                  3     10-15