Mark OttobreFounder, Enterprise Fitness · Results Driven Coaching

Stay off this machine. WRONG.

7 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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1:12

In a brief exchange, Speaker A warns against using a locked‑in lat pulldown machine, arguing that it removes the hips and stabilizer muscles from the movement and recommends rows or pull‑ups instead. Mark Ottobre counters in a 60‑second demonstration, explaining that the upper back can still be engaged while using the machine by actively retracting and depressing the scapula and bracing the core. He shows that with proper scapular control, a lat pulldown can involve the upper back, but notes a trade‑off: bracing for stability limits the amount of load you can handle. He illustrates that using heavier weight (greater than body weight) while maintaining the locked position allows more load, effectively teaching a lesson on how to use the machine correctly versus avoiding it altogether.

Chapters

Stay off this machine. Look, I get it. You want to work your back and you're not sure what to do, so you lock yourself into a seat and pull down a bar, but you're removing your hips and stabilizer muscles from the equation. Instead, do rows, assisted pull-ups, or regular pull-ups.
My friend, I'm going to teach you a lesson in 60 seconds. What you said in your clip is that because you're locked in, you're not using your upper back. But here's the thing: you can use your upper back independently of your arms. I'm right now, I'm depressing, I'm retracting my scapula. And as I do that, look how much movement I get. I can do a lat pulldown just with my arms. That's not using my back effectively. Here, when I retract, depress, and pull, I'm using it. Now, the reason why we lock ourselves in, I'm using a fairly light weight right now as a warmup. I'm gonna remove this. To stay in this position, I have to brace my abs. So I'm getting more stable, but the trade-off of getting more stable is I'm not able to use as much load. Now watch this. If I use more than my body weight, right, I'm pulling myself up into position, locking myself in. I'm able to use the weight. That, my friend, is your lesson in 60 seconds.