Overview
Two exercises, two very different loads, one position: kneeling on the carriage facing the footbar.
- Kneeling Lat Pull is the heavy one. With the balls of the feet against the shoulder rests and the hands on the footbar, the carriage is drawn toward the hands by the lats, then pulled up with the abdominals and the knees. It is a two-phase exercise and the phases are the whole point.
- Kneeling W Raises is the light one. From a tall kneel with a strap in each hand, the elbows draw up and back into a W to squeeze the shoulder blades together. The carriage does not move.
Taught together they make a good pair: the W raises teach the client where the shoulder blades are and what they do, and the lat pull then asks them to hold that while the whole carriage travels.
Setup
- Kneeling Lat Pull: 1-2 strong springs; footbar down, headrest down. Kneel with the balls of the feet against the shoulder rests and both hands on the footbar, shoulders stacked over the wrists.
- Kneeling W Raises: a single medium or light spring; footbar down, headrest down. Kneel upright with the knees hip-width apart and the hips stacked over the knees, a strap in each hand, elbows bent to roughly 90 degrees.
- Check the kneel before the load: a pad under the knees, the weight spread evenly, and the hips stacked over the knees rather than sitting back toward the heels.
Key Teaching Cues
- Kneeling Lat Pull: the phases are separate. Phase one draws the carriage toward the hands with the lats, keeping the spine long. Phase two holds the shoulders over the wrists and pulls the carriage up with the abdominals and the knees, scooping the belly rather than rounding the lower back.
- Kneeling Lat Pull: keep the shoulders stacked over the wrists throughout; the carriage comes to the hands, the hands do not go to the carriage.
- Kneeling W Raises: grow tall first, then draw the elbows up and back without letting them rise above shoulder height.
- Kneeling W Raises: the trunk stays tall and the ribs stay down — the hips do not sit back toward the heels as the arms work.
- Both: exhale on the pull, inhale on the return, and control the return rather than letting the springs take it.
Common Faults
- Kneeling Lat Pull: running the two phases together so the lats never really work, and rounding the lower back to finish the pull.
- Kneeling Lat Pull: shrugging the shoulders toward the ears as the carriage arrives.
- Kneeling W Raises: the carriage moving. The springs anchor the arms; they never travel.
- Kneeling W Raises: the elbows rising above shoulder height, and the hips drifting back toward the heels as the blades squeeze.
- Both: the knees taking more weight as the set goes on, or the kneel collapsing into a sit.
Variations
- Regression: for the lat pull, practise phase one alone until the shoulder blades connect without shrugging. For the W raises, take a lighter spring and a smaller pull with the elbows well below shoulder height.
- Progression: for the lat pull, run both phases together and hold the end position for two breaths before returning. For the W raises, hold the W for two full breaths.
- Programming: the W raises are the better opener — they establish the scapular connection at a load the client can definitely control. The lat pull belongs later in the session, after the shoulders have been prepared by the pulling work, and its knees make it a natural partner to the kneeling arm work in Knee Stretches & Stomach Massage.
Safety
Both exercises kneel, so both carry the knee caution: pad under the knees, spread the weight evenly, and shorten the range if the knees complain. The lat pull draws the carriage in from overhead, which loads the shoulder — keep the pull in a pain-free range and stop on any pinch, and see the Shoulder Impingement Protocol for the ranges to avoid.