pulldown

The lat pulldown machine is the only machine in the gym with a one pound increment, and the only machine with a seat belt. The only machine with a foot pedal. It’s a strange machine. Many machines in the gym have adjustments and this one adjusts the seat up and down so that it hinges where I hinge at the shoulder; the pulldown motion concentric with my arm’s motion. The bar comes down from above to my middle.

Start with arms above my head, hands resting gently on the bar, weight pressing into the backs of my elbows. And then push forward and down. It’s easy. The feeling of cycling the machine is different from any of the other machines. Repeat. The weight hasn’t changed, yet it gets harder. Controlled arms on the return, slow the weight’s fall. It gets more challenging. Soon, after a few repetitions, I can barely get the bar down to my middle, even with a grunt, a heave, and a lean. Which is kinda cheating. At least it’s bad form. Yet I press on, and strain for all my reps, or at least until the fatigue point and I can’t move the bar no matter how hard I will it.

The vinyl seat and industrial paneling that covers the machine’s frame recall both the idea of an institutional facility, a dentist’s office, and the idea of an amusement park ride. To ride this ride I put on the lap belt, adjust the seat, and pull down the bar to my waist. Over and over until the attendant tells me to stop. They might change the settings a bit, to make it harder if it was too easy, or make it easier if it was too hard. And then I repeat, maybe ten times, or maybe fifty. Sometimes I get to ride it three or four times, and sometimes twice is all that’s needed. And then I’m done. I put my foot on the pedal, lift the bar over my head, and unbuckle the belt. Step out and move on to the next ride.

jg