LiftSetsLiftSets / Exercises / Straight-Arm Pulldown
Straight-Arm Pulldown
Works the lats.
Bright blue is the target muscle. Darker blue is helping. The app shows this as a moving demo.
Muscles worked
lats
How many reps
| Goal | Reps per set |
|---|---|
| Strength | 4-6 |
| Muscle size | 8-12 |
| Endurance | 12-20+ |
Whatever the number, the set should end within a rep or two of the point where you could not do another with good form.
| Kit | cable |
|---|---|
| Level | beginner |
What to think about
- Arms stay long, a slight bend at the elbow only.
- Pull the bar to the thighs with the lats.
- Slow on the way back up to a stretch.
How to do it
- You will start by grabbing the wide bar from the top pulley of a pulldown machine and using a wider than shoulder-width pronated (palms down) grip. Step backwards two feet or so.
- Bend your torso forward at the waist by around 30-degrees with your arms fully extended in front of you and a slight bend at the elbows. If your arms are not fully extended then you need to step a bit more backwards until they are. Once your arms are fully extended and your torso is slightly bent at the waist, tighten the lats and then you are ready to begin.
- While keeping the arms straight, pull the bar down by contracting the lats until your hands are next to the side of the thighs. Breathe out as you perform this step.
- While keeping the arms straight, go back to the starting position while breathing in.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Other exercises for the lats
- Band Assisted Pull-Up
- Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover
- Chin-Up
- Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown
- Full Range-Of-Motion Lat Pulldown
- Leverage Iso Row
- Pullups
- Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown
Track it in LiftSets
Log straight-arm pulldown with last time's numbers in front of you, a rest timer on your lock screen and a graph of your progress.
Coming soon to the App Store