Lat Pulldown
Sit tall, as close to the cable machine as you can, with a handle in each hand and your arms reaching up overhead. First draw your shoulder blades down, then drive your elbows down to your sides. Pause briefly, then let your arms travel slowly back up until they are fully extended.
The lat pulldown is the basic vertical pull: you pull from overhead down towards your body. The work is done by the lats and the teres major, the muscles around your shoulder blades draw them down, and your biceps and forearms help. The pulling movement is similar to a pull-up and uses the same main muscles.
Sitting at a cable machine lets you set exactly the weight you need. With a D-handle in each hand, each arm pulls on its own.
From the studio: With single handles I can see early on when one side pulls differently from the other, and work on that side directly. That is what I see in the studio.
Starting position
You need a dual cable machine with two high pulleys set a little wider than shoulder-width apart and a D-handle on each. Set the weight, take a handle in each hand and sit down on the floor right in front of the machine, as close as you can get.
Sit tall and lift your chest. Your arms reach up overhead; let your shoulders rise all the way up with them.
As you breathe out, first draw your shoulder blades down, then bring your elbows down to your sides, slightly behind your torso. Pause briefly, breathe in and let your arms travel slowly back up until they are fully extended.
The three cues
- Chest up, sit tall
- Shoulders down first, then the elbows
- Pull hard, return slowly
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Your elbows drift forward | Lift your chest, sit tall and pull your elbows down to your sides, slightly behind your torso. |
| Your arms pull while your shoulders stay up | Draw your shoulder blades down first, then let your elbows follow. |
| Your arms only go halfway back up | Reach all the way up until your arms are straight and your shoulders rise with them. |
| Your upper body swings | Pick a lighter weight, sit tall and keep your upper body still. |
| The weight yanks your arms back up | Return slowly, over two to three seconds. |
| You're sitting too far from the machine | Sit as close as you can so the cables run straight down from above. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Light weight, learning the shoulder-blade movement | Shoulders down first, then the elbows, pause briefly. Move on once every rep follows that sequence. |
| Full range, controlled tempo | Reach all the way up, pull for one second, hold for one second, return over two to three seconds. |
| More weight | Once your posture, sequence and tempo stay clean on every rep, add weight in small steps. |
Reps and load
Pull hard, return slowly: one second to pull, one second to hold, two to three seconds back up. Breathe out as you pull and in as you return. Choose a weight that lets you keep your upper body still and upright on every rep.
It pairs well with a push exercise as its antagonist, such as the Kneeling Dumbbell Arnold Press, and sits nicely alongside a horizontal pull like the One Arm Dumbbell Row.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Lats M. latissimus dorsi | Prime mover | Pull the upper arm down from overhead to your side |
| Teres major M. teres major | Synergist | Pulls the upper arm down together with the lats |
| Lower and middle traps M. trapezius, pars ascendens et transversa | Synergist | Draw the shoulder blades down and back and hold them there |
| Rhomboids Mm. rhomboidei | Synergist | Draw the shoulder blades in towards the spine as the elbows reach the bottom |
| Rear delts M. deltoideus, pars spinalis | Synergist | Help bring the elbows down to your sides and slightly behind your torso |
| Biceps and brachialis M. biceps brachii, M. brachialis | Synergist | Bend the elbow while the upper arm pulls down |
| Forearms Mm. antebrachii | Stabiliser | Grip the handles |
| Core M. erector spinae, M. rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | Keeps your upper body upright and your chest lifted |
The lats pull your arms down from overhead, working together with the teres major and the muscles around your shoulder blades. Because your shoulder blades move down first, every rep starts in your back, and your biceps and brachialis join in as your elbows bend.
Explained in full
Andreas shows the seated pulldown from behind: shoulders down first, then the elbows, plus breathing and tempo, and why he uses D-handles. · 1:55
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
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Sources
Sperandei S, Barros MA, Silveira-Júnior PC, Oliveira CG. (2009). Electromyographic analysis of three different types of lat pull-down. J Strength Cond Res 23(7):2033–2038. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b8d30a — Measures three lat pulldown techniques (front, behind the neck, close V-grip) in 24 trained men at 80% of their one-rep max. Lat activity was the same in all three; the pecs also worked, most in the front pulldown, while the rear delts and biceps were most active behind the neck. The basis for the muscle table (lats as prime mover, rear delts and biceps as synergists). It does not measure elbow position, so Andreas' point that the chest takes over when the elbows drift forward appears as a coaching fix rather than a finding. Young trained men; there is no measurement specific to the Academy's target group (aged 40 to 60, training two to four hours a week). (Evidence type: EMG)
Andersen V, Fimland MS, Wiik E, Skoglund A, Saeterbakken AH. (2014). Effects of grip width on muscle strength and activation in the lat pull-down. J Strength Cond Res 28(4):1135–1142. DOI: 10.1097/JSC.0000000000000232 — Compares narrow, medium and wide grips on the lat pulldown (6RM) in 15 men. Loads were close (80.3 / 80.0 / 77.3 kg), and lat, trapezius and infraspinatus activity was similar across the whole movement. The basis for listing the traps and for not presenting grip width as decisive. No study has measured single handles on a twin cable machine. A small sample of young men, so transfer to people aged 40 to 60 is limited. (Evidence type: EMG)
Snyder BJ, Leech JR. (2009). Voluntary increase in latissimus dorsi muscle activity during the lat pull-down following expert instruction. J Strength Cond Res 23(8):2204–2209. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181bb7213 — Eight women with no strength training experience pulled at 30% of their maximum before and after technique instruction. Afterwards lat activity was markedly higher, while biceps and teres major were unchanged. Indirect support for the idea that instruction (Andreas: shoulder blades down first) shifts the work into the back; the abstract does not say exactly what was instructed, and no study has tested the shoulder-blade cue itself on the pulldown. Beginners like many clients, but very few, young and at a low load. (Evidence type: EMG)
Doma K, Deakin GB, Ness KF. (2013). Kinematic and electromyographic comparisons between chin-ups and lat-pull down exercises. Sports Biomech 12(3):302–313. DOI: 10.1080/14763141.2012.760204 — Compares the chin-up (underhand grip) and the lat pulldown for movement and muscle activity. In the pulldown, biceps and lats were more active in the pulling phase than the pecs, triceps and spinal erectors; in the chin-up, biceps, spinal erector activity and shoulder movement were greater. The basis for 'similar to a pull-up, same main muscles' and for listing the biceps as a synergist. It does not support Andreas' word 'identical', so the page says 'similar'. Sample size not given in the abstract. (Evidence type: EMG)
Youdas JW, Amundson CL, Cicero KS, Hahn JJ, Harezlak DT, Hollman JH. (2010). Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. J Strength Cond Res 24(12):3404–3414. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c — Measures muscle activity during pull-ups in 25 young adults (21 men, 4 women). The lats were highest, alongside the biceps, infraspinatus, lower traps and pecs; the lower traps and pecs switched on first. Measured on the pull-up rather than the pulldown, and used here only to show that the lower traps work early in vertical pulling. Limited transfer to people aged 40 to 60. (Evidence type: EMG)
Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn DI, Krieger JW. (2015). Effect of repetition duration during resistance training on muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med 45(4):577–585. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-015-0304-0 — Eight studies (at least 6 weeks, healthy adults, training to failure): repetition durations of 0.5 to 8 seconds produced similar muscle growth, while very slow reps over 10 seconds tended to produce less. Andreas' tempo (one second to pull, one second to hold, two to three seconds back) falls within that range; the page gives control as the reason. No study has used exactly this tempo. The principle is general and transfers well to the target group. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Fragala MS, Cadore EL, Dorgo S, Izquierdo M, Kraemer WJ, Peterson MD, Ryan ED. (2019). Resistance training for older adults: position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. J Strength Cond Res 33(8):2019–2052. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003230 — NSCA position statement: resistance training strongly counters the loss of strength and muscle mass and preserves function and independence with age. It names no single exercise. Used here only as the general framework for cable strength training in the target group; there is no lat pulldown study in people aged 40 to 60. (Evidence type: Review)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.