How to do the lat pulldown
The lat pulldown is the pull-up with a dial on it. Because you choose the load, it is the easiest vertical pull to progress in small steps, which makes it a good place to build the strength a pull-up needs.
- Type
- Lift
- Level
- Beginner
- Equipment
- Cable machine
- Works
- Lats
- Also worked
- Biceps, Mid-back, and Rear deltoids
- Also called
- Cable Pulldown and Wide Grip Pulldown
Set up
- Set the thigh pad tight enough that you cannot lift off the seat when you pull.
- Choose a grip a little wider than your shoulders — wider is not better.
- Sit down, take the bar, and let your arms straighten fully so your shoulders rise slightly.
The rep
- Pull your shoulder blades down first, then bend your elbows.
- Bring the bar to your upper chest, keeping your torso close to vertical with only a slight lean.
- Pause briefly with your chest tall and elbows by your ribs.
- Let the bar rise back all the way under control until your arms are straight again.
Cues that help
- Drive your elbows into your back pockets.
- Chest up to the bar rather than bar down to the chest.
- Lean back a few degrees at most, and keep it the same on every rep.
Common mistakes
Leaning back to move more weight
Rocking backwards turns it into a row. If you want a row, do a row; if you want a pulldown, sit up.
Pulling behind the neck
Behind-the-neck pulldowns force the shoulders into extreme external rotation for no extra benefit. Pull to the front.
Cutting the top of the rep
Not letting the arms straighten skips the stretch where most of the growth stimulus lives.
How to progress it
Add weight in the smallest increment the stack allows, or add a rep. Because the pulldown is machine-loaded and stable, it is one of the few exercises where you can push close to failure most weeks without much cost.
How to track it
Log sets, reps and weight, and note the grip in the equipment field if you alternate between wide and neutral — the same stack setting feels very different on each.
Log your lat pulldown
Opens the lift form with Lat Pulldown already filled in. Free account, no card.
Lat Pulldown questions
Is a lat pulldown as good as a pull-up?
For building the lats, close. For learning to control your own bodyweight, no. Use pulldowns to build volume and pull-ups to build the skill.
How much should I pull down?
If your goal is a pull-up, aim to work up to sets of eight at around your own bodyweight, then start testing pull-ups.
Wide grip or neutral grip?
Neutral is usually kinder to the shoulders and elbows and lets most people pull more. Wide feels more like a pull-up. Rotate them if both feel fine.