Straight-Arm Pulldown Form Guide | Lat Isolation
Learn the proper technique for the straight-arm pulldown to isolate your lats and improve back width with our expert coaching guide.
How to Perform
- Attach a straight bar or rope handle to the high pulley of a cable station.
- Grip the attachment with hands shoulder-width apart and take two steps back to create tension on the cable.
- Hinge slightly at the hips and keep your chest upright while maintaining a soft bend in your elbows.
- Pull the bar down toward your thighs in a wide arc while keeping your arms locked in the fixed, slightly bent position.
- Squeeze your lats at the bottom of the movement when the bar reaches your legs.
- Control the weight as it returns to the starting position, maintaining tension throughout the entire eccentric phase.
Common Mistakes
- Bending the elbows excessively and turning the move into a triceps extension
- Using momentum or swinging the torso to move the weight
- Allowing the shoulders to shrug up toward the ears during the stretch
- Shortening the range of motion by stopping the bar too high
Muscles Worked
Primary movers
- Lats
Stabilizers
- Rear Deltoids
- Triceps Long Head
- Teres Major
- Abdominals
Related Guides
- 1-Arm Half-Kneeling Lat Pulldown — Back
- Alternating High Cable Row — Back
- Alternative DB Gorilla rows — Back
Lats · Back