Exercise guide · evidence-graded

Cable Lat Pulldown

The lat pulldown is a seated vertical pull on a cable or pulldown machine: with your thighs held under a pad, you pull a bar or handles from straight arms overhead down to your upper chest. It works the lats above all, with the upper back and biceps assisting, and it trains the same pulling pattern as a pull-up with a load you can set lighter or heavier than your bodyweight.

Also called: Lat Pulldown, Wide Grip Pulldown, Close Grip Pulldown, Lat Pulldown (or Pull-ups) · Equipment: cable · Pattern: pull

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How to do it

Step by step

Adjust the thigh pad so your thighs sit snugly under it with your feet flat on the floor.
Stand and take the bar or handles with an overhand grip, commonly between shoulder width and about one and a half times shoulder width, then sit down with your arms straight overhead.
Sit tall and lean back slightly, about 10–20°, with your trunk braced.
Start the pull by drawing your shoulder blades down, then drive your elbows down and slightly back towards your ribs.
Pull until the bar reaches your upper chest, in front of your face, and squeeze your lats briefly.
Let the bar rise under control until your arms are straight and you feel a stretch through your lats, keeping tension on.
Keep the same lean on every rep. After the last rep, let the bar rise to the top before you stand up, so the weight settles on the stack.

Coaching cues

Shoulder blades down first, elbows second
Drive your elbows to your back pockets
Bar to your upper chest, in front of your face
Lean back slightly and stay tall
Full stretch at the top, under control

In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.

Muscles worked

What it trains

Muscle	Role	Evidence
Latissimus dorsi	Prime mover	A
Teres major	Secondary	C
Biceps brachii	Secondary	B
Trapezius: lower	Secondary	C
Brachialis	Secondary	C
Brachioradialis	Secondary	C
Trapezius: middle	Secondary	C
Rhomboids	Secondary	C
Posterior deltoid: posterior	Secondary	C
Pectoralis major: sternocostal (mid)	Secondary	C
Rotator cuff	Stabiliser	C
Forearm flexors	Stabiliser	C
Rectus abdominis	Stabiliser	C
Erector spinae	Stabiliser	C

Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.

Common faults

What goes wrong, and the fix

Leaning far back to move the stack

Fix: Hold a slight lean of about 10–20° and pull with your elbows.

Pulling with the hands

Fix: Draw your shoulder blades down first, then lead with your elbows.

Cutting the top of the rep short

Fix: Let the bar rise until your arms are straight on every rep.

Pulling behind the neck

Fix: Pull the bar to your upper chest, in front of your face.

Shoulders shrugging up at the top

Fix: Let the bar rise under control and keep your shoulders away from your ears.

Thighs lifting off the seat

Fix: Set the thigh pad snugly before the first rep.

Programming

What the research says

Muscle growth · first choiceGeneral fitness · first choiceStrengthRehab & prehabSport performanceEndurance

Grip — EMG studies found an overhand grip produced more lat activity than an underhand grip, while changing grip width made little difference to lat activity or to 6-rep strength. A medium overhand grip is a common default.
Bar path — Studies comparing paths found pulling to the front of the chest gave the same or higher muscle activity than pulling behind the neck.
Load and effort — Research comparing loads finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure. Many lifters use about 8–15 reps, and the stack makes sets close to failure simple to run.
Stretched range — In trained lifters, reps focused on the stretched half of the movement and full-range reps gave similar upper-body gains over eight weeks, including similar lat pulldown strength-endurance. Both include the stretched position at the top.
Volume and frequency — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns, and training a muscle at least twice a week has been associated with more growth than once.

Alternatives · VALDA FLEX

Swap it mid-workout

With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.

Log the cable lat pulldown in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.

General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.