Exercise guide · evidence-graded

Lat Pulldown Machine

The machine lat pulldown is a seated vertical pull on a lever machine: with your thighs held under pads, you pull a pair of handles from straight arms overhead down to shoulder height along the machine's fixed path. It works the lats above all, with the upper back and biceps assisting, and the guided path means little balance or bracing is needed.

Also called: Machine Lat Pulldown, Plate-Loaded Pulldown, Iso-Lateral Pulldown, Selectorised Lat Pulldown · Equipment: machine · Pattern: pull

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How to do it

Step by step

Set the seat so that, with your thighs under the pads, you can only just reach the handles with your arms straight overhead.
Sit down, pin your thighs under the pads and keep your feet flat on the floor.
Reach up and take the handles with the grip the machine provides, then sit tall with your chest up.
Start the pull by drawing your shoulder blades down, then drive your elbows down towards your ribs along the machine's path.
Pull until the handles reach about shoulder height, and squeeze your lats briefly.
Let the handles rise under control until your arms are straight and you feel a stretch through your lats.
On machines with independent arms, you can also pull one arm at a time. After the last rep, let the handles return fully to the start before you let go.

Coaching cues

Shoulder blades down first, elbows second
Drive your elbows down towards your ribs
Chest tall, thighs pinned under the pads
Full stretch at the top of every rep
Pull both handles at the same speed

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	C
Teres major	Secondary	C
Biceps brachii	Secondary	C
Trapezius: lower	Secondary	C
Rhomboids	Secondary	C
Posterior deltoid: posterior	Secondary	C
Rotator cuff	Stabiliser	C

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

Common faults

What goes wrong, and the fix

Seat set at the wrong height

Fix: Set the seat so your arms are straight overhead when you hold the handles.

Letting the handles fly up

Fix: Let the handles rise under control until your arms are straight.

Leaning far back

Fix: Sit tall with your chest up and keep your torso still.

Pulling with the hands

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

One arm leading

Fix: Pull both handles at the same speed, or train one arm at a time.

Shoulders shrugging up at the top

Fix: Keep your shoulders away from your ears as the handles rise.

Programming

What the research says

Muscle growth · first choiceRehab & prehab · first choiceGeneral fitness · first choiceEndurance · first choiceStrength

Machine or free weight — A meta-analysis comparing machine and free-weight training found similar muscle growth, while strength gains were greatest on the kind of equipment people trained with. There is no direct research comparing machine and cable pulldowns.
Load and effort — Research comparing loads finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure. The guided path makes sets close to failure and drop sets simple to run, and many lifters use about 8–15 reps.
Grip — On cable pulldowns, EMG studies found an overhand grip produced more lat activity than an underhand grip, while grip width made little difference. On machines, the handle position is usually set by the design.
One arm at a time — Machines with independent arms let each side work on its own. Many lifters use this to even out a stronger and weaker side, although there is no direct research on it for this exercise.
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 lat pulldown machine 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.