A thick, well-developed back screams strength and power. Almost all of the major lifts you perform in the gym require a strong back, and a wider back makes your waist appear smaller. A strong back is also important for keeping shoulders healthy.
While most back training programs focus on compound movements like the row or pull-up, the straight-arm pulldown is an effective, underused isolation movement in your quest for a bigger, more chiseled back.
Isolation exercises can help you focus on a specific muscle group or help you recover from an injury. Although compound exercises are the most important part of your workout routine, there is always room for accessory work, such as the straight-arm pulldown.
How to Do the Straight-Arm Pulldown
To do a straight-arm pulldown, start in a standing position and hold a straight bar or rope attachment in a cable pulley system.
Step 1 — Set Up
Attach the bar or rope to the top of the pulley system so that the pulley system is secure and won't move around when you're using it. With the attachment in both hands,step back until there is tension on the attachment. You should feel a stretch in your lats when you lean your torso forward slightly.
Try to keep your shoulders externally rotated so that the inside of your upper arm is facing your torso.
Step 2 — Pull Down
Keep your arms slightly bent as you sweep the bar down towards your body. Your arms should remain mostly straight. The attachment should make contact with your upper thighs or be adjacent to them if you’re using a rope.
To properly do a push-up, start by depressing your shoulders and then bringing your arms down and back.
Step 3 — Reverse and Control
Pull the handle back to the starting position while maintaining control.
If you want to focus on your lats, changing your torso angle may help.
Straight-Arm Pulldown Sets and Reps
The straight-arm pulldown is an exercise that can help you build your lats and increase overall training volume. Isolation exercises, such as the straight-arm pulldown, typically involve performing a higher number of repetitions and placing an emphasis on the amount of time the muscles are under tension.
- To Build Muscle: Perform 2-4 sets of 10-20 repetitions with a moderate load and controlled tempo.
- To Warm-Up or Pre-Exhaust: Perform 1-2 sets of 10-15 repetitions with a lighter load to engage your lats.
Common Straight-Arm Pulldown Mistakes
The straight-arm pulldown is a relatively simple exercise, but there is still some room for error. Utilize this lift in your quest for a bigger back in the most optimal way possible to increase your chances of success.
Going Too Heavy
You won't be working too hard if you don't push too much intensity on the straight-arm pulldown. The purpose of accessory movements is to develop a particular body part with a concentrated effort. If the weight you are lifting is too heavy, your body will try to make up for it by using other muscles. Use weights that are heavy enough to challenge you, but not so heavy that your form suffers. Save your maximum effort for exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time.
Not Focusing On the Muscle
The main difference between training for strength and hypertrophy is your goal or intention. While training for strength, you want to be able to move a maximal load from one point to another. If you're training for speed or power, you need to be able to accelerate the weight as quickly as possible.
When you want to build muscle, you want to create a lot of stress on your muscles and activate as many muscle fibers as you can. If you let the triceps muscles take over when you do the straight-arm pulldown exercise, you will reduce the amount of tension on the muscles in your back, which will make the exercise less effective.
Going Too Light
The goal of training is to cause an improvement. If you keep using the same exercises with the same weights, your body will get used to it and stop improving. Despite not needing to use a lot of weight for the straight-arm pulldown, you should still follow the progressive overload rules.
To continue making progress with this movement, you'll need to increase the weight, number of repetitions, or change the way you perform the repetition. Don't neglect your accessory movements just because they are not as impressive as a heavy barbell lift.
Straight-Arm Pulldown Variations
Although the basics are always a good choice, a little bit of something new can be fun too. You can find many ways to challenge the traditional straight-arm pulldown by adjusting your grip placement, switching the attachment, or slightly altering the bar path.
Kayak Pulldown
This exercise is a mixture of a traditional straight-arm pulldown and a kayak row. When you are kayaking, you are able to extend your range of motion more than usual. This allows you to use your lats more, and you will be able to feel them working.
Doing straight-arm pulldowns in between other exercises is a great way to get a strong back muscles and an intense back pump.
Unilateral Straight-Arm Pulldown
Including both unilateral and bilateral training in your workout routine has many benefits, but every program should feature a healthy dose of unilateral training to get the most results. The single-arm straight-arm pulldown is more effective than the bilateral version because you can achieve a greater range of motion, which may help with muscle growth.
If you lift weights with both of your arms at the same time, your non-dominant arm might be able to cover up any weakness. However, if you do a straight-arm pulldown with one arm at a time, any imbalances will be more obvious and can be corrected.
Straight-Arm Pulldown Alternatives
There are many other exercises you can use to target and develop your back muscles. Both the lying pullover and chest-supported pulldown will directly target your lats and provide a new stimulus for your body to adapt to.
Dumbbell Pullover
If you're looking for a way to train your lats without using a cable tree, this is the perfect solution. The lying dumbbell pullover is great for targeting your lats and working on the shoulder extension movement.
The pullover is a versatile exercise that can be done using a dumbbell, a kettlebell, or a medicine ball. It provides a good stretch for the lats and works the muscle through its full range of motion.
Chest-Supported Straight-Arm Pulldown
Chest-supported exercises can help prevent cheating and can be especially helpful for people who have lower back pain or other injuries. The exercise will focus on your back rather than your legs by sitting on the bench and taking your legs out of the equation. It will also limit additional body movement or momentum that may interfere with your technique.
Muscles Worked by the Straight-Arm Pulldown
The straight-arm pulldown targets the lats and teres minor muscle primarily. The biceps and triceps work together to extend the arm in this exercise. Working your triceps indirectly will help with extending your arm.
Latissimus Dorsi
The lats are not just the slab of muscle under your armpit; they are actually the largest back muscle and span all the way down to the pelvis. The lats help to bring the arm towards the body, rotate it inwards, and straighten it out.
Even though the lats don't have much to do with being muscular, they are also known as a respiratory accessory muscle and help with your breathing patterns.
Teres Minor
One of four muscles that make up the rotator cuff is the teres minor. The subscapularis muscle is small and originates on the shoulder blade. It is responsible for rotating the shoulder outwards. The pectoralis major not only helps in the movement of the arm across the body, but also aids in extending and bending the arm.
Triceps
The pulldown exercise is designed to target the shoulder muscles. The only joint that moves during this exercise is the shoulder. You will most likely feel a burning sensation in your triceps during your sets. The reason your triceps brachii is the best muscle to use for this exercise is because of its anatomical design.
The long head of your triceps is the muscle that extends from your shoulder to your elbow. It is the only muscle in your triceps that crosses the shoulder joint. In other words, it can help a little bit with moving your upper arm down to your sides. Some triceps stimulation on the pulldown is perfectly normal.
Benefits of the Straight-Arm Pulldown
The straight-arm pulldown is a valuable exercise for anyone looking to build muscle or prepare their shoulders for a heavy day of bench pressing. This is a simple, easy exercise that won't hurt your joints to help you develop your lats muscle.
Isolates Your Lats
Some people pull too hard on their main exercises and get help from their shoulders, biceps, and the momentum. Because of this, the individual back muscles might not be getting enough attention.
To induce muscle hypertrophy, you must put the muscle under stress by recruiting more fibers and putting mechanical tension on the muscle. Training to increase muscle mass is not the same as training for strength. Isolation exercises are effective at bringing up lagging body parts or balancing out asymmetries when added to a larger, balanced training plan.
Serves As a Solid Warm-Up
A large bench press typically requires a strong back. Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body, so your upper back needs to be strong and stable to press effectively and safely.
To keep your form in check while benching and increase your total, engage your lats by pulling the bar to your chest, or think about bending the bar in half. Before you bench press, do a straight-arm pulldown to warm up your shoulders.
Who Should Do the Straight-Arm Pulldown
The straight-arm pulldown deserves to be a part of your training, no matter what your goals or level of training are. The question is, for whom is it most applicable?
Bodybuilders
When preparing for a bodybuilding show, the shape of your backside often separates the winners from the rest of the pack. Creating a well-rounded physique that is aesthetically pleasing to look at is the goal of bodybuilding. This involves having a good mix of size, definition, and symmetry.
A wide, muscular back will make your shoulders look wider in comparison to your waist, or the coveted “v-taper.” Compound lifts are still included in bodybuilders' routines, but you'll often see them using isolation movements like the straight-arm pulldown to create more definition in their muscles.
Strength Athletes
Joint health is very important to strength athletes such as powerlifters and Olympic lifters so that they can compete at their highest level. Aesthetics is not as important to them as it is to bodybuilders. Though compound lifts are the best exercises for developing strength, it is easy to develop imbalances and compensation patterns over time if you do not pay attention.
Choose your accessory work wisely if you want to increase your strength. Use exercises like the straight-arm pulldown to improve your weak links.
Recreational Lifters
If straight-arm pulldowns are the perfect exercise for you, then that means they will help you build muscle, improve joint health, and reap the benefits of resistance training. You don't need much coaching or special equipment to do it. There are still ways to do this exercise even if you don't have a pulley system or a cable station. All you need is a dumbbell or some other type of equipment.
The lat pulldown is a popular exercise for strengthening the muscles in the back.
The lat pulldown is an effective exercise for targeting many muscles of the back and arms, although there are fewer studies investigating it than more popular exercises such as the squat or bench press.
The lat pulldown exercise comes in many different forms, including the close-grip pulldown, wide-grip pulldown, reverse-grip (supination) pulldown, and neutral-grip pulldown.
ANALYZING THE LAT PULLDOWN
The lat pulldown exercise is designed to work many muscles in the back, especially the latissimus dorsi (Figure 1). The main joint motions that occur during the lat pulldown are listed below, but it's important to keep in mind that other joints may move as well depending on how the person doing the exercise performs it.
Concentric Phase (pulling bar towards the chest)
First, the shoulder is brought inward (adduction), then outward (horizontal abduction), the elbow is bent (flexion), and finally the shoulder blades are brought downward (downward rotation) and together (retraction).
Eccentric Phase (returning to the start position)
Shoulder abduction: Moving the arm away from the body Shoulder horizontal adduction: Moving the arm across the body Elbow extension: Extending the arm at the elbow Scapulae upward rotation: Rotating the shoulder blades up Scapulae protraction: Moving the shoulder blades forward
Table 1 provides a list of involved musculature. This is not a complete list, as many muscles are involved in the joint actions listed above. It is also important to note that muscle activation varies depending if the muscle is performing an eccentric muscle action or a concentric muscle contraction, as well as the technique selected by the exerciser.
LAT PULLDOWN: MUSCLES WORKED
| Agonist | > Latissimus Dorsi (largest back muscle) > Teres Major (muscle near the bottom portion of the shoulder blade) |
| Synergist | > Posterior Deltoid (back of the shoulder muscle) > Trapezius- upper, middle, lower) (a large trapezoid shaped muscle of the back) > Rhomboids (muscle that connects to the shoulder blades and spine) > Levator Scapulae (located near the side and back of the neck) > Biceps Brachii (front of upper arm muscle) > Brachialis /Brachioradialis (forearm muscles) |
| Stabilizers | > Triceps brachii (back of upper arm muscle) > Rotator cuff (small muscles situated around the shoulder blades) |
A muscle is said to be eccentrically active when it produces force while lengthening. This usually occurs when the muscle is returning from a shortened (concentric) position back to its natural resting position. This type of contraction is also known as a lengthening contraction, and as the “negative” during resistance training exercises. A concentric muscle contraction is a type of muscle contraction that occurs when a muscle exerts force while shortening.
You can learn more about muscle action here.
HOW TO DO THE LAT PULLDOWN CORRECTLY
Starting Position
> Adjust the lat pulldown machine to fit your body.
- Adjust the pads so your knees are placed securely underneath. For ideal posture, the hips and knees should be roughly at 90° angles with the feet flat and securely on the floor about hip-width apart.
Grip the bar so your hands are shoulder-width or slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
> Abdomen should be drawn-in and braced.
- Drawing-in and abdominal bracing activates the inner unit (transverse abdominis, multifidus, pelvic floor- muscles close to the spine) and global abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis, external obliques – superficial abdominal muscles) offering greater spinal stability.
The best way to work your latissimus dorsi with a cable machine is to lean your torso back about 20-30°.
- Keep the spine in a neutral position and avoid excessive lumbar extension (arching the low-back).
MOVEMENT PATTERN
Pull the bar toward your chest by flexing your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Slowly lower the bar until you feel a slight stretch in your chest muscles and a full contraction of your back muscles. This most commonly happens when the bar is just above or touching the person's upper chest. However, a person's lack of shoulder mobility may prevent them from being able to fully extend their arms. In this case, it may be safer to use the 90° rule, where the upper arms are parallel to the floor and the elbows are flexed at a 90° angle.
- Avoid letting the low-back arch, the head to jut forward, or the shoulders to shrug during this motion in order to maintain an ideal and safe posture.
- Preserve a natural lordosis curvature of the lumbar spine throughout the entire lift.
- Keep the trunk stabilized and avoid swinging the torso throughout the movement. While swinging the torso creates momentum and the ability to use heavier loads, it places less emphasis on the latissimus dorsi and scapulae retractors and more activation of the lumbar erector spinae muscle groups (muscles of the low-back).
Pull It Together
The straight-arm pulldown is an effective exercise for people of all levels who want to improve their back muscles. If your goal is to have healthy shoulders, grow your wingspan, or fill out your T-shirts, the pulldown exercise is a good option to consider.
