Lat Pulldown

How to perform the Lat Pulldown

1. Adjust the thigh pad so your legs are locked in tight enough that the pad does not lift when you pull; this is your anchor point.
2. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width with a pronated grip and sit with the cable angled slightly behind you, torso tilted maybe 10–20 degrees back.
3. Start each rep with active shoulders — depress the shoulder blades down and back before the elbows begin to bend.
4. Pull the bar toward your upper chest by driving the elbows down and back, leading with the elbows rather than yanking with the hands.
5. Stop the bar at the upper chest; do not crank it down past the collarbones, which forces the shoulders into internal rotation.
6. Return the bar overhead under control, allowing a full stretch at the top without letting the shoulders shrug up around the ears.

Suggested working range: 8–12 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Leaning back excessively and using the torso swing to pull the bar down — turns the lat pulldown into a sloppy seated row.
• •Cranking the bar down past the collarbones and forcing the shoulders into internal rotation.
• •Pulling with the biceps first by curling the elbows in rather than driving them down and back.
• •Letting the shoulders shrug up to the ears at the top of every rep, which loses the lat stretch and engagement.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.