Close-grip lat pulldown
Full guide coming soon
Lat Pulldown (Wide Grip)
The wide-grip lat pulldown is a cable machine pull where you bring a long bar down to your upper chest. It trains the lats and upper back in the same vertical pulling pattern as a pull-up, but you can set the load lower than your body weight.
- Beginner
- Compound
- Lat pulldown
- lats
- upper back
- biceps
Left: start position. Right: end position. Orange: the muscles that work.
How to do the lat pulldown
- Set the knee pad so your thighs are locked under it. Sit down and grip the bar wider than your shoulders, palms facing forward.
- Lean back slightly from the hips and set your shoulders down and back, away from your ears.
- Take a breath and brace with your arms straight above you.Breathe
- Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down to your sides.
- Pause briefly with the bar near your chest and your shoulder blades pulled down.
- Let the bar rise slowly until your arms are straight, then repeat.
Breathing. Breathe in with your arms straight at the top, then breathe out as you pull the bar to your chest. Breathe in again as the bar goes back up.
Tips
- Think about pulling with your elbows, not your hands. Your hands are only hooks.
- Use lifting straps if your grip fails before your back is tired.
Muscles worked
The lat pulldown works mainly the lats, upper back and biceps.
- Lats (main muscle)
- Upper back (main muscle)
- Biceps (main muscle)
- Rear delts (also works)
- Forearms (also works)
| Muscle | Role |
|---|---|
| Lats | Main mover. The lats pull the upper arms down and in toward your sides. |
| Upper back | The rhomboids, middle traps and lower traps pull the shoulder blades down and together at the bottom. |
| Biceps | Bend the elbows as you pull. They help, but the lats should do most of the work. |
| Rear delts (also works) | Help to draw the arms down and back at the end of the pull. |
Sets, reps and rest
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner (first weeks) | 3 | 10-12 reps | 75 s |
| Build muscle | 3 | 8-12 reps | 2 min |
| Get stronger | 4 | 4-6 reps | 3 min |
| General fitness | 3 | 10-12 reps | 75 s |
| Fat loss (with more daily activity) | 3 | 12-15 reps | 60 s |
These numbers come from the same rules as the Oh My Coach app, with this exercise as the first main lift of the day. Use a load that leaves 1 to 3 reps in reserve. When you reach the top of the range in every set, add a little load or move to the harder version (double progression). What is double progression?
Common mistakes
-
Leaning far back and rowing the bar
Why it matters: A big lean turns the movement into a row and uses body weight to move the load.
Fix: Keep a slight lean and a still torso. If you must rock, lower the weight.
-
Pulling the bar behind the neck
Why it matters: It forces the shoulders into a position many people cannot reach comfortably, with no clear benefit.
Fix: Pull to the front, to your upper chest.
-
Shrugging at the top of each rep
Why it matters: With the shoulders up by your ears, the lats start the pull from a weak position and the upper traps take over.
Fix: Set your shoulders down before the first pull and keep them there.
-
Letting the bar fly up
Why it matters: You miss the lowering phase, which is half the work, and the weight stack can jerk your shoulders.
Fix: Control the bar all the way up to straight arms.
Make it easier or harder
This exercise gets harder with load. When every set reaches the top of the rep range with good form, add the smallest weight step you have. To make it easier, use less load or a shorter range of motion while you learn the movement.
Versions of this exercise
Band lat pulldown
Full guide coming soon
Prone lat pulldown
Full guide coming soon
Alternatives
Same main muscle and the same movement pattern first, from the same rules as the app's swap list.
What you need
Take care if
This exercise loads the shoulder. If your shoulder hurts, stop. Options that do not load the shoulder in the same way: Prone lat pulldown. For pain that does not go away, see a doctor or a physiotherapist.
If your shoulder hurts at the top of the pull, stop. Try a narrower grip, or stop the bar a little before your arms are fully straight.
Questions
What muscles does the lat pulldown work?
It works the lats, the upper back and the biceps. An EMG study found the wide-grip pulldown gave one of the highest ratios of lat activity to biceps activity among common back exercises.
Is a wide grip better than a close grip for the lats?
Not clearly. In an EMG study of the lat pulldown, an overhand grip gave more lat activity than an underhand grip. Grip width, shoulder-width or wider, did not change it. Use the grip that feels best on your shoulders.
Is the lat pulldown as good as a pull-up?
Both train the same vertical pull. The pulldown lets you choose a load below your body weight and add small amounts, so it is useful before you can do pull-ups and for extra volume after you can.
How can I do lat pulldowns at home?
Anchor a resistance band above a door and pull it down to your chest while you kneel. It trains the same pattern with less load.