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Straight Arm Lat Pulldown (Cable)

Primary muscle
Lats
Secondary muscles
Triceps
Equipment
Cable

Overview

A standing cable exercise that trains the lats with the elbows kept nearly straight. It isolates the lats with little help from the biceps.

How to do it

  1. Attach a straight bar or rope to a high pulley and grip it about shoulder width.

  2. Step back and hinge slightly forward with your arms extended at eye level.

  3. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and hold that angle.

  4. Pull the bar down in an arc toward your thighs using your lats.

  5. Pause briefly, then let the bar rise slowly back to eye level.

Tips

  • Think of pushing the bar down with your palms rather than gripping hard.
  • Keep your shoulders down and your chest up during the whole set.

Common mistakes

  • Bending your elbows, which turns it into a triceps pushdown.
  • Bending forward at the hips to move the weight.
  • Letting the weight pull your shoulders up at the top.

Similar exercises

All Lats exercises

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