Cable Straight-Arm Pulldown

oec:cable-straight-arm-pulldown

A cable isolation exercise that targets the latissimus dorsi by extending the shoulders through a wide arc with straight arms.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Straight-Arm Pulldown, Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown, Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown, Cable Lat Pushdown, Straight-arm Pull Down (bar Attachment), High-pulley pullover, Straight-Arm Pulldown (Cable)

How to do it

Setup

Attach a straight bar or wide handle to the high pulley of a cable station.
Grasp the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
Step back a couple of feet to create tension on the cable, hinge forward slightly at the hips, and maintain a soft bend in your knees and elbows.

Movement

Keeping your arms fixed with only a slight, unchanging bend at the elbows, pull the bar down in a sweeping arc toward your thighs.
Contract your lats firmly as the bar approaches your hips.
Control the bar as it travels back along the same path overhead until you feel a deep stretch in your lats.
Stop when your hands are slightly above eye level before initiating the next repetition.

Breathing

Exhale as you sweep the bar down toward your thighs, and inhale as you return the bar overhead under control.

Cues

Drive your hands toward your pockets.
Lock your elbows in place throughout.
Keep your chest proud and brace your core.

Common faults

Bending and extending the elbows, turning the movement into a triceps pushdown.: Maintain a fixed, soft elbow angle throughout the entire range of motion and move purely from the shoulders.
Using excessive body English and swinging the torso.: Lock your torso at a slight forward angle and keep your core braced to isolate the back muscles.

Safety

Do not allow the weight stack to pull your shoulders into painful hyperflexion at the top of the movement.

Muscles

Latissimus dorsi prime mover
Teres major prime mover
Triceps, long head synergist
Rear deltoid synergist
Pectoralis major, sternal head synergist
Rectus abdominis stabilizer

Joints

Shoulder: Extension
Shoulder blade: Depression, Downward rotation
Elbow: Isometric stabilization
Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement: Pull
Modality: Hypertrophy, Strength
Mechanics: isolation
Force: pull
Laterality: bilateral
Kinetic chain: open
Level: beginner
Equipment: Cable machine
Record: Repetitions and Load
Load: external, weight stack

substitute for Dumbbell Pullover
substitute for Machine Pullover

Sources

wger: Straight-arm Pull Down (bar Attachment), by tuckerm (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
wger: High-pulley pullover, by Franpol (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
wger: Straight-Arm Pulldown (Cable), by barry (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

cable-straight-arm-pulldown.json