Close-grip lat pulldown: how to do it

Main muscles: Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major. Helpers: Biceps, Rhomboids. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.

Equipment

Cable

Reps

8–12

Rest

105 s

Muscle group

Back

How to do it

Narrow neutral handle, torso almost upright, chest open.
Pull the handle to the lower chest, elbows down and back.
Let it up slowly and allow the shoulder blades to rise.

Common mistakes

Leaning back to move more weight, jerking.

▶ Form video on YouTube

Muscles worked

Front

Back

primary·secondary

Primary: Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major
Secondary: Biceps, Rhomboids

A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.

Alternatives: similar exercises

One-arm dumbbell row Dumbbells · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major, Rhomboids Lat pulldown Cable · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major Straight-arm pulldown Cable · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major Pull-ups Bodyweight · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major Chin-ups Bodyweight · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Biceps Barbell row Barbell · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Rhomboids, Middle traps

Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight

GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.

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