Lat pulldown: how to do it
Main muscles: Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major. Helpers: Biceps, Brachialis. 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
- Thighs under the pads, torso leaning back slightly and held there.
- Pull the bar to the upper chest, elbows down, shoulder blades together.
- Return slowly, all the way to a full stretch of the lats.
Common mistakes
Pulling behind the neck, swinging the torso.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major
- Secondary
- Biceps, Brachialis
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Programs that use it
- Full body, 2 days3 × 8–12
- Full body, 3 days3 × 8–12
Alternatives: similar exercises
Close-grip 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
One-arm dumbbell row
Dumbbells · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Teres major, Rhomboids
Chin-ups
Bodyweight · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Biceps
Pullover
Dumbbells · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Serratus anterior
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.
Free forever for the first 500