Straight-Arm Pulldown

Start

Finish

How to do it

Stand facing a high pulley with a rope or straight bar, hinge forward slightly, lock a small elbow bend, and sweep straight arms from overhead down to your thighs using only the shoulder joint.

Muscles worked

Primary: back · Also works: core, rear delts

Equipment

Cables, Full gym

Common mistakes

• Turning it into a triceps pushdown by bending and extending the elbows
• Standing too close so the cable path fights you instead of loading the lats
• Going heavy enough that the torso has to rise and fall to complete reps

Variations

• Rope straight-arm pulldown with a spread at the bottom
• Single-arm straight-arm pulldown

Can't do this one? Swap it for

• Band Straight-Arm Pulldown
• Cable Lat Pullover
• Lat Pulldown

Related exercises

• Pull-Upback
• Lat Pulldownback
• Barbell Bent-Over Rowback
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Rowback
• Resistance Band Rowback
• Inverted Rowback