How to Do a Lat Pulldown

The lat pulldown machine is one of the most popular pieces of equipment in a gym.

Most well-equipped gyms have a lat pulldown machine. Throughout the movement, keep your abdominals engaged and avoid arching your lower back or shrugging your shoulders to maintain a safer posture.

A. Sit facing the bar. If necessary, adjust the seat height and/or the knee pad to allow knees to bend at 90 degrees while keeping feet flat on the floor.

B. Extend arms to reach overhead and grasp the bar with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width, palms facing toward you. This is the starting position.

C. Lean torso slightly back and pull the bar toward chest (just below collarbone) during an exhale. Think of pulling elbows and shoulder blades down and back as you pull the bar.

D. Slowly return the bar by raising and extending arms overhead and abducting shoulders on an inhale.

Lat pulldowns are a relatively simple exercise that, when done with proper form, activate your back muscles with help from your shoulders, biceps, and core.

Lat pulldowns work several muscles in your upper body. These include your back muscles (latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius, teres major), shoulder and arm muscles (rear delts, infraspinatus, brachialis, brachioradialis, biceps), flexors of the wrist and hand, and abdominals.

Lat pulldowns help develop strength in your back muscles and increase performance in other movements, such as pull-ups and chin-ups, and is a great accessory exercise to barbell movements