If you have trouble feeling your back work on traditional lat pulldowns, then straight arm lat pulldown exercise is for you. It’s a fantastic isolation exercise to target your lats through a greater range of motion.
Check out our guide to the top lat pulldown machines for home gyms to find one that has durability, material, and functionality you'll love.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know on how you can perform straight arm pulldown to get that bulkier and stronger lats.
Quick Summary
- Examples of straight-arm lat pulldown variation exercises are single-arm lat pulldown, straight-arm band pulldown, and straight-arm pullover.
- The benefits of straight arm lat pulldown include improved posture, improved mind-muscle connection, and they give biceps rest.
- Perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 straight arm lat pulldowns, gradually increasing sets and reps for a greater challenge.
- The most common mistakes most people make when performing lat pulldown workouts are bending arms, and performing partial reps.
Straight Arm Lat Pulldown Muscles Worked
Primary Muscle
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Latissimus dorsi
Straight arm lat pulldown exercise focuses the latissimus dorsi, a.k.a lats, on a longer period of time, which activates your upper and midback muscles more than other lat pulldowns. It helps form that head-turning V-taper.
Secondary Muscles
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Teres Major
Teres major is a thick muscle in the upper arm. It is important for maintaining proper posture and swinging the arms.
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Triceps
If you want to build bulkier arms, working on your triceps is the key, and the straight arm pulldown does just that.
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Chest
Straight arm lat pulldown also engages the chest muscles. Working out your chest muscles increases your upper body strength and power for pushing and pulling heavy objects.
Straight Arm Pulldown Benefits
Straight arm pulldown variations are one of the best isolation workouts for your lats. Here are other results you can gain from this workout:
1. Increases mind-muscle connection
The mind-muscle connection is the conscious contraction of your muscles. It means an exercise is more effective the more you feel the contraction of your muscles [1]. This is also confirmed by the study published on the National Library of Medicine website [2].
With straight arm pulldown, the more you feel the contraction of your lats without other muscles getting in the way.
2. Improves posture
You will not only get broader and stronger lats but also better posture. Doing the exercise over time trains our body to be brought down and our shoulders to be brought together.
3. Gives the biceps rest
If your arms ever felt tired after back-to-back lat pulldowns, it could be that your biceps are too tired to do any more pulling-type movement.
Straight arm pulldowns involve little biceps activation, so you can give your biceps a rest and still focus on working your lats.
How to do Straight Arm Lat Pulldown
Reap the best possible results from this lat pulldown variation by doing it in proper form.
Equipment
You will need a pulley system and a cable machine with a lat bar attachment to perform straight arm pulldown.
Set-up
- Adjust the height of the bar to shoulder level.
- Stand at an adjustable cable machine with your feet at shoulder width.
- Hold the lat pulldown bar with an overhand grip.
- Keep your knees slightly bent and feet shoulder width apart.
Action
- Exhale, squeeze your lats, and pulldown the straight arm bar down to your thighs.
- Keep your arms straight, elbows locked. Pause for a count or two.
- Inhale while slowly returning to the starting position and repeat!
Recommendation
Complete 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps of the straight arm lat pulldown. You may increase the number of sets and reps as you get comfortable to challenge yourself.
Straight Arm Pulldown Mistakes
These are common mistakes you would like to avoid when performing this workout:
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Bending Your Arms
If you bend your arms way too much, it puts more tension on your triceps than it should, and it becomes an arm exercise instead of a lats isolation exercise.
So, try to slightly bend your arms keeping it almost straight, and focus the contraction on your lats.
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Not Utilizing Mind-Muscle Connection
Intensify your workout by visualizing lat contractions during each rep. Quality trumps quantity; focus on muscle activation for efficient, effective training.
Many gym persons go through the movement but don’t actually connect their minds to the muscles being worked. If you’re doing this, you are missing the great results of the whole exercise.
So, make sure to feel the lats being worked while doing the straight arm pulldown movement.
-
Completing Partial Reps
Partial pull-downs with heavy weights risk injury and reduce effectiveness. Full range is essential.
So, bring the straight arm bar way down your thighs and feel the contraction of your upper back muscles.
Other similar exercises:
Straight Arm Pulldown Variations
Here are other kinds of back exercises you can perform similar to straight arm pulldown:
1. Single Arm Lat Pulldown
- Stand at an adjustable cable device with your feet.
- Hold the handle with your palm facing in, your torso fully erect, and your arm fully extended.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together, inhale, and pull the handle to your upper chest. Pause for a count or two.
- Exhale, release the handle back to its original position and repeat!
Straight Arm Band Pulldown
This is a home variation of a straight arm pulldown workout using a cable stack machine.
- Stand with your knees slightly bent, your back flat, and your arms at shoulder height.
- Pull down the band towards your body until it is parallel with your back while keeping a straight posture.
- Bring your arms to the starting position and repeat!
3. Straight Arm Pullover
- Lie your back flat down on the bench, your legs bent, and your feet firm upon the surface.
- With an overhand grip, grab a pair of dumbbells and extend your arms straight up above your chest.
- Bring your arms back until the dumbbells touch the bench.
- Restore the dumbbell back to the starting position and repeat!
Straight Arm Pulldown Alternatives
Here are some alternatives you can also try for your back muscles exercises:
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Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
For effective back workouts, use a full-range lat pull-down. Grip wide, exhale on pull, and return slowly.
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Underhand Barbell Row
Lean at 45 degrees, underhand grip the barbell, and engage lats for each pull towards the belly. Repeat.
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Alternating Lat Pulldown
From my experience, alternating lat pulldowns effectively balance right and left back muscles. Using separate handles, focus on each side individually for balanced strength.
FAQs
Are Straight Arm Lat Pulldowns Suitable for Beginners?
Yes, straight arm lat pulldowns can be suitable for beginners. It's important to start with a lighter weight to master the form and prevent injury.
Can I Substitute Traditional Lat Pulldowns with Straight Arm Variations?
No, you cannot substitute traditional lat pulldowns with straight arm variations because the latter primarily isolates lats, while traditional pulldowns engage both back and biceps for a more comprehensive workout.
Reference:
- https://fitnessvolt.com/straight-arm-pulldowns/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26700744/
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