WHY DO straight arm pulldowns?
Most guys skip it, because they think if it’s not heavy, it’s not worth doing. Wrong.
If you want wider lats, better Pull-Ups, and a back that looks athletic, this exercise belongs in your program.
Reason being, your biceps have been stealing the show during every Row and Pulldown you’ve ever done. That’s why your arms are smoked while your lats lag behind.
The Straight Arm Pulldown fixes that.
It locks the elbows in place and forces your lats to do the work. No cheating, no shortcuts. Just pure lat isolation and a mind-muscle connection you can feel.
Let’s break down exactly what muscles the Straight Arm Pulldown works, how to do it the right way, the common mistakes that ruin it, plus some programming tips.
STRAIGHT ARM PULLDOWN: MUSCLES WORKED
If there’s one exercise that can teach you the mind-to-muscle connection with your lats, it’s the Straight Arm Pulldown.
Most lifters struggle to “feel” their lats working since the biceps and traps always seem to take over.
But with this movement, you don’t have a choice. The arms stay locked, the elbows don’t bend, and the tension goes straight into the lats.
That’s why it’s not just about building muscle. It’s about learning how to control the muscle you’re trying to grow.
Here are the muscle groups that you can expect to help out during the Straight Arm Pushdown:
LATS (Latissimus dorsi)
The latissimus dorsi are the prime movers here. These are the largest back muscles, stretching from the mid-spine and pelvis all the way up to the humerus (upper arm bone).
The main functions of the lats are shoulder extension, adduction, and internal rotation.
Shoulder extension means pulling the arm down and back, which is exactly the movement pattern emphasized in a straight arm pulldown.
Adduction refers to drawing the arm in toward the torso, while internal rotation allows the arm to rotate inward at the shoulder joint.
Together, these actions explain why the lats are so directly targeted and heavily recruited during this exercise.
During the Straight Arm Pulldown, the lats are loaded in a fully stretched position at the top, when your arms are overhead.
As you pull the bar or rope down in that sweeping arc, the lats shorten under tension, bringing the upper arm behind the body.
This long range of motion creates both a strong stretch and a powerful contraction and these are two keys for muscle growth.
Unlike Rows or Seated Pulldowns, your elbows don’t bend here. That means your biceps can’t take over, and the lats have to do the heavy lifting from start to finish.
TERES MAJOR
This is the long head that runs along the outer side of the upper arm, next to the triceps brachii, and it’s the part that gives the biceps their peak.
The teres major sits just above the lats and attaches from the scapula (shoulder blade) to the humerus.
Its main job? Assist the lats in shoulder extension and adduction.
Think of it as the lats’ sidekick. It’s smaller, but it helps control the motion and adds to the pulling power.
In the Straight Arm Pulldown, it kicks in whenever the arm moves from overhead down toward the torso.
Developing the teres major also contributes to that broad, rounded shape under the armpit, adding to back width.
LONG HEAD OF THE TRICEPS
The triceps are usually thought of as elbow extensors, but the long head of the triceps is unique.
Because it crosses the shoulder joint, it also helps with shoulder extension and this is the same action the lats perform.
In the Straight Arm Pulldown, the long head of the triceps assists the lats in bringing the arms down, especially as you move into the fully contracted position at your sides.
While it’s not the main muscle at work, it benefits from the extra stimulation and adds strength to the movement.
REAR DELTS (posterior deltoids)
The rear delts sit on the back of the shoulder and play a key role in stabilizing the shoulder joint during the pulldown.
They also assist slightly in shoulder extension, though their contribution is small compared to the lats.
What’s more important is their stabilizing function. They help keep the humerus (upper arm bone) in proper alignment as it moves through the arc.
Stronger rear delts mean healthier shoulders and better overall pulling strength.
CORE (ABS AND OBLIQUES)
While the upper body does the pulling, your core keeps the movement stable.
The cable is trying to yank your torso forward, and without proper bracing, you’ll arch your lower back and shift tension away from the lats.
The rectus abdominis and obliques contract to lock your ribs down and resist spinal extension.
This creates a stable platform so the lats can generate maximum force. In other words, if your abs aren’t firing, your lats won’t either.
HOW TO DO A STRAIGHT ARM PULLDOWN
The Straight Arm Pulldown or Straight Arm Pushdown isn’t about moving the most weight. It’s about precision.
Done correctly, it locks your arms into position and forces your back to generate the power. That’s what makes it such a unique tool for building lat size and control.
But here’s the catch: small setup mistakes can turn this into a completely different exercise. To make it effective, you’ve got to nail the form from the very first rep.
STRAIGHT ARM PULLDOWN
HOW TO DO THE STRAIGHT ARM PULLDOWN:
- Start by setting the cable machine to the highest pulley position. Attach either a straight bar for a fixed grip or a rope if you want a little more freedom of movement at the bottom.
- Take hold of the bar with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. If you’re using the rope, a neutral grip (palms facing each other) works best and allows you to separate the ends at the bottom for an even stronger contraction.
- Step back just enough so the cable has tension before you even start the movement. Plant your feet shoulder-width apart, soften your knees, and hinge slightly forward at the hips.
- Keep your chest up and shoulders pulled back. Your elbows should have a slight bend, but the arms stay nearly straight throughout. This setup locks your body in and eliminates unnecessary movement.
- Initiate the movement by driving your arms down in a controlled arc, not by yanking with your elbows. Think about pulling your upper arms back and down, almost as if you’re trying to push something into your pockets behind you. Stop when your hands reach the front of your thighs, keeping your chest tall and core braced.
- Don’t let the stack yank your arms back up. Instead, guide the weight slowly, letting your lats lengthen and stretch under control at the top.
- Continue for the prescribed reps, maintaining the same tempo and control each time. Avoid jerking the weight, leaning your torso back, or using momentum to finish the rep. Smooth, deliberate movement is what keeps the tension on your lats where it belongs.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: What separates the Straight Arm Pulldown from other back exercises is the combination of constant cable tension and a long range of motion. At the top, the lats are fully stretched under load, which is something you don’t get with rows. At the bottom, they’re maximally shortened without interference from the biceps. This dual action of stretch and squeeze creates a powerful training stimulus and builds the kind of lat engagement that carries over into your Pull-ups, Deadlifts, and every other big back move.
STRAIGHT ARM PULLDOWN: COMMON MISTAKES
The Straight-Arm Pulldown might look straightforward, but small errors can completely change the exercise.
Instead of isolating the lats, you end up training your triceps, shoulders, or even just moving the weight with momentum.
Whether you’re using a straight bar attachment, rope Straight Arm Pulldown, Single Arm Straight Arm Lat Pulldowns, or even experimenting with variations like the Gironda Pulldown, the rules stay the same: keep your form clean, or you’ll miss out on the benefits.
BENDING THE ELBOWS
This is the most common way lifters ruin the Straight Arm Pulldown.
Once you bend the elbows, you’re no longer pulling with the lats, you’re turning it into a Bent Arm Pulldown or a Triceps Pushdown.
The lats extend the shoulder, not the elbow, so the arms should remain nearly straight throughout.
A small bend is fine to keep tension off the joints, but if you feel your triceps doing the work, you’ve already lost the point of the exercise.
Think about pushing your hands down with straight arms, not bending them to push the bar.
USING TOO MUCH WEIGHT
Stacking heavy plates on the Lat Pulldown cable doesn’t make you stronger if you can’t control the weight.
Going too heavy leads to jerking the bar, swinging your torso, and relying on momentum instead of muscle.
Unlike a V-Bar Pulldown or heavy Lat Pulldowns, this is a precision exercise.
Drop the ego, lighten the load, and move the bar smoothly from top to bottom. If you can’t pause at the bottom for a one-second squeeze, the weight is too heavy.
STANDING TOO UPRIGHT
If you stand perfectly vertical, you cut the range of motion short and lose the stretch at the top.
The straight arm pulldown demands a slight forward hinge at the hips, with your chest up and abs braced.
This puts the lats in a fully lengthened position at the start, which is what makes the movement so effective.
It’s the same principle you get with Dumbbell Pullovers or the Gironda Pulldown in that you’re opening the ribcage angle to hit the lats more directly.
Imagine leaning just far enough forward to reach up and grab the bar off a high shelf.
ROUNDING OR ARCHING THE BACK
Your spine should stay locked in neutral.
Rounding the upper back shortens the lats and reduces their involvement, while over-arching the lower back shifts stress onto the lumbar spine instead of the lats.
Both mistakes kill tension where you want it. Keep your core tight, ribs pulled down, and chest tall.
If you feel this exercise in your lower back more than your lats, your setup is off. Brace like you’re about to take a punch in the stomach then move only your arms.
SHORTENING THE RANGE
Half reps equal half the results. The straight arm pulldown is powerful because of the stretch you get at the top when the arms are overhead.
If you stop short, you’re basically robbing yourself of the best part of the movement.
This applies across attachments including the Lat Pulldown bar, rope, or even doing Single Arm Lat Pulldowns.
Full range is what separates a real lat isolation move from just going through the motions. At the top, let your lats stretch like you’re reaching to touch the ceiling before pulling down again.
WHY THESE MISTAKES MATTER
The Straight-Arm Pulldown isn’t meant to be a heavy, ego-driven lift like Traditional Lat Pulldowns, V-Bar Pulldowns, or Rows.
It’s a high-quality isolation exercise, similar in feel to dumbbell pullovers, designed to put constant tension on the lats through the full range of motion.
If you make the mistakes above, you lose exactly what makes the exercise effective: the ability to stretch, contract, and feel your lats working without the biceps or triceps taking over.
STRAIGHT ARM PULLDOWN: VARIATIONS
The straight Arm Pulldown is one of the best isolation moves for your lats, but it’s not the only way to train this pattern.
There are several options that hit the lats in a similar way if you want to fix imbalances, add variety, or challenge yourself with something more advanced.
Here are three of the best:
SINGLE-ARM LAT PULLDOWN
HOW TO DO THE SINGLE ARM LAT PULLDOWN:
- Using a normal Lat Pulldown bar, grip the bar right in the center with one hand.
- Sit down at the machine with your chest tall and feet flat on the floor.
- Keep your arm nearly straight with just a slight bend at the elbow.
- From this position, pull the bar down in a smooth arc toward your thigh, focusing on moving through the shoulder joint rather than bending the arm.
- Slowly let the bar rise back overhead until you feel a full stretch in the lat before repeating.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: This variation prevents your stronger side from doing all the work and builds a stronger mind-muscle connection. You’ll feel every inch of the movement in the target lat, and you’ll quickly notice if one side isn’t pulling its weight.
FRONT LEVER RAISE
HOW TO DO THE FRONT LEVER RAISE:
- Start by hanging from a Pull-Up bar with your arms fully extended and your body relaxed.
- From this dead hang position, engage your lats by driving your arms down against the bar as if you’re trying to push the bar toward your hips.
- At the same time, lock your core and glutes to bring your entire body up into a horizontal position, parallel to the floor.
- Your body should form one straight line from head to heels.
- Hold that position, keeping your legs straight and avoiding any bend at the hips or knees.
- Control the lowering phase back to the hang instead of letting yourself drop.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: The Front Lever Raise takes the lats’ role in shoulder extension to the extreme. It teaches you to generate massive tension through the lats while keeping the core rock solid. Not only does it build lat size and upper body strength, but it also develops total-body control and shoulder stability.
DUMBBELL PULLOVER
HOW TO DO THE DUMBBELL PULLOVER:
- Lie across a flat bench with only your upper back and shoulders supported, body perpendicular and hips just below bench level.
- Plant your feet firmly on the floor with knees bent around 90 degrees.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands, cupping the top end, and press it over your chest with arms extended but elbows slightly bent.
- Inhale as you lower the dumbbell in a wide arc behind your head, keeping elbows fixed and feeling the lats stretch.
- Stop at a deep stretch without letting shoulders roll forward.
- Exhale and bring the dumbbell back over your chest along the same arc, squeezing the lats at the top before the next rep.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: The Dumbbell Pullover works because it combines a loaded stretch with a strong contraction in a single movement. Dropping the hips slightly enhances the angle, putting even more tension directly on the lats. Unlike most lat pulldown variations, the resistance curve changes here. You’ll feel maximum tension in the stretched position, making this a perfect accessory exercise for building width and improving lat activation.
PROGRAMMING TIPS
The Straight Arm Pulldown is not a headline lift. It’s an accessory. Think of it as the polish on top of your heavy pulling.
Big compound lifts like Pull-Ups, Rows, and Deadlifts should always be the foundation of your back routine.
The Straight Arm Pulldown comes in to refine that work, isolating the lats and strengthening the mind-muscle connection that carries over into your bigger lifts.
Here are some tips for how to program the Straight Arm Pushdown into your workout program:
SETS AND REPS
Most lifters will get the best results with two to three sets in the twelve to fifteen rep range.
This is where you can slow the movement down, feel the stretch at the top, and lock in the contraction at the bottom.
If hypertrophy and control are the goal, higher reps (e.g., 15 to 20) work well.
Heavier weights in the eight to ten range can be effective, but only if you can keep your elbows straight and your form strict.
TEMPO AND CONTROL
This is a slow lift, not a power move. The eccentric, or return phase, should take just as much focus as the pull itself.
Let the lats stretch under control, pause at the top, then drive back down into the contraction.
A brief hold at the bottom reinforces the activation and ensures the lats, not the arms, are doing the work.
PLACEMENT IN YOUR WORKOUT
The Straight Arm Pulldown fits best at the end of your back workout as a finisher, once your lats are already warm and pre-fatigued.
This is where you can pump them full of blood and maximize the isolation.
That said, it can also be used at the start of your workout with lighter weight as a primer to “wake up” the lats before you move into heavier pulling like Deadlifts or Weighted Pull-Ups.
FREQUENCY AND VOLUME
You don’t need to hammer this movement every day.
One to two sessions per week is plenty, since your lats are already being trained hard during compound lifts.
The key isn’t piling on endless sets but executing a small amount of high-quality volume with precision.
PAIRING WITH OTHER MOVEMENTS
The Straight Arm Pulldown shines when it’s paired with the right support exercises.
Combine it with vertical pulls like Pull-Ups or Lat Pulldowns for width.
You can also balance it with horizontal pulls like Barbell or Dumbbell Rows for thickness.
Finally, add Face Pulls or rear delt work to keep the shoulders healthy.
Together, this creates a complete back program that builds both size and balance.
PROGRESSIONS AND VARIATIONS
Progression doesn’t just mean adding weight.
Start with two-arm pulldowns. Progress to single-arm versions to fix imbalances.
Switch attachments like a rope or V-bar to change the angle.
Try alternatives such as the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown, Dumbbell Pullover, or Front Lever Raise.
Each variation gives the lats a new challenge while keeping the core benefits.
SAMPLE PROGRAMMING
On a strength-focused back day, you might try something like this:
- Pull-Ups
- Barbell Rows
- Deadlifts
- Finish with two sets of Straight Arm Pulldowns
For hypertrophy, you could build a session around this:
- Lat Pulldowns
- Dumbbell Rows
- Rope Straight Arm Pulldowns
- Finish with Face Pulls
If you’re training with minimal equipment, Banded Pulldowns paired with Dumbbell Pullovers give you a simple but effective combination.
The Straight Arm Pulldown may not be the heaviest lift in your program, but it’s one of the most effective for isolating the lats and building real back width.
Keep your form strict, avoid the common mistakes, and treat it as a precision exercise, not a power move.
Add it to your routine the right way, and you’ll not only see better lat development but also feel stronger on every other pull you do.
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- The Straight Arm Pulldown (also known as the Straight Arm Pushdown) locks the elbows in place, taking the biceps out of the equation and forcing the lats to do all the work.
- This creates constant tension through a long range of motion, giving you both a deep stretch at the top and a powerful contraction at the bottom, which are two key drivers of muscle growth.
- Here’s how to perform the Straight Arm Pulldown:
- Set the cable to the highest pulley and attach a straight bar or rope.
- Grip just outside shoulder-width with straight arms and a slight bend at the elbows.
- Step back, hinge forward slightly, chest up, core tight.
- Drive the bar down in an arc toward your thighs—don’t bend the elbows.
- Control the return, letting the lats stretch at the top.
- Repeat for clean, deliberate reps—no jerking, no momentum.
STRAIGHT ARM PULLDOWN FAQ
The Straight-Arm Pulldown is a lat isolation exercise, which means the latissimus dorsi does most of the work.
The muscle pulls your arms down and back in a long sweeping arc.
Since the elbows stay almost straight, the biceps can’t take over the way they often do in Pull-Ups or Rows.
That’s what makes this exercise so effective. You’re forced to keep the tension on the lats from start to finish.
Secondary muscles like the teres major, long head of the triceps, and rear delts assist in the movement, while the core stabilizes the torso to prevent arching or swaying.
At first glance, the Straight-Arm Pulldown and the Pushdown look almost identical because you’re standing at a cable stack, pulling a bar or rope down in front of you.
But the mechanics make them two very different exercises.
In a Straight-Arm Pulldown, the elbows stay nearly locked and the movement comes from the shoulder joint.
That makes it a lat exercise, since the lats’ main job is shoulder extension or pulling your arms down and back.
This is why you feel a deep stretch at the top and a powerful contraction at the bottom when it’s done correctly.
In a Pushdown, the elbows bend and extend, which turns it into a triceps exercise.
Instead of moving from the shoulders, the motion happens at the elbow joint. The lats are taken out of the equation, and the long head of the triceps carries the workload.
The Straight-Arm Pulldown looks simple, but it’s one of the easiest back exercises to mess up.
The biggest mistake is bending the elbows.
The second your arms start flexing, the triceps take over and the exercise turns into a pushdown, not a Lat Pulldown. Keep the elbows slightly bent but locked in place, and let the motion come from the shoulders, not the arms.
Another common problem is going too heavy.
Loading the stack might feel good for the ego, but all it does is force you to jerk the weight down with momentum and lose the mind-muscle connection with the lats.
This is an isolation exercise, not a power move. Control matters more than the number on the stack.
Posture is another big issue.
Standing completely upright shortens the range of motion and eliminates the stretch at the top, while arching or rounding your back shifts the tension away from the lats and onto the spine.
A slight hip hinge with a braced core keeps your torso stable and ensures the lats do all the work.
Finally, don’t cut the reps short.
The straight-arm pulldown is most effective when you let the lats stretch overhead and then contract fully at the bottom.
Half reps deliver half the results. Every rep should be smooth, controlled, and identical.
Make sure the bar or rope is traveling in a clean arc from overhead to your thighs without jerking, swaying, or leaning back to cheat the movement.
Neither is “better,” but each has its own advantages.
A straight bar attachment gives you a fixed grip and a stable path of motion.
That makes it easier to stay strict, especially if you’re still learning the movement.
A rope straight arm pulldown gives you a bit more freedom.
You can pull your hands apart at the bottom, which increases the contraction in the lats and lets you move through a slightly larger range.
The rope also feels more natural on the wrists and shoulders for some lifters.
The best approach? Rotate both into your training.
Use the straight bar when you want more control and the rope when you want to maximize the squeeze.
REFERENCES
Jeff Cavaliere M.S.P.T, CSCS
Jeff Cavaliere is a Physical Therapist, Strength Coach and creator of the ATHLEAN-X Training Programs and ATHLEAN-Rx Supplements. He has a Masters in Physical Therapy (MSPT) and has worked as Head Physical Therapist for the New York Mets, as well as training many elite professional athletes in Major League Baseball, NFL, MMA and professional wrestling. His programs produce “next level” achievements in muscle size, strength and performance for professional athletes and anyone looking to build a muscular athletic physique.
