Pulldown

How to Perform the Pulldown

Sit at a lat pulldown station and adjust the knee pad so your thighs are snug underneath.
Grip the bar with a wide overhand grip, hands roughly 1.5 times shoulder-width apart.
Sit tall with your chest up, lean back slightly (about 10-15 degrees), and depress your shoulder blades.
Pull the bar down toward your upper chest by driving your elbows down and back, squeezing your lats.
Bring the bar to your upper chest, pausing briefly to contract your back muscles.
Slowly return the bar to the starting position with arms fully extended, feeling a stretch in your lats.
Maintain a controlled tempo throughout — do not use momentum or lean excessively back.

Pulling the bar behind the neck

Always pull to the front of your chest. Behind-the-neck pulldowns place excessive stress on the shoulder joint.

Leaning too far back and turning it into a row

Maintain a slight lean of 10-15 degrees. Excessive leaning shifts the work away from the lats.

Using momentum and swinging the torso

Keep your torso still and use a controlled tempo. If you need to swing, reduce the weight.

Gripping too narrow or pulling with the biceps

Use a wide grip and focus on driving your elbows down rather than curling the weight.

●Think about pulling your elbows into your back pockets rather than pulling with your hands.
●Use a thumbless (false) grip to reduce bicep involvement and improve the mind-muscle connection.
●Pause at the bottom of each rep for a one-second squeeze to maximise lat activation.

Strength

4-5 sets of 5-8 reps

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps

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