Single Arm Lat Pulldown

How to Perform the Single Arm Lat Pulldown

Attach a single D-handle to a high cable pulley on a lat pulldown machine.
Sit on the seat with your thighs secured under the knee pad and grasp the handle with one hand.
Start with your arm fully extended overhead, feeling a stretch in the lat on the working side.
Pull the handle downward by driving your elbow toward your hip, focusing on squeezing the lat.
Continue pulling until your elbow is beside your torso and your lat is fully contracted.
Pause briefly at the bottom to squeeze the lat, then slowly return the handle to the starting position overhead.
Complete all repetitions on one side before switching to the other arm.

Using the bicep to pull rather than the lat

Focus on initiating the pull by depressing the shoulder blade and driving the elbow down, thinking of your hand as a hook.

Leaning excessively to the working side

Keep your torso relatively upright and stable; a slight lean is acceptable but avoid excessive lateral movement.

Not achieving a full stretch at the top

Allow your arm to extend fully overhead to get a complete stretch on the lat before each rep.

✓Greater range of motion and deeper contraction than bilateral pulldowns.
✓Effectively identifies and corrects lat strength imbalances.
✓Improved mind-muscle connection with the lats from focused unilateral training.

●Use a lighter weight than half of your bilateral pulldown to account for the increased stabilization demands.
●Concentrate on the lat doing the work; the bicep is just a helper.
●Try using a false grip (thumb on the same side as fingers) to reduce bicep involvement.

Strength

4-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

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