Straight-Arm Pulldown
Reviewed by Bryan Cortez, MS
Lock the elbows and sweep downward using the lats. Bending the elbows turns the movement into a standard pulldown.
Coaching profile
lat isolation. This page is the practical coaching layer: use it for setup, cues, programming, pain-free adjustments, and substitutions. The complete biomechanics tier list lives on the muscle page.
How the rankings are built →Demonstration
Demonstration production queue
The written coaching card is ready. The owned video is next.
Physique Skool is filming one canonical demonstration per exercise. Until this movement is published, use the setup, execution, common errors, programming, and substitutions below.
Browse Physique Skool on YouTubeHow to do it
Setup
- Stand facing a high cable, slight hip hinge, soft elbows locked straight, bar at forehead height.
Execution
- Drive the bar down to the thighs in an arc using the lats, squeeze, control the stretch back up; keep the elbows fixed
- don't bend them into a pulldown.
Common Errors
- Bending the elbows (turns it into a pulldown)
- Using the torso to push it down
- Cutting the overhead stretch short
- No squeeze at the bottom
Cues That Work
- Keep the arms long; sweep the bar toward the thighs; let the lats lengthen at the top
No-Fly Zone
under 6 reps (it becomes a pulldown once you bend the elbows to lift heavier)
Programming
Sequence priority
Late
Single-joint lat isolation — a finisher, or first as a lat pre-exhaust/connection drill before pulls.
Progression
Model — Triple
Fallback model — Double
Triple progression: add reps toward ~20, then a pin or micro-plate.
Best program fit
Pull, Upper
Load increments
If it hurts
Pain is information, not a challenge to push through. Stop the set if pain is sharp, worsening, or changes how you move. These are exercise-selection options, not medical diagnosis or rehabilitation advice.
Work down this list in order. Stop at the first change that removes the pain.
Step 1
Setup tweaks
Bar vs rope; hinge depth; stance.
Step 2
ROM / tempo / bias
Pause and squeeze at the bottom; slow eccentric; exaggerate the overhead stretch.
Step 3
Implement swap
Dumbbell pullover or machine pullover.
Substitutions
The Evidence
Isolates lat shoulder-extension. Does NOT involve the biceps or build the load of a row/pulldown.
SFR — 4
Put the exercise inside a system.
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