That thought process led to a fairly simple exercise known as the straight-arm pulldown, a movement that should not be a cornerstone of your workout The straight-arm cable pushdown may appear to be an arm workout, but it actually strengthens several other muscles throughout your body. Target Muscle The target of the straight-arm cable pull down is. Grab the bar with an overhand grip and your hands 1.5-2x shoulder-width. Do several sessions that consist of 10-15 reps, with short rest periods in the range of (30-45 minutes). This will be your starting position. The straight arm pulldown mainly hits the lats and then secondary it works the shoulders, abs, upper back, and biceps. Step backwards two feet or so. In particular, the rope straight arm lat pull down is used to work the lats by mimicking a pullover movement pattern. . 4. The straight arm pulldown works the latissimus dorsi muscle, the wing-like muscle in your mid-back. You will be standing for this variation and your hips will be pushed . Back up a few steps and raise your arms above your shoulders. Alternative Exercises to Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown. Muscles Worked in the Straight-Arm Pulldown. Handle Bands. Lean forward a bit and inhale deeply. Facing the machine, grab each handle on the rope attachment. Muscles Worked by the Lat Pulldown. Extend your arms over the head to hold the bar, with your palms facing forward and the hands spaced out 3-5 inches apart, which is smaller than the shoulder width. The straight-arm pulldown is one of the best lat-targeting exercises available. Straight Arm Pulldowns isolate the lats by taking away any effect from the biceps. Attach a wide-grip bar or lat bar to one of the higher points on the cable machine. Straight-Arm Pulldown Instructions You will start by grabbing the wide bar from the top pulley of a pulldown machine and using a wider than shoulder-width pronated (palms down) grip. 2. Muscles Worked During A Straight Arm Pulldown. . This helps to reduce the stress on your wrists, elbows, and shoulders if this is an issue for you. This isolation movement targets the back. How To Do A Wide Grip Lat Pulldown. Grab the pulldown bar with an overhand grip and sit on the bench facing the cable machine. Grab the bar with an overhand grip. Bend your elbows so that your hands are at eye level. Keep this in mind when putting either exercise in your training plan. Specifically, pulldowns work the long head of the triceps brachii because, like the latissimus dorsi, the long head of the triceps performs shoulder extension (bringing your arm toward your body). Keep your grip style the same (hands down; pronated), but vary the width-narrower or wider. The lat pulldown is a multi-joint exercise that targets many back, shoulder, and arm muscles. The difference between the straight arm pull down (lat sweep) and the barbell or dumbbell pullover is due to the the motion and the orientation of the involved forces. The primary muscle worked during the Lat Pulldown is the Latissimus Dorsi. Differentiate various grip positions of the lat pulldown. Keep the knee pads suitably placed for your height. Repeat the rope straight arm pulldown a few times to get the desired benefits. Straight-arm lat pull-down (standing cable pullover) is a good exercise for the middle back, but it does not allow you to load up with much weight, because the cable would pull you upward.Even so, it works the latissimus dorsi from a different angle than conventional machines.In contrast to other lat exercises, the biceps is hardly involved while the . In the lat pulldown, the lats work harder if you use a wider grip. Although the straight arm pulldown is a good work out many find it a bit complexing. What muscles does straight arm lat pulldown work? You guys have seen it, the straight arm pulldown, some people say it's great for back, others say it's a waste of energy and time, others use it as a finishing movement on back day! The straight-arm pulldown is a single-joint isolation movement that specifically targets your lats, and the flat bench is the cable equivalent of the dumbbell pullover. The cable straight arm pulldown is an isolation exercise used for building muscle and strength in the Latissiumus Dorsi (Lats) muscles. Obviously, the anatomy of the lats and the triceps is set in stone. Cable Straight Arm Pulldown - Muscles Worked Target - Latissimus Dorsi Synergists - Pectoralis Major, Sternal Synergists - Triceps, Long Head Synergists - Teres Major Synergists - Deltoid, Posterior Synergists - Rhomboids Once you reach the bottom, pause for a few seconds. A straight arm pulldown isolates and works your latissimus dorsi muscles, commonly know as the lats. A traditional pulldown is performed while seated while with a straight arm pulldown workout you typically go into a standing position. Retract your shoulder blades and pull down through your elbows so the bar is lowering down in a straight line until the bar reaches your upper chest Squeeze your lats at the bottom of the movement Slowly return the bar to the starting position Repeat for desired repetitions Your triceps will get some indirect work as well, as they also assist with extension of the arm. Reverse Grip Pulldown Muscles Worked. Although the straight-arm pulldown primarily activates the latissimus dorsi muscles on the sides of your back, it also works the posterior deltoids, triceps, rhomboids, and teres major muscles in your upper arms. Health Conditions. Pulldowns are commonly known as "lat pulldowns" because the exercise targets the latissimus dorsi muscles, or lats, at the sides of your back and below your shoulders. Lean forward from the hip, keeping your back straight, with your arms extended up in front of you. Loop Bands. 3. Slowly lower your arms back to the starting position . Score: 4.5/5 (22 votes) . Even if you're a champ at pullups . More so, these exercises are good for straightening the upper body muscles. Your lower back is in a slight hollow position, your abdominal muscles are tense and your gaze is straight forward. The lat pulldown is a multi-joint exercise that targets many back, shoulder, and arm muscles. c) Maintain tightness in your core and repeat! These muscles are important for . Grasp the bar with an overhand (pronated, palms facing down) grip with the elbow slightly bent. Both pull-ups and lat pull-downs work on lats and scapula muscles. a) Keeping your arms straight, squeeze your lats to bring the bar down to your thighs. The pull-ups also engage the core and stabilizing muscles in addition. Lat Pulldown Muscles Worked. Unlike the previously mentioned lat pulldown, the straight arm . Change your torso angle for variation. Keep the arms straight and pull down the lat bar towards your thighs. It is performed by bringing the arms from an upward to the downward direction, which helps in strengthening your lats and broadens your posterior deltoid muscle thereby giving you a perfect V-taper. Bodyweight. Rep Power: 271. Grab the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Press the bar down on the almost straight arms towards the thighs and exhale while doing so. Being able to pull the rope apart at the end of the movement gives your upper back some love along with the lats. Ensure that the pulley is situated at one of the highest positions on the cable machine. To perform, take the initial position, grasp the handle with a wide grip and slightly tilt the body back. 2. The lat pulldown is versatile and can be done using a cable machine, resistance bands, or dumbbell. Suspension (TRX) Working your lat muscles will make them thicker and wider. While the lat pulldown does work the lats to a significant degree ( 2 ), the lats work through a shorter range of motion when compared to the straight arm pulldown. It also changes the movement from a multi-joint exercise to a single-joint movement at the shoulders. Sit on a lat-pulldown machine and have a straight-bar attachment positioned at the top. Here are the steps for performing the straight arm pulldown (4): Hook up your rope attachment to the cable machine. Now, engage your chest muscles to raise your arms back up to the starting position. Though these workouts are in essence the same, they work the muscles from a slightly different angle. . Posts: 2,308. Then you let the rod slowly and controlled back to the starting position at the level of your chest by pulling the cable. Both of these muscles work. For a longer range of motion and better muscle contact, you could try to lean slightly forward and bend your knees. Are straight-arm pulldowns necessary? If possible, adjust the height of the seat to allow sufficient muscle tension at the top. The straight arm lat pulldown is also performed while standing. straight-arm pulldown is a exercise machine exercise that primarily targets the lats. Inhale and release back up to the starting position for one complete repetition. Bend your torso forward at the waist by around 30-degrees with your arms fully extended in front of you and a slight bend at the elbows. There are alternative versions to this workout. It is also an alternative exercise to lat pull down. Sit up straight, and grip the bar with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Try to tighten your fists around the bar as much as you can.. Muscles worked: Although they target many of the same musclesparticularly the latsthese two upper-body exercises target secondary muscles slightly differently. Do it after your workout. Featured. You should feel a stretch in your lats, especially under your armpits. The lat pulldown and straight-arm pulldown are both shoulder extension exercises, which primarily work the latissimus dorsi, which is the largest muscle in your upper body. In addition to helping strengthen the back, the exercise secondarily works the triceps and shoulders. The lat pulldown and straight-arm pulldown are both shoulder extension exercises, which primarily work the latissimus dorsi, which is the largest muscle in The lat pulldown engages more muscles than the straight-arm pulldown. . The lat pulldown is a different form of workout from what you may be doing today, which may assist to spice up your present routine or break through plateaus. The primary muscles used include: Latissimus Dorsi; Teres Major; As mentioned above . Begin by setting your straight bar or lat bar attachment to shoulder height. Maintain a distance from the cable machine. Straight Arm Lat Pulldown. The straight arm lat pull down is a variation of the lat pull down and an exercise used to build the muscles of the back. The handgrips in pull-up exercise are wide, similar to the lat pulldown machine handle, making it a better wide grip lat pulldown home alternative. In addition, this article provides findings from relevant research discussing various grip positions of the lat pulldown exercise. Because it creates an intense lat stretch in the upper (starting) position, the straight arm lat pulldown can be beneficial to beginning exercises to improve shoulder and back mobility. Whether you are a full-blown bodybuilder or a complete beginner, lat pull-downs work great whereas pull-up exercises help you improve your overall . To begin with Straight Arm Pulldown, you must clip a wide-grip bar to your cable machine. This allows the muscles of the back to be worked intensely, as bicep endurance is often the limiting muscle factor during a back workout. Perform the straight-arm pulldown by standing in front of a cable pulley machine and lowering the cable attachment with a slight bend in your arms. You will feel your lats getting a good stretch, then as you go through the rep you hinge your at your hips and have back pretty much straight up while keeping your knees bent and only moving your hips forward as little as possible sort if like you are starting to sit down but just staying there as you reach full contraction. In contrast, the lat pulldown engages the infraspinatus, biceps, and trapezius muscles. Wide-Grip Lat Pull-Down Muscle Worked: Lats, Biceps One of the main exercises with this equipment. Unsurprisingly the exercise mainly targets the lats. R ecommendation: You should aim to complete 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps of the straight arm lat pulldown. You'll be hitting nearly every upper-body muscle in some way or another, including: Lats (upper back) Abs (specifically to hold good posture) Biceps Deltoids(shoulders) Upper back and middle back muscles Pectorals (chest) Triceps Keep breathing gradually. Straight Arm Cable Pushdowns Worked Muscles. Choose your sets and repetitions based on your ability to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions. Common mistakes This exercise will train major muscles in your upper back latissimus dorsi or lats, trapezius, and rhomboid muscles in your mid/upper back as well as your triceps. Follow the instructions below to do the exercise; . Tips Squeeze your lats at the bottom of the movement, and squeeze your chest muscles at the top. But it's also even more effective for improving scapular strength and stability, which is essential for effectively performing multi-joint compound movements such as deadlifts, squats, pull-ups, etc. Target Muscles. Both of these muscles work to extend the arm, which is the main action in this exercise. The back is a muscle group that requires a fair amount of variation. Muscles Worked by Straight Arm Cable Pushdowns The straight arm cable pushdown is somewhat of an upper-body powerhouse. With slow control, reach your arms up until you reach full extension above your head. Beginner's Guide: Lat Pulldown Watch on 1. Straight-Arm Lat Pull-Down Exercise Guide. Grab the handle with an overhand grip. This variation reduces tension on your biceps and it can also improve your mind-muscle connection. Greater range of motion than standard pulldowns. Breast Cancer; IBD ; Migraine; Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Starting position. 1. How to do Close Grip Front Lat Pulldown. 2 x Dumbbell. . In the case of the straight arm pulldown, the idea is to isolate the latissimus dorsi - the biggest and most powerful muscle group of the back. Straight-arm pulldowns engage your core, while lat pulldowns activate your trapezius and biceps. August 21, 2022 by Sandra Hearth. Step back and straighten your arms. Grip and Torso Angle Do the straight-arm pulldown with a palms-down grip on the bar. The cable machine and pulley make this task seem slightly . Both double-arm and single-pulldowns focus on the lats. Allows you to train high-quality broad back muscles. Push your butt back and lean forward until your torso is set to a 35 to 45-degree angle. Arm Muscle And Tendon Anatomy Muscle groups of the higher The rope straight arm lat pull down utilizes a rope attachment to provide the trainee a more neutral hand positioning. Bend your knees slightly, keeping your head straight and lower back in a natural arch. The straight-arm pulldown exercise targets the latissimus dorsi muscles in the back. Brachioradialis. It also works the: Grip; Forearms; Biceps; Delts; Core; Upper Back; Lower Back; . Primarily, the straight arm push down targets the lats by isolating them. If you suffer from low-back issues, this exercise is a safe way to work the rest of your back muscles. Originally Posted by ricardogonz01. 2. What is a Straight Arm Pulldown? Here's how to do it properly and how it can benefit you. Brachialis. The straight-arm pulldown, also called the straight-arm lat pulldown, is an isolation exercise that targets the muscle groups in your upper back, shoulders, and arms. Age: 30. The straight arm lat pulldown is an exercise that isolates the work to your lats and other muscles that pull your upper arm closer to your body. Repeat for 12-15 reps. . Standing, facing the high pulley cable machine, with your knees slightly bent, your torso bending over, back straight and your chest bulged. Learning Objectives: 1. The Straight Arm Lat Pulldown is exactly as it sounds! Straight arm lat pulldown and lat pulldown work the lat muscles and posterior deltoid, triceps, and teres major muscle groups. These two muscles aren't strong enough to override the lats though, so the lats still take the brunt of the work. Stand a couple feet back from the pulley with your feet staggered and take the rope with both hands. Exhale and draw the bar down to your thighs. Expert Answers: The straight-arm pulldown, also called the straight-arm lat pulldown, is an isolation exercise that targets the muscle groups in your upper back, shoulders, Trending; Popular; . Straight arm pulldown alternatives to try now. The straight arm pushdown is an isolation exercise. Straight-Arm Pushdown Muscles Worked. 3. Posterior Deltoid. 2) Rope Straight Arm Pulldown: The rope straight arm lat pulldown uses a rope attachment which allows a neutral grip. However, the straight arm pulldown also recruits abs muscles (rectus abdominis and external obliques).