The Lat Pulldown is a beginner-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the lats and middle back, with the biceps, traps, shoulders and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesLats, Middle Back
Secondary musclesBiceps, Traps, Shoulders, Abs
EquipmentCable
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Lat Pulldown
Attach a wide bar to the high pulley and set the thigh pad snug.
Sit down and take the bar with palms forward, hands outside your shoulders.
Sit tall with a slight backward lean and your arms fully extended.
Pull your shoulder blades down before you bend your elbows.
Draw the bar to your upper chest and pause with the lats contracted.
Let the bar rise slowly to full arm extension and repeat.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Trains the full vertical pull without needing bodyweight pull-up strength.
Load adjusts in small steps, so progression is easy to program.
The seated position keeps the torso stable and the lats loaded.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Leaning far back and turning the pulldown into a row, which shifts load off the lats.
Shrugging the shoulders up at the start, so the traps take over before the lats engage.
Letting the bar snap back to the top, which skips the loaded stretch.
Pulling the bar behind the neck, which forces end-range shoulder rotation for no extra lat work.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Lat Pulldown, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
