The Single-Arm Lat Pulldown is a beginner-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the lats and middle back, with the biceps, shoulders, traps and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesLats, Middle Back
Secondary musclesBiceps, Shoulders, Traps, Abs
EquipmentCable
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
Set a single handle on a high pulley and choose a load you can control through the full range.
Kneel or sit facing the stack with the working shoulder lined up under the cable.
Reach up and let the shoulder blade rise, keeping your ribs down and your abs braced.
Depress the shoulder blade first, then drive the elbow down and back toward your hip.
Pause where the lat is fully shortened and hold the torso square to the stack.
Return slowly to a full overhead stretch, finish the reps, then switch sides.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Trains each side separately so strength differences surface instead of being masked.
Allows more scapular travel at the top than a fixed bar.
Loads a vertical pull in small increments for users without pull-up strength.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Leaning away from the stack to finish the rep, which turns the pull into a body swing and unloads the lat.
Starting with the arm rather than the shoulder blade, which hands the work to the biceps.
Cutting the return short, so the lat never reaches the stretched position that the single handle allows.
Twisting the trunk toward the cable, which hides the side-to-side difference this variation exists to expose.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
