Main muscles worked
latissimus dorsi, upper back, pectorals, biceps, brachialis, forearms
Capsule description
sit beneath an overhead pulley, pull the bar to your chest
Set-up
Sit in the pulldown apparatus so that the cable runs vertically during the exercise, or sloped slightly toward you. A common mistake is to sit too far in the apparatus. Brace your thighs under the T-shaped restraint that has been set at the correct height for you.
Grip
There are several bar and grip options. Use the one that lets you use the most resistance over the fullest but safe range of motion.
With a straight bar, start with a supinated and shoulder-width grip, and fine-tune your hand spacing for wrist and elbow comfort. A hand spacing a little closer than shoulder-width may work best for the supinated grip.
For the parallel grip, a shoulder-width spacing produces a better effect than a close grip. Grip each handle in the center.
For the parallel and supinated grips, use a hand spacing that keeps your forearms vertical during the exercise, provided that’s safe for you.
The parallel grip results in a smaller weight potential than a supinated grip. Comparing the same range of motion, you’ll need about 15% less weight with a parallel grip than a supinated one.
If a supinated grip is uncomfortable, even after having tried different hand spacings, and the bar for a shoulder-width, parallel grip is unavailable, try a pronated grip using a straight bar. Take it two to three inches wider on each side than your shoulder-width grip, so that your forearms are vertical at the contracted position of the exercise.
Regardless of the bar you choose, avoid a wide grip, and don’t pull to the rear of your head. Pulling to the rear is an unnatural action that puts unnecessary stress on the neck, cervical vertebrae, and shoulders.
Correct top and bottom positions of the pulldown, using a supinated grip.
Pulling to the rear doesn’t improve the muscle- and strength-building values of the pulldown, but increases the risk of injury.
Performance
Look forward or upward, and smoothly pull the bar until your hands are at your upper chest or a little lower, according to wrist and shoulder comfort.
During the descent, lean back only a little and arch your back slightly. Never round your back. If you have to round your back or crunch your abdominal muscles to help, the weight is too heavy. If you round your shoulders, you’ll be unable to pull your shoulder blades down, and will rob yourself of working the target musculature properly.
If you can’t pull your hands to below your clavicles, the weight is too heavy and you’ll be unable to pull your shoulder blades down fully. Make a special effort to pull your shoulder blades down, but don’t pull beyond what feels comfortable for your shoulders and elbows.
Pause for a second in the contracted position (at your chest), then let your elbows straighten smoothly and under control. The weight stack must not yank on any structure. Keep your shoulders tight when your arms are extended. Never relax in order to get extra stretch. Pause for a second at the top, then smoothly move into the next rep.
Common errors in the pulldown.
Look forward or slightly upward at all times, and keep your head in a neutral position—don’t turn, crane, or extend your head. Exhale as you pull the bar down, and inhale as you straighten your elbows.
Use chalk or rosin on your hands when you need grip support. If the bar is smooth, the chalk or rosin won’t help you as much as they will with a bar that has knurling. To help your grip on a slick bar, put a palm-size piece of neoprene between each hand and the bar. Neoprene is a synthetic rubber with many uses. Get some small pieces from a scuba gear shop, an engineering storeroom on campus, or a hardware store.
Spotting
Spotting isn’t essential here, because the weight can’t come down on you. But spotting is desirable for ensuring that the final rep of a demanding set is done correctly. Technique starts to become ragged when your shoulders start to round. A spotter can push on the bar or pull on the weight stack.
Adding weight
Selectorized cable units, and selectorized machines in general, commonly have weight increments of 10 pounds or 5 kilos, and larger in some cases. This is too much weight to progress by in a single jump. Where you train may have special weights of 5 pounds or 2.5 kilos—and perhaps smaller ones, too—designed to fit on the top of a weight stack. If it doesn‘t, you may be able to get your own from an exercise equipment store. Use them to help you to work from one pin setting to the next.
Alternatively, place the weight selection pin through a small barbell weight plate before the pin goes into the weight stack. Although a pin that holds a plate won’t go fully into the weight stack, it should go through enough to hold the plate securely and select the resistance, too.
Magnetic small plates are another option for adding small increments of weight to a stack.
Whichever option you choose, check that the set-up is secure before you perform a set.
For the pulldown, regardless of the bar you choose, avoid a wide grip, and don’t pull to the rear of your head. Pulling to the rear is an unnatural action that puts unnecessary stress on the neck, cervical vertebrae, and shoulders. Pulling to the rear doesn’t improve the muscle- and strength-building values of the pulldown, but increases the risk of injury.