Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
The classic wide-bar pulldown: seated with your thighs under the pads, you pull a long bar overhand to your upper chest, working your lats with help from your upper back and rear delts.
- Primary muscles
- Lats
- Secondary
- Rear delts, Upper back, Biceps, Forearm flexors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
It's the go-to pulldown in most gyms and a good way to build your lats before you can do many pull-ups, since you choose the weight. The wide overhand grip shortens the range compared with closer grips but lines the lats up well and brings in the rear delts and upper back. Compared with a wide grip pull-up, you can set the load below or above your body weight and take sets closer to failure without your grip or core giving out first.
How to do it
Attach a wide bar to the high pulley and set the knee pads snug against your thighs.
Grip the bar overhand well outside shoulder-width and sit down with your arms extended overhead.
Pull the bar to your upper chest, driving your elbows down and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Let it rise slowly to a full stretch. The wide grip shortens the range but puts the lats in a better line of pull, so don't chase depth by shrugging at the top.
Common mistakes
Pulling the bar behind your neck
Behind-the-neck pulldowns push your head forward and your shoulders into an awkward position. Bring the bar to your upper chest instead.
Shrugging at the top to fake depth
Letting your shoulders ride up to your ears doesn't add useful range. Get a full stretch with your arms straight, then pull your shoulder blades down to start.
Leaning far back
A slight lean helps the bar clear your face, but a big lean turns it into a row. Stay mostly upright and pull down, not back.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
