Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
Trains the Lats.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Attach a single handle to a high cable pulley and kneel or sit facing it, directly under the cable.
- Take the handle in one hand with your arm extended overhead and let your shoulder rise with it.
- Brace your stomach and keep your torso upright and still — with only one side loaded, the trunk has to resist being pulled sideways.
- Pull the handle down by driving your elbow toward your hip, keeping it close to your side.
- Squeeze at the bottom, then let the arm extend fully back overhead under control.
- Complete all repetitions on one side before changing, and match the number on the second side.
Common mistakes
- Letting the torso rotate or lean away to help. The point of the single-arm version is that the trunk has to stay still against a one-sided pull; letting it move gives that away and shortens the range.
- Not fully extending overhead at the top. One arm at a time makes it easier to reach a genuine full stretch than a bar does — which is most of the reason to do this variation — so cutting it short wastes the advantage.
- Doing more repetitions on the stronger side. Unilateral work exposes a difference between sides; matching the weaker side is what makes it useful.
- Kneeling too far from the cable. Directly underneath keeps the line of pull vertical; too far forward turns it into a diagonal row.