Iso Lateral Close Grip Pulldown

How to Perform the Iso Lateral Close Grip Pulldown

Adjust the thigh pad to secure your legs and sit facing the machine with your chest up and shoulders relaxed.
Grip the close-grip handles with a neutral or supinated grip, arms fully extended overhead.
Brace your core and slightly lean back a few degrees to create a natural pulling angle.
Pull both handles down toward your upper chest by driving your elbows down and back.
Squeeze your lats hard at the bottom of the movement, bringing the handles to approximately collarbone level.
Slowly extend your arms back to the starting position, allowing a full stretch at the top.
Avoid letting the weight stack slam between reps to maintain constant tension.

Leaning too far back and turning it into a row

Maintain only a slight backward lean of 5-10 degrees; excessive lean shifts the focus away from the lats.

Pulling with the biceps instead of the lats

Initiate the pull by depressing your shoulder blades and driving elbows down, thinking of your hands as hooks.

Using momentum to jerk the weight down

Use a controlled tempo on both the concentric and eccentric portions; reduce weight if needed.

✓Independent lever arms correct strength imbalances between the left and right lats.
✓Close grip emphasizes the lower lats and contributes to back thickness.
✓Machine stability allows you to focus purely on the mind-muscle connection with the lats.

●Visualize pulling your elbows into your back pockets to maximize lat engagement.
●Use a slow 2-3 second negative to increase time under tension.
●Try single-arm pulldowns periodically to address any lat imbalances.

Strength

4-5 sets of 4-6 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

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