Stronger

Iso Lateral Pulldown

Iso Lateral Pulldown demonstration

Category

compound

Difficulty

beginner

Equipment

machine

Force Type

pull

How to Perform the Iso Lateral Pulldown

  1. Adjust the thigh pad to secure your legs and sit with your chest tall, facing the machine.
  2. Reach up and grip the handles with a slightly wider than shoulder-width overhand grip.
  3. Brace your core and lean back just slightly, about 5-10 degrees.
  4. Pull the handles down toward your upper chest by driving your elbows down and slightly back.
  5. Squeeze your lats hard at the bottom position, bringing the handles to approximately collarbone level.
  6. Slowly extend your arms overhead, allowing a full stretch through the lats at the top.
  7. Maintain even pressure through both arms and avoid jerking the weight.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Excessive torso lean to heave the weight

Maintain only a slight lean; if you need to swing your body, the weight is too heavy.

Pulling the handles below chest level

Pull to upper chest or collarbone level; pulling too low shifts the emphasis away from the lats.

Not getting a full stretch at the top

Fully extend your arms at the top of each rep, allowing the shoulder blades to protract for maximum lat stretch.

Muscles Worked

Benefits

  • Independent lever arms allow each lat to work equally, preventing imbalances.
  • Plate-loaded design allows for small weight increments and progressive overload.
  • Fixed path reduces the learning curve while still allowing a natural range of motion.

Pro Tips

  • Focus on pulling with your elbows rather than your hands to maximize lat engagement.
  • Try different grip widths and orientations to target different areas of the lats.
  • Use a controlled 2-3 second eccentric to increase time under tension.

Variations

Recommended Sets & Reps

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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