Exercise

Underhand Cable Pulldowns

Also known as: underhand lat pulldown, underhand cable pulldown, supinated lat pulldown, reverse grip pulldown

Underhand Cable Pulldowns — position 1Underhand Cable Pulldowns — position 2

Underhand Cable Pulldowns is a compound exercise for the lats. Main target: lower lats. Also works: biceps short head, middle back and posterior deltoid. Equipment: cable.

EquipmentCable
TypeCompound (multi-joint)
MovementPull
CategoryStrength

Muscles worked

How to do it

  1. Sit down on a pull-down machine with a wide bar attached to the top pulley. Adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your height. These pads will prevent your body from being raised by the resistance attached to the bar.
  2. Grab the pull-down bar with the palms facing your torso (a supinated grip). Make sure that the hands are placed closer than the shoulder width.
  3. As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.
  4. As you breathe out, pull the bar down until it touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the fully contracted position and keep the elbows close to your body. The upper torso should remain stationary as your bring the bar to you and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work other than hold the bar.
  5. After a second on the contracted position, while breathing in, slowly bring the bar back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched.
  6. Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

Similar exercises

Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown
Cable
Lower lats
Elevated Cable Rows
Cable
Lower lats
Kneeling Single-Arm High Pulley Row
Cable
Lower lats
One Arm Lat Pulldown
Cable
Lower lats
Shotgun Row
Cable
Lower lats
V-Bar Pulldown
Cable
Lower lats

Alternatives with other equipment

Gironda Sternum Chins
Bodyweight
Lower lats
Leverage Iso Row
Machine
Lower lats
London Bridges
Other
Lower lats
Reverse-Grip Incline Dumbbell Row
Dumbbell
Lower lats
Bent Over Barbell Row
Barbell
Middle backLower lats
Band Assisted Pull-Up
Bands
Upper lats
Add to a workout in LiftChat
LiftChat builds a program around it, suggests weights and sets, and tracks your progress. Free.