Exercises › Lat pulldown

Lat pulldown

Grip the bar a bit wider than your shoulders and pull it to your upper chest, leading with your elbows. Resist on the way up.

StrengthMachinesDifficulty 1 of 3

Two-panel demonstration of the lat pulldown, showing the start and finish positions — Start and finish positions

How to do it

Grip the bar a bit wider than your shoulders and pull it to your upper chest, leading with your elbows. Resist on the way up.

Muscles worked

Front

Back

latsprimary
biceps

Hover a muscle to find it on the figure. Dark green is the primary mover, lighter green is supporting work.

Other options in this pattern

Pull-uppull-up bar · difficulty 3/3
Chin-uppull-up bar · difficulty 3/3
Assisted pull-up (machine)machines · difficulty 1/3
Dumbbell pulloverdumbbells + bench · difficulty 2/3

How many sets should you do?

That depends on your goal, your ability, and how many days you train. Answer three questions and the builder works out your sets and reps, plus a full week around them.

Get my sets and reps

Johnny Milaychev · Product manager and self-directed lifter, not a trainer or a clinician. Why that matters and where this guidance stops.
Reviewed 16 August 2026 · Exercise library v2.2