Underhand Cable Pulldowns

How to do the Underhand Cable Pulldowns

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.

Muscles worked

Role	Muscles
Primary	lats
Secondary	biceps, middle back, shoulders
Equipment	cable machine
Difficulty	beginner
Type	compound

No cable machine? Train the same muscles with these

Ordered by how likely you are to own the 6 options.

V-Bar Pullup Bodyweight Wide-Grip Rear Pull-Up Bodyweight Chin-Up Bodyweight Pullups Bodyweight Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover Barbell Kipping Muscle Up Other Equipment

Harder than the Underhand Cable Pulldowns

Elevated Cable Rows intermediate · Cable Machine Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover intermediate · Barbell Weighted Pull Ups intermediate · Other Equipment

Superset the Underhand Cable Pulldowns with

Opposing shoulders and chest work — alternate sets without extra rest.

Alternating Cable Shoulder Press shoulders Cable Chest Press chest Cable Internal Rotation shoulders Cable Rope Rear-Delt Rows shoulders

Common questions

What muscles does the Underhand Cable Pulldowns work?

The Underhand Cable Pulldowns primarily works the lats, with the biceps, mid back, and shoulders as secondary movers. Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown, Full Range-Of-Motion Lat Pulldown, and Kipping Muscle Up train the same muscle, across 7 equipment types.

What equipment do you need for the Underhand Cable Pulldowns?

A Cable Machine. Without a cable machine, V-Bar Pullup, Wide-Grip Rear Pull-Up, and Chin-Up train the same muscle, and 8 of the catalogue's options for this muscle need no equipment.

Is the Underhand Cable Pulldowns suitable for beginners?

Yes, the Underhand Cable Pulldowns is rated beginner. Elevated Cable Rows, Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover, and Weighted Pull Ups are the progressions from here.

Where should the Underhand Cable Pulldowns go in a workout?

Early — the Underhand Cable Pulldowns is compound, working 4 muscle groups, so run it first or second while you are fresh, then superset Alternating Cable Shoulder Press and Cable Chest Press later.

Similar exercises

Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown Cable Machine Full Range-Of-Motion Lat Pulldown Cable Machine Kipping Muscle Up Other Equipment Muscle Up Other Equipment Rocky Pull-Ups/Pulldowns Other Equipment Rope Climb Other Equipment