The pulldown exercise works the back muscles and is performed at a workstation with adjustable resistance, usually plates. While seated, you pull a hanging bar toward you to reach chin level, then release it back up with control for one repetition. This exercise can be done as part of an upper-body strength workout.

The lat pulldown, also known as the “cable lat pulldown,” is a compound back exercise that involves pulling a weight from above your head to your chest. It closely resembles the pull-up, only instead of pulling your body up to a bar, you’re pulling a bar down to your body.

What Is a Lat Pulldown? The lat pulldown is an upper-body exercise that focuses on the muscles of your back. Much like the squat and bench press, it’s considered a compound exercise — meaning that it targets many muscles at once. Besides increasing your back’s strength, the lat pulldown can also promote good posture and stability.

The lat pulldown is a compound exercise that will help you forge a stronger, wider back and help you take on your first pull-up. Because it is an overhead pull — performed with cable or a machine — it gives you a unique opportunity to develop your vertical pulling strength without performing a full pull-up.

To perform a lat pulldown you will get into seated position on the cable machine or lat pulldown machine then reach up to grab the bar with both hands using an overhand grip with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. From there, you will pull down on the bar by adducting the lats while depressing the scapulae and flexing at the elbows.