You can achieve this by including lat activation drills in your workout before your pulldowns and being mindful of cues that can help. These cues include pulling with your elbows instead of your hands and using a thumbless grip, so your fingers are less engaged and simply act like hooks.

Attach a wide bar to the pulldown cable attachment. Take a seat and adjust the kneepads to keep your lower body locked into place. Stand up and take hold of the bar wider than shoulder-width using a pronated grip (palms facing away from you). Keep hold of the bar with slightly bent arms and use your bodyweight to descend into the seat.

Adjust the pad to press against your thighs. This helps keep you stable when pulling the bar. Keep your heels off the ground. Stay on your toes to ensure a full range of motion. This helps engage your lats properly for maximum lat gains.

Approach a lat pulldown machine with a bar that allows you to maintain a grip outside of shoulder width Adjust the thigh pad to a height where you can keep your shins relatively perpendicular to the floor Grab the pulldown bar with your palms facing forward at a grip outside of shoulder width Place your knees under the knee pad and sit down