Cable Straight Arm Pulldown (With Rope)

Setup

1. 01Attach a rope to a high cable pulley.
2. 02Grip the rope ends with a neutral grip and step back from the stack.
3. 03Hinge slightly at the hips with a soft bend in the knees.
4. 04Start with arms extended overhead at roughly 45 degrees, feeling a stretch in the lats.

Execution

1. 01Pull the rope down in an arc toward the thighs, keeping the elbows nearly straight.
2. 02Spread the rope ends apart slightly as the hands pass the hips.
3. 03Squeeze the lats hard at the bottom.
4. 04Return the rope overhead under control until the lats stretch again.

Checkpoints

• -Elbow angle stays fixed; the shoulder does all the work.
• -Torso angle stays constant instead of bowing up and down.
• -Shoulders stay away from the ears at the top.
• -You feel the stretch and contraction in the lats, not the triceps.

Common mistakes

• -Bending the elbows and turning it into a pushdown.
• -Crunching the torso forward to move heavier weight.
• -Stopping short of the overhead stretch position.
• -Loading so heavy the arc becomes a jerky pull.