If you like to work the latissimus dorsi during your sessions with the cables, you may be doing it the wrong way, says Hayley Veral, who is the founder of Health Pillars Lifestyle Coaching. Fortunately, you can get your single arm lat pulldown licked with one small adjustment. Here’s what you need to know.
“When performing a single arm lat pulldown on a free cable pulley, a common mistake is standing upright or too far away from the cable, which limits your range of motion and ability to engage the lats fully,” explained the qualified coach in a recent Instagram post for her almost 90,000 followers.
Single arm work is a great way to balance limb strength and bring up a lagging side, but when it comes to the cables, you won’t get the same angle as you would on the lat pulldown machine unless you get yourself lower. If you are too high, “This reduces the ability to get a full stretch at the top of the movement,” explained Veral. “The lat muscles aren’t fully lengthened, which limits their engagement during the pull. It also leads to reliance on secondary muscles like the biceps or shoulders, rather than targeting the lats.”
How to Maximize Your Single Arm Lat Pulldown Potential
Kneel down for best results says the popular coach, explaining that this works in three ways:
You’ll get a better range of motion
“Kneeling allows you to position the cable above and slightly in front of you, ensuring the lats go through a full stretch and contraction. This optimizes the lat’s function, which is to pull the arm down and back.”
Improve your angle for superior lat engagement
“The kneeling position aligns your torso and arm with the natural path of the lats, allowing for a stronger contraction at the bottom.”
Stay more stable
“Kneeling creates a stable base, preventing excessive momentum or leaning, which can happen when standing.”
For optimum results, Veral says you should make sure to get a full stretch at the top of the movement. “Let your arm extend fully without losing tension in the lats,” she explains. The coach also guides that you should pull down diagonally from the elbow to the opposite back pocket in order to isolate the lats and rely less on the biceps and shoulders. The more you can isolate the lats and put them under tension, the greater your muscle building potential will be. So, all kneel for this great advice!