Cable Wide Neutral Grip Pulldown

1. Attach a wide neutral-grip bar to the high pulley of a lat pulldown station.
2. Sit down and secure your thighs under the pads, feet flat on the floor.
3. Reach up and grip the handles with palms facing each other, arms fully extended.
4. Lean back slightly and lift your chest, keeping a neutral spine.
5. Brace your core and pull the handles down toward your upper chest, driving your elbows down and back.
6. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the bottom of the pull.
7. Slowly extend your arms back to the top, allowing a full stretch through your lats.
8. Keep your torso stable throughout, avoiding a big backward lean to help the pull.

Common Mistakes

• Leaning back excessively: Using a big backward lean to move the weight turns the pull into a rowing motion instead of a pulldown. Keep only a slight lean and let your lats do the work.
• Pulling behind the neck: Bringing the bar behind your head instead of to your chest puts unnecessary strain on the shoulders. Pull to your upper chest with your torso upright.
• Using momentum to start the pull: Jerking the bar down with body movement instead of a controlled contraction reduces lat engagement. Start each rep from a still position.
• Not achieving full extension at the top: Stopping short at the top of the movement limits the range of motion and the stretch on the lats. Let your arms extend fully before starting the next pull.

Programming Tips

Use the wide neutral grip pulldown as the first exercise on back day, doing 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps with 90 seconds rest. The palms facing grip at a wide spacing puts the shoulders in a comfortable mid rotation, which lets you pull heavier and deeper than a wide overhand grip while still emphasising lat width and the lower traps.

Secure the thigh pad tight enough that the hips stay down, grip the handles, and set a slight lean of 10 to 15 degrees with the chest up before the first pull. A 30 to 40 kg stack is a realistic start for most lifters, with 5 kg added when every set reaches 12 reps to the upper chest. The most common fault is leaning back further and further as fatigue sets in and heaving the stack with the lower back, so drop the load, keep the lean fixed, and drive the elbows down toward your back pockets.

Common Questions

Neutral grip vs wide overhand pulldown, which is better for lats?

Both train the lats well; the neutral grip allows more range and more weight because the shoulder sits in a stronger position, while the overhand grip emphasises the upper lats and teres slightly more. Most people grow better from the neutral grip because they can train it harder.

Where should I pull the bar to on a neutral grip pulldown?

To the upper chest, just below the collarbones, with the elbows finishing beside the ribs. Pulling lower toward the stomach rounds the shoulders forward and shortens the lat contraction.

How much weight should I use on a lat pulldown?

Beginners usually start at 30 to 40 kg and reach 60 to 80 kg within a year. Once you can pull more than about your bodyweight, the pad struggles to hold you down, which is a sign to add weighted pull ups.