Lever Cross Lat Pulldown

1. Set the seat height so the handles are at full arm's reach when you sit down, and adjust the thigh pad so it locks your legs firmly in place.
2. Select a working load on each side, then grip the handles with your arms extended overhead and slightly out to the sides.
3. Sit tall with your chest lifted and shoulder blades pulled down before the first rep begins.
4. Exhale and drive your elbows down and in, letting the handles converge across the machine's arc until they reach roughly shoulder level.
5. Squeeze your lats hard at the bottom for a full second without leaning back excessively.
6. Inhale as you let the handles rise under control until your arms are almost straight and you feel a deep stretch in the lats.
7. Repeat for the planned reps, keeping the same seated position throughout the set.

Common Mistakes

• Leaning back to move the weight: turning the pulldown into a row shifts tension off the lats; keep the torso close to upright and let the arms do the work.
• Cutting the top of the rep short: stopping halfway up removes the stretched position where the lats grow best; extend the arms almost fully each rep.
• Pulling with the biceps: gripping too hard and curling the handles down makes the arms fail first; think of the hands as hooks and drive the elbows down.
• Loading unevenly: on iso-lateral machines a stronger side can quietly take over; match the plates side to side and watch that both handles move together.