Straight-Arm Pulldown
Muscles worked: Back.
How to do it
- You will start by grabbing the wide bar from the top pulley of a pulldown machine and using a wider than shoulder-width pronated (palms down) grip.
- Bend your torso forward at the waist by around 30-degrees with your arms fully extended in front of you and a slight bend at the elbows.
- While keeping the arms straight, pull the bar down by contracting the lats until your hands are next to the side of the thighs.
- While keeping the arms straight, go back to the starting position while breathing in.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Arms long, slight elbow bend held
- Sweep the bar to your thighs with the lats
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 10 to 15 rep range, progressing in 2.5 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Deadlift - back, glutes
- Pull-Up - back
- Chin-Up - back, biceps
- Lat Pulldown - back
Track the straight-arm pulldown properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
Get IronPack free on the App StoreFree download, iPhone. Currently on the New Zealand App Store, wider rollout to follow.
Photos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.