Exercise 0007 · REF 4IKbhHV
Alternate lateral pulldowns work one arm at a time on the cable stack, which forces each lat to control the weight independently instead of letting a dominant side take over like on a standard pulldown. That makes it useful for catching left-right imbalances early. Pull through the elbow rather than the hand and resist the urge to lean back and turn it into a row.
How to Do the Alternate Lateral Pulldown
- Sit on the cable machine with your back straight and feet flat on the ground.
- Grasp the handles with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lean back slightly and pull the handles towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Pause for a moment at the peak of the movement, then slowly release the handles back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Muscles Worked
The Alternate Lateral Pulldown primarily targets the Lats, with Biceps as the primary synergist muscle group, along with the Rhomboids.
More Back Exercises
Archer Pull Up
Assisted Parallel Close Grip Pull-Up
Assisted Pull-Up
Assisted Standing Chin-Up
Assisted Standing Pull-Up
Back Extension On Exercise Ball
More Lats Exercises
Back Pec Stretch
Band Assisted Pull-Up
Band Close-Grip Pulldown
Band Fixed Back Close Grip Pulldown
Band Fixed Back Underhand Pulldown
Band Kneeling One Arm Pulldown
Equipment Alternatives
Don't have cable? These target the same lats with different equipment.
FAQ
- What muscles does the Alternate Lateral Pulldown work?
- The Alternate Lateral Pulldown primarily targets the lats, with the biceps and rhomboids assisting.
- What equipment do I need for the Alternate Lateral Pulldown?
- The Alternate Lateral Pulldown is done with a cable.
- What's a good alternative to the Alternate Lateral Pulldown?
- If you don't have access to a cable, the Archer Pull Up targets the same lats using body weight instead.