Single Arm Lat Pulldown

In SetGrip: Lat Pulldown (Single Arm)

Secondary muscles
Biceps, Forearms
Body part
Back
Laterality
Unilateral (one arm at a time)
Category
Strength

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One handle on the high pulley turns the pulldown into a single-side movement: the working lat gets a longer stretch and a fuller pull across the body, and your trunk has to resist twisting toward the stack. Run your weaker side first and match its reps with the stronger arm to keep the two even.

How to do the Single Arm Lat Pulldown

  1. Attach a single handle to a high pulley cable machine.
  2. Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Grasp the handle with an overhand grip and extend your arm fully.
  4. Keep your back straight and your core engaged.
  5. Pull the handle down towards your side while keeping your elbow close to your body.
  6. Pause for a moment at the bottom of the movement, squeezing your lat muscle.
  7. Slowly release the handle back to the starting position.
  8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
  9. Switch sides and repeat the exercise with the other arm.

Tip: Pull the elbows toward your hips, not the bar toward your chin.

Muscles worked

Primary

Lats · Back

The lats pull the upper arm down and in, and you should feel a stretch at the top of the rep and a squeeze at the bottom along the sides of the back.

Secondary

  • Biceps — The biceps bend the elbow and take a bigger share with an underhand grip; if they tire before the lats, widen the grip or use a neutral handle.
  • Forearms — Grip endurance can limit heavy sets, so use straps if the hands give out first.

Common mistakes

  • Rowing the bar — a slight lean is fine but if the torso swings past 30 degrees you are rowing, not pulling down; sit tall and let the elbows travel straight down.
  • Pulling behind the neck by accident — unless you are deliberately training the behind-the-neck version light with good shoulder mobility, bring the bar to the top of the chest and no further.
  • Starting with the arms — initiate by pulling the shoulders down away from the ears, then let the elbows follow.
  • Stack slamming on the return — control the bar all the way back up until the arms are straight and the lats are stretched.

Where it fits in a workout

Pulldowns go after pull-ups or as the main vertical pull if you cannot do pull-ups yet. Superset with a straight arm pulldown or cable row on the same stack.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without cable

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.