Cable Rope Straight Arm Pulldown

Hold both ends of the rope on a high pulley, step back one or two steps, and hinge at your hips to lean your torso forward. Keep your arms nearly straight, reaching forward and up, and pull your shoulders away from your ears.

Without really bending your elbows, pull the rope in a wide arc down to the sides of your thighs. Spreading the rope ends slightly past your thighs at the end lets your hands travel farther back than with a bar for a shorter, stronger lat contraction.

Briefly squeeze your lats beside your thighs, then slowly let the rope rise while keeping your arms long. Raise it only as far as your shoulders stay away from your ears and feel the area below your armpits lengthen.

Focus on the lat line from below your armpits to the back of your sides lengthening and then squeezing. Think of the rope coming down from closing your armpits, not from your arms.

Bending your elbows to press the rope down turns it into a triceps pushdown and increases triceps involvement. Bobbing your torso to use momentum breaks lat tension, so keep your hinge angle fixed.

Exhale as you pull the rope down and inhale slowly as you return it upward. Long, steady breaths make the stretch and the squeeze easier to feel clearly.

The rope lets your wrists rotate freely, so it is easier on the shoulders than a bar and allows a longer end range. Pause for 1 second over the last few centimeters to fully squeeze your lats before letting the rope rise.