Cable Close Grip Lat Pulldown
Also known as: Close grip lat pulldown, Narrow grip lat pulldown, Close grip cable pulldown
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Description
Sit at a high pulley, take the lat bar overhand with your hands a fist apart and pull it from straight arms down to your chin to build your lats. Your lats do most of the work, helped by the teres major and teres minor, while the lower traps pull your shoulder blades down. Biceps and forearms help, and this grip makes your forearms work harder than the standard pulldown does. It uses the same bar as the regular and wide-grip versions, so you can change grips between sets without swapping the attachment. Use it for variety, or when a wider grip bothers your shoulders at the top.
How to Perform
- Sit facing the stack and set the thigh pad so your legs are locked in, feet flat on the floor and knees bent about 90°.
- Stand up and grab the bar overhand in the middle, one hand on each side of the cable clamp, about a fist's width apart.
- Sit back down with the bar at arm's length and let your shoulders rise. Chest up, lean back only 5–10° from the hips.
- Start the pull by drawing your shoulders down, then drive your elbows down; they travel in front of your ribs and slightly out.
- Bring the bar straight down close to your face until it reaches your chin, a few centimeters above the collarbones, without changing your torso angle.
- Pause briefly with your shoulder blades down, then let the bar rise over 2–3 seconds until your arms are fully straight.
- At the end of the set, let go only when the bar is back overhead or you've stood up with it, so the stack doesn't slam.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Use 8–15 reps for muscle and 5–8 for strength; beginners do well with 10–15 on a weight they can pull to the chin without leaning back.
- Progress with reps first: once you hit the top number in all sets at the same torso angle, move the pin one plate down (usually 5 kg) and drop back to the bottom of the range.
- Feel it along the sides of your back, down toward the lower ribs, and between your shoulder blades, with a stretch under the armpits at the top. Your forearms will burn more than on a wide grip, but your back should be the main thing you notice.
- If the narrow overhand grip hurts your wrists or elbows, switch to the V-handle or an underhand grip instead of grinding through it. To make this version harder, take 3–4 seconds to let the bar up or pause for 2 seconds at your chin; the bodyweight version of this grip is the Close Grip Pull Up.
- Substitutes: Cable Lat Pulldown (same bar, hands about 1.5 shoulder widths apart), Cable Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown (V-handle, palms facing, easier on the wrists), Cable Reverse Grip Pulldown (underhand, more biceps), Lat Pulldown Machine.
Common Mistakes
- Hands creeping out toward shoulder width until you're doing the standard pulldown. Before every set, put one hand on each side of the clamp, a fist apart.
- Wrists bent back, or the bar rolling into your fingertips, so the forearms quit before your back does. Keep the wrists straight, seat the bar in the base of your fingers and use your hands as hooks.
- Leaning far back and rowing the bar down to your stomach. Hold the slight lean you set at the start, stop at the chin or the top of the chest, and take a plate off if you have to swing.
- Bending the elbows before the shoulders move, so the arms start the pull. Get the shoulders down first, then think about driving your elbows toward your ribs.
- Cutting the top short. Let the bar rise until your elbows are straight and your shoulders lift a little on every rep.
Recommended Exercises
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