One-Arm Straight-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown

Also known as: Single-arm straight-arm cable pulldown, One-arm straight-arm pulldown, Single-arm cable pullover

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Body Part: Back

Description

Stand facing a high pulley and sweep one straight arm from head height down to your thigh to train one lat at a time, with no help from the biceps. The work runs from your armpit down the side of your back: the lat first, then the teres major at the back of the armpit and the infraspinatus and teres minor on the shoulder blade. Your free hand on your hip tells you if your torso twists. Pick it if you can't feel your lats in pulldowns and rows or one side lags. Want the elbow to bend and the handle to reach your shoulder? That's the One-Arm Lat Pulldown.

How to Perform

Clip a single handle to the high pulley and pick a light weight; one arm moves far less than two arms on a bar.
Hold the handle like a ski pole: thumb toward the pulley, palm facing in, wrist straight. No need to squeeze it hard.
Face the tower with the pulley in line with your shoulder and step back until the stack lifts, arm straight and hand at head height.
Stand tall with feet hip-width, knees soft and ribs down, and rest your free hand on your hip.
Pull the shoulder down first, then sweep the straight arm down in front of you until your hand is beside your thigh.
Hold a second, then take 2–3 seconds to let the arm rise along the same arc until you feel a stretch under your armpit.
Do every rep on one arm, then switch. Start with your weaker side and match its reps on the other.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Secondary Muscles:

Tips

Two or three sets of 10–15 reps per arm suit this lift, or up to 20 when you let the arm rise slowly.
Going heavier than about 8–10 clean reps per arm rarely pays off here. Add reps before weight: when both arms reach 15 on all sets with a straight elbow, a still torso and a one-second hold at the thigh, move the pin down one plate (usually 2.5–5 kg) and restart at 10. One arm feels a 5 kg jump far more than two do, so on a stack with big plates use the add-on weight or stay longer on reps.
Most of the work lands from your armpit down the side of your back toward your waist, and at the back of the armpit and over the shoulder blade. Some work at the back of the upper arm is normal; if your triceps burn more than your back, the elbow is bending and straightening.
If raising the arm to head height pinches the front of your shoulder, or the elbow and torso won't stay still, start the arc at shoulder height with less weight, or do the two-arm rope version for a while. To make it harder, take 3 seconds to let the arm rise and hold 2 seconds at the thigh; later, hinge forward about 30° so the arm starts in line with your torso and the stretch gets longer.
Use this one-arm version to work each lat on its own and even out your sides, and the two-arm versions to move more weight in less time. Substitutes: Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown, Rope Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown (the closest two-arm version, same neutral grip), Dumbbell Pullover (no cable needed), Machine Pullover (the seat holds your torso still).

Common Mistakes

Bending the elbow on the way down until it turns into a one-arm pulldown or a triceps pushdown. Set a soft elbow at the top and keep that angle; hand and upper arm move as one piece from the shoulder. Can't do it? Lighten the weight.
Twisting toward the working side or leaning back to finish the rep. Keep the free hand on your hip and both hips and shoulders square to the tower. If the torso has to move, the weight is too heavy.
Shrugging, or letting the shoulder roll forward at the bottom. Pull the shoulder down before the arm moves and finish with the arm by your side, chest tall, hand next to the thigh rather than pushed forward or behind your hip.
Cutting the top short: the hand stops at chest height and the lat never gets a stretch. Let it rise to about head height on every rep, and step back if the weight touches down.