Rope Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown

Also known as: Rope straight-arm pulldown, Straight-arm cable pulldown with rope, Cable rope pullover

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Body Part: Back

Description

Hinge forward at a high pulley and sweep a rope from head height to your thighs on straight arms, so your lats move the weight instead of your biceps. Most of the work lands along the sides of your back and in the teres major, the small muscle at the back of the armpit that helps the lats. Rear delts and the small shoulder-blade muscles hold the joint in place; your triceps only stop the elbows from bending. The rope's neutral grip, hands close together, sits better with many wrists and shoulders than a bar. Use it as a lat warm-up before pull-ups or rows, or as a finisher.

How to Perform

Set the pulley at the very top of the column and clip on a triceps rope.
Hold one rope end in each hand just above the knobs, palms facing each other and hands about a fist apart.
Walk back about two steps, until the plates lift with your arms reaching up toward the pulley. Feet hip-width, knees softly bent.
Push your hips back and lean your torso to roughly 30–40° above horizontal. Back flat, head neutral, arms in line with your torso.
Pull your shoulders down, away from your ears, and set a slight elbow bend that stays fixed for the whole set.
Moving only at the shoulders, sweep the rope down in a wide arc to the front of your thighs, just above the knees. Pause a beat.
Take 2–3 seconds to let the rope rise along the same arc, until you feel a stretch under your armpits. Keep the plates off the stack.
When you finish, step toward the column and let the rope ride up before you let go, so the stack doesn't slam.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Secondary Muscles:

Tips

Work with 10–20 reps a set; 12–15 is a good place to start. Below about 8 reps the elbows tend to start bending. Build the reps before the load. Once all sets reach 20 with the same hinge and still elbows, go up the smallest step on the stack (usually 2.5–5 kg) and drop back to about 12. If your stack only jumps in 5 kg plates, stay at each weight longer and slow the way up to 3 seconds.
Feel it along the sides of your back from the armpit toward your waist, with a clear stretch under the armpits at the top. A burning lower back means your torso is moving or your back is rounding: end the set there. If your triceps tire first, your elbows are bending.
Pick the rope over the bar when your wrists or shoulders like a neutral grip, and the bar when you want a fixed overhand grip and a bit more weight. Since the elbows never bend, it's also a good lat option when rows and pulldowns bother your elbows. Easier: stand a little taller and stop at your hips. Harder: take 3–4 seconds on the way up and hold 1–2 seconds at your thighs.
Substitutes: Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown (same arc with a bar and an overhand grip), One-Arm Straight-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown (one side at a time), Machine Pullover (seated, no hinge to hold), Dumbbell Pullover (on a bench when there's no cable).

Common Mistakes

Bending your elbows on the way down so the rope gets pushed like in a triceps pushdown. Set a slight bend at the top and keep it; if the elbows still move, go lighter.
Standing up as the rope comes down, with the hips driving forward to help. Set the hinge before the first rep and keep your chest at the same angle, braced as if someone were about to shove you.
Standing too upright or too close to the column. The cable then hangs almost straight down and goes slack before your hands reach your thighs. Step back until the cable lines up with your arms at the start.
Rounding your lower back to drive the rope further. The rep ends at the front of your thighs; hinge from the hips with a flat back and let only the shoulders move.
Cutting the top short, so your arms never get back in line with your torso. Let the rope rise until you feel the stretch under your armpits, with the plates still in the air.