How to do the Cable Incline Pushdown
BackBack & LatsCableBeginner
The cable incline pushdown is a deceptively powerful movement for building lat width and teaching proper shoulder depression mechanics from day one. Master this exercise and you lay the foundation for every vertical pull you will ever do.
Add this to my personalized plan →Muscles worked
Primary
LatsMid-back
Secondary
BicepsRear deltsForearms
Step-by-step
- Set the cable pulley high and grip the bar or rope with arms extended overhead at an incline angle
- Hinge slightly at the hips, brace your core, and lock your elbows in a soft bend throughout the movement
- Drive the cable down and toward your thighs by squeezing your lats and depressing your shoulder blades
- Hold the bottom position for one count, feeling the lat contraction, then return slowly under full control
Common mistakes
- Using your triceps instead of your lats by bending the elbows too much during the pull, fix this by keeping elbows nearly locked and initiating every rep with your shoulder blades
- Letting the shoulders shrug up toward the ears at the top of the movement, fix this by consciously pulling your shoulders down and back before each rep begins
- Rushing the eccentric phase and letting the cable snap back up, fix this by taking two to three full seconds to return to the start position on every rep
Pro tip — Before initiating the downward drive, take a half second to actively depress and slightly retract your scapulae first, this pre-loads the lats and eliminates shoulder and tricep compensation before the cable even starts moving.
Sets & reps by goal
Build muscle3–4 sets × 10–15 reps
Get stronger3–4 sets × 6–8 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 12–20 reps
Rest: 60–90 sec between sets.
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