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Cable Underhand Pulldown animation

How to do the Cable Underhand Pulldown

BackBack & LatsCableBeginner

The cable underhand pulldown is one of the most effective tools for building a wide, strong back because the supinated grip naturally recruits your lats through a fuller range of motion. Master this movement as a beginner and you lay the foundation for serious pulling strength that carries over to every row and chin-up you will ever do.

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Muscles worked

Primary
LatsMid-back
Secondary
BicepsRear deltsForearms

Step-by-step

  1. Sit tall at the cable station, lock your thighs under the pad, and grip the bar shoulder-width apart with palms facing you.
  2. Lean back slightly from the hips, about 15 to 20 degrees, and initiate the pull by depressing your shoulder blades before your arms move.
  3. Drive your elbows straight down toward your hips, pulling the bar to your upper chest while squeezing your lats hard at the bottom.
  4. Control the bar back to full arm extension over two to three seconds, feeling a deep stretch in your lats before the next rep.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much bicep by bending the elbows first instead of leading with the shoulder blades, which shifts load away from the lats. Fix this by thinking of your hands as hooks and focusing on pulling your elbows to your sides.
  • Jerking the weight down with momentum and losing control on the way back up, which wastes the eccentric phase. Fix this by choosing a weight you can lower in a slow, deliberate count every single rep.
  • Gripping too wide with a supinated grip, which reduces the mechanical advantage of the underhand position. Fix this by keeping your hands just inside shoulder width so the supination can fully engage the lats.

Pro tip — At the bottom of each rep, hold for a one-second pause and actively try to pull your elbows through the bench beneath you. This isometric cue eliminates lat disengagement at peak contraction and dramatically increases the mind-muscle connection that separates average results from exceptional ones.

Sets & reps by goal

Build muscle3–4 sets × 6–10 reps
Get stronger4–5 sets × 3–6 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 10–12 reps

Rest: 2–3 min between sets (60–90s on lighter days).

More Back exercises

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