Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
A beginner compound movement that trains the lats with a cable machine.
Force Type
Pull
direction of effort
Difficulty
Beginner
training level
Variations
3
equipment swaps
Muscles
4
primary + secondary
The verdict
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown has 6-step instructions, among the most thoroughly documented of the 38 lats exercises PlainExercise catalogues.
Ranked against the 38 lats exercises PlainExercise currently catalogues, not the full exercise-science literature.
Catalog lens
Two ways this record sits in the source corpus
These are placement measures for the documented record, not a score for exercise quality, safety, or suitability.
Instruction steps
#160 of 868
More thorough than most
Numbered source steps, ranked across every documented exercise.
Instruction text
#20 of 868
Most thoroughly documented
A separate character-length placement prevents step count from standing in for explanatory detail.
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown vs every catalogued exercise by instruction-text length
Where this record's instruction-character count sits among all 873 Free Exercise DB exercises with instructions, not a rating of the movement itself.
1,566 20th of 873 higher than 853 of 873 exercises
All exercises, banded by instruction-text character count
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more exercises. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Free Exercise DB · 2026-07-10
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown is documented from the Free Exercise DB (CC0) extract, last ingested July 2026. Classification, muscle roles and instruction text are source facts; the placement and cohort measures on this page are computed by PlainExercise and are not a rating of the movement.
What the Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown Data Reveals · DEEP · PULL/COMPOUND
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown stands out on upstream text volume: long Free Exercise DB records diverge here before taxonomy badges do.
Longer step lists usually mean finer setup cues, not a harder movement by themselves.
Across 38 catalogued lats movements, the average instruction record is 744 characters and 4.3 steps; 26 of those (68.4%) clear the same ≥500-character rich bar used here. This page ranks #3 of 38 by instruction-character length (2.10× the cohort average).
Among the 81 exercises that also use a cable machine, average instruction length is 786 characters; 2 of those peers are longer than this record. Equipment-matched peers are the honest comparison when you are choosing a substitute implement for the same pattern.
Other well-documented lats movements (same ≥500-character bar):
- Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown (6 steps, 1,588 chars)
- Wide-Grip Pulldown Behind The Neck (6 steps, 1,575 chars)
- Side To Side Chins (7 steps, 1,517 chars)
- Rocky Pull-Ups/Pulldowns (6 steps, 1,369 chars)
- Underhand Cable Pulldowns (6 steps, 1,290 chars)
Context matters: taxonomy (level, mechanic, force, musculature, equipment) does not account for individual biomechanics, joint history, or recovery. Common-mistake framing below is derived from classification fields, not case-specific coaching. Not medical or personal-training advice. Consult a physician or certified trainer before starting, especially with injuries, cardiovascular conditions, recent surgery, or pregnancy.
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown catalog footprint
Among 38 exercises whose primary muscle is lats, Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown ranks #2 by catalogued variation count. The upstream file attaches 2 images to this slug. See the step-count ranking for lats for peer documentation depth.
Muscles worked
The Free Exercise DB classifies each muscle as primary or secondary. It does not measure activation, so we show involvement, not percentages.
Source: Free Exercise DB primary/secondary muscle classification. Actual recruitment varies by load and form.
Intensity context
For reference, here is where common activities sit on the MET intensity scale. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown does not have a measured MET in the source data, its intensity depends on the load and effort you use. Estimate calories for any activity with the calorie calculator.
MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al., 2011). A general reference scale, not a rating of this specific movement.
How to do it
- Sit down on a pull-down machine with a wide bar attached to the top pulley. Make sure that you adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your height. These pads will prevent your body from being raised by the resistance attached to the bar.
- Grab the bar with the palms facing forward using the prescribed grip. Note on grips: For a wide grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance wider than shoulder width. For a medium grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance equal to your shoulder width and for a close grip at a distance smaller than your shoulder width.
- As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.
- As you breathe out, bring the bar down until it touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. The upper torso should remain stationary and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work except for holding the bar; therefore do not try to pull down the bar using the forearms.
- After a second at the contracted position squeezing your shoulder blades together, slowly raise the bar back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched. Inhale during this portion of the movement.
- Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Common mistakes
- Rushing through reps before the pattern is grooved - at this stage, a slow, controlled tempo (2-3s down, 1-2s up) on Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown teaches the nervous system the movement far faster than speed does.
- Cutting the range of motion short - moving the lats through its full safe range on Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown is what most reliably separates effective reps from wasted ones.
- Treating a compound lift like an isolation movement - Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown recruits multiple joints; bracing the core and engaging stabilizers matters as much as the prime movers.
- Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears on pull movements, keep shoulder blades down and back to load the correct muscles.
- Breathing out of sync with the lift on Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown - brace and inhale during the lowering phase, exhale on the exertion, especially important with a cable machine where control matters most.
Who this is for
- People new to resistance training who want to build a foundation in the movement pattern
- People who want to train the Lats and secondarily biceps, middle back
- People who have access to a cable machine
Who this is NOT for
- Anyone with acute pain in the joints or muscles involved, pain is a stop signal, not a soreness signal
- People with unresolved injuries in the loaded joints, seek clearance from a physical therapist first
- Anyone with a recent surgery, cardiovascular limitation, or pregnancy complication without physician clearance
Progression path
Once Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown feels comfortable with your current load, progress by (a) adding reps until you can complete 12+ per set, (b) increasing resistance by 2.5-5%, (c) moving to harder variations such as single-limb or longer lever versions, and eventually (d) stepping up to intermediate-level movements that train the same muscle.
See the Progression guide for a full framework on when to advance, and the Compound vs Isolation guide to decide when to prioritize this movement in your program.
Safety notes · CABLE · PULL/COMPOUND · FLOOR
- On PULL/COMPOUND lats work, warm up 5–10 minutes before loading Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown; keep first sets light until the path feels automatic.
- Sharp or joint pain is a stop signal. Muscle soreness during sets is normal; pain is not.
- Beginners on CABLE gear: cut volume before cutting form, drop a set rather than rush reps.
- General information only. Consult a physician or certified trainer before starting any new exercise program.
Variations
Alternate versions of this movement with different equipment.
Curated workout appearances
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown is not currently featured in one of the 186 curated workout routines on this site.
Nationwide exercises with similar documentation depth
Two Free Exercise DB peer sets for Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown, drawn across all muscles (not the lats-only related list below). Each metric produces a different neighborhood.
Similar instruction step count
Nearest catalog records by numbered steps.
Similar instruction text length
Nearest catalog records by upstream instruction characters.
Related exercises
Other exercises that target the Lats.
See all Lats exercises.
Using the wide-grip lat pulldown
Three ways to put it to work.
- Train the lats 2–3 times a week with 48+ hours between hard sets; pair this with other lats movements for balanced development. All lats exercises
- No cable? The documented variations swap the implement without changing the movement pattern. See variations
- As a compound lift, this trains several muscles at once, anchor your session around it before isolation work. Compound vs isolation
Form before load. If a movement causes sharp or joint pain, stop and substitute a safer alternative, this is general information, not medical or training advice.