Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown

Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown is a beginner-level isolation in the strength category that primarily works the lats. It is performed with cable.

How to do it

1. 1Attach a rope to a high pulley and make your weight selection. Stand a couple feet back from the pulley with your feet staggered and take the rope with both hands. Lean forward from the hip, keeping your back straight, with your arms extended up in front of you. This will be your starting position.
2. 2Keeping your arms straight, extend the shoulder to pull the rope down to your thighs.
3. 3Pause at the bottom of the motion, squeezing your lats.
4. 4Return to the starting position without allowing the weight to fully rest on the stack.

Muscles worked

Primary muscles in filled badges, secondary in grey. Tap for more exercises per muscle.

Tips and common mistakes

• •Focus on the muscle contraction and control the eccentric (lowering) phase.
• •Add load only once you complete all reps with good form — progressive overload.
• •Initiate the pull from the target muscle rather than jerking with body momentum.
• •Prioritize full range of motion over heavy weight with partial reps.

Sets and reps

For hypertrophy: 3–4 sets × 8–12 reps with 1–2 reps in reserve (RPE 7–9) and 1–2 minutes rest. For strength: 3–5 × 4–6 with longer rest.