Cable Incline Pushdown

What it is

This exercise builds strength and width in your back by isolating your latissimus dorsi, or lats. You'll perform a pulling motion with a straight bar from an incline bench, engaging your major back muscles. It's an effective way to develop a strong, sculpted back using a cable machine.

Technique tips

• Set up on an incline bench, facing away, with a pronated, shoulder-width grip.
• Start with arms extended, bar near your thighs, feeling your lats activate.
• Keep upper arms still; lift the bar overhead in a controlled semi-circle.
• Inhale as you lift; exhale as you slowly pull the bar back down.
• Focus on squeezing your lats to initiate each repetition.
• Control the weight throughout the entire movement, avoiding momentum.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.