Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown

What it is

Perform this compound pulling exercise using a cable machine. It primarily targets your latissimus dorsi muscles, often called lats, with secondary engagement of your biceps and middle back. You will experience this as a beginner-level movement for strengthening your upper body.

Technique tips

• Pull the bar down to lightly touch your upper chest.
• Maintain a slight lean in your torso, around 30 degrees.
• Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together at the bottom.
• Control the eccentric phase as you slowly return the bar upward.
• Breathe out as you pull the bar down, inhale as you release it up.
• Keep your forearms as hooks; do not actively pull with them.

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.