Lat pulldown
3 sets of 8-12 pulldowns to your upper chest, 90 s rest.
- Slot
- Strength
- Focus
- Pulling strength
- Time
- 10 min
- Intensity
- Moderate intensity
- Injury risk
- Low injury risk
- Equipment
- Cable machine
How to do it
Sit at the machine with your thighs under the pads and take the bar a little wider than your shoulders. Pull it down to your upper chest, leading with your elbows and keeping your chest up, then let it rise with control until your arms are straight. Do 8-12 reps per set, 3 sets, with 90 seconds rest. A good way to build up to pull-ups.
Run it now
The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.
Lat pulldown
0:00 / 10:05
Ready
10:05
3 rounds
3 sets of 8-12 pulldowns to your upper chest, 90 s rest.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 3
- rounds
- 1:30
- rest
- 10:05
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Climbers who can't yet do five clean pull-ups, and anyone who wants pulling volume they can dial exactly. Being able to pick the load in small steps is the real advantage over a bar. If you already do sets of eight good pull-ups, your time is better spent adding weight to those than sitting at the machine.
Common mistakes
- Leaning back and swinging. Chest up, torso close to upright. Once you're rocking, it's a row with a bad angle.
- Pulling with the hands. Lead with the elbows, as the catalog says. Squeezing the bar hard makes it a forearm exercise, and your forearms have had enough from climbing.
- Letting it snap back up. Control the way up until the arms are straight. The lowering half is where most of the strength is built.
- Staying on it forever. It's a way in to pull-ups, not a destination. Test your pull-ups every few weeks so you notice when you've outgrown it.
How to progress
Work to 12 reps for all three sets with 90 seconds rest, then add the smallest plate the machine has and go back to eight. Every third or fourth week, try a set of pull-ups instead. When you get five clean ones, swap over and keep the pulldown for extra volume on a second day.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.