Intermediate

Wide Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

A wide neutral-grip bar sets the hands far apart but turned to face each other, so you keep the lat width emphasis of a wide grip while sparing the elbows and shoulders the strain of a fully pronated hold. The palms-in position tends to let the lats and lower traps take over cleanly with less biceps interference. It is a comfortable, productive workhorse for anyone whose wrists or elbows nag under a straight bar.

Equipment
Cables
Body part
Back, Lats
Type
Strength
Browse by muscle
Latissimus Dorsi
Browse by movement
Vertical Pull
Muscles worked
Target
Latissimus Dorsi
Secondary
Biceps Brachii Long Head, Biceps Brachii Short Head, Brachioradialis, Trapezius Lower, Trapezius Middle
Tertiary
Infraspinatus, Deltoid Posterior

How to do it

  1. 1

    Fit a wide neutral-grip handle to the high pulley and secure your thighs under the pad.

  2. 2

    Grasp the outer handles with palms facing in and sit tall with a small backward lean.

  3. 3

    Depress the shoulder blades, then pull the handle toward your upper chest.

  4. 4

    Drive the elbows down and slightly back until the bar nears the collarbones.

  5. 5

    Squeeze the lats, then extend the arms fully and let the shoulders rise into a stretch.

  6. 6

    Exhale on the pull, inhale on the release, and keep the torso angle constant.

Tips

  • Think about pulling with the elbows, letting the hands act only as hooks.
  • Keep a proud chest and avoid rounding forward as the bar reaches the top.
  • A gentle lean back is fine, but do not turn it into a rowing motion.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Multi-grip bars carry two or three pairs of handles, and it is easy to end up on the inner pair and call it a wide pull; take the outermost neutral grips or the variation is a close-grip pulldown by another name.
  • The elbows are driven straight down as they would be on a V-handle, which pulls the upper arms in front of the body; on this bar they travel down and a touch back.
  • The bar itself is heavy and swings on the carabiner, and letting go with one hand at the end of a set sends it into the frame or your knee; return it with both hands and stand up to rack it.
  • Comfort makes this the default, and months go by with no pronated grip in the program; rotate a wide overhand pulldown or a pull-up back in so the grip stays a choice rather than an avoidance.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the wide neutral-grip lat pulldown should I do?
Three sets of 8 to 12, once or twice a week, in the slot a wide pronated pulldown would take. A practical way to run it: use this bar for the heavier of your two weekly vertical pulls, since the grip lets you hold more, and keep a lighter, higher-rep pronated pulldown on the other day. Add a plate when all three sets finish at 12 with the arms straightening fully at the top and the torso angle unchanged.
What can I use instead of a wide neutral-grip bar for pulldowns?
Two single D-handles clipped to the same carabiner give a neutral grip that can travel as wide as you like, which is the closest substitute and often more comfortable. A multi-grip or football bar hung from the cable works if your gym has one. Failing that, a wide-grip pull-up on parallel bars, or a rope over the pulley held wide, keeps the palms facing each other. A standard V-handle keeps the neutral wrist but loses the width.
What is the wide neutral-grip lat pulldown good for, and who should skip it?
It keeps the width emphasis of a wide grip while letting the wrists and elbows sit in a neutral line, which suits anyone whose joints nag under a straight bar and anyone who wants to load a wide pull a little heavier. Beginners and intermediates can run it as a straightforward staple. Skip it if your goal is carryover to wide-grip pull-ups, because the hand position you meet on a bar is pronated, and skip it if the only parallel bar in your gym is narrow, which turns the movement into a close-grip pulldown.

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