A lat pulldown brings your arms down from overhead, usually against a machine weight or a band. The video shows a standing version with no equipment, which is a simple way to learn it: both arms go up, then your elbows come down to your sides as if you were pulling a bar toward you. With nothing to pull against, most of the work is done by the muscles that draw your shoulder blades down and together (lower and middle trapezius, rhomboids). The broad muscle down each side of your back (latissimus dorsi) only works hard once a band or machine weight pulls back, and the voice guide describes that machine version.

How to do the lat pulldown

Stand upright, feet roughly hip width apart, knees soft and your weight spread evenly over both feet.
Reach both arms straight up above your head, about shoulder width apart, with your palms facing forward.
Before your elbows bend, set your shoulder blades: draw them gently down and together, away from your ears.
Bend your elbows and draw them down to the sides of your ribs, as if pulling a bar toward your upper chest. Your forearms end up upright, with your hands at about ear height and palms still facing forward. Squeeze your shoulder blades down and together for a moment.
Reach back up slowly to the start, keeping your trunk upright and your ribs down rather than arching your back.

What you should feel

Effort around and between your shoulder blades, and a little below your armpits. With no weight this is gentle work, so the aim is to feel those muscles switch on rather than to tire them. Your neck should stay relaxed.

Common mistakes

Shrugging up toward your ears as the arms go overhead.
Letting the lower back arch and the ribs flare forward as you pull.
Letting the arms float back up loosely instead of reaching with control.
Leaning back to help the pull, which the voice guide warns against on the machine.

How often

Many programs use 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow pulls, a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain or a catch in the shoulder, or the shoulder feels as if it might slip out, while your arms are overhead or as you pull.
Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down your arm or into your hand.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
A sudden pop or tearing feeling in the shoulder that brings sharp pain, new weakness or trouble lifting the arm. Stop and contact your surgical team the same day, or get medical advice the same day if you have not had surgery.
The shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or your hand turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.
A sudden pop or snap at the front of your elbow, sudden sharp pain there, or the muscle at the front of your upper arm bunches up or changes shape. Stop and go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day, even if you can still bend the elbow, as this can be a torn biceps tendon.

From the clinic

Practicing with no weight lets you get the shoulder blades moving well before anything pulls back on you. The voice guide talks you through the gym machine instead. Keep your trunk upright, pull the bar down in front of you to your upper chest, squeeze at the bottom, and don't lean back to help. Your shoulder blades do the same job on the machine as in the video. For resistance at home, the band lat pulldown uses a band fixed over a door, and the resistance band row works similar muscles with a pull toward your waist.

On a machine, pick a weight you can pull every time without leaning back or jerking, and go up in small steps. Many programs use 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 pulls at a machine, 2 or 3 days a week. The bar comes down in front of your face to your upper chest. Pulling it behind your neck forces the shoulder into a position that strains the front of the joint, so skip that version.

If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every repetition and never hold your breath. After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Lat pulldown