Your lats are the widest muscle in your back, running from your upper arm all the way down to your pelvis and spine. Their job is to pull your arm down and in toward your body, which is why almost every pulling exercise hits them to some degree. A well-built set of lats is what gives you that wide, tapered look from the front and thick stripes of muscle running down your back.
Cables keep tension on your lats through the whole range of an exercise instead of just at the point where a barbell or dumbbell feels heaviest. You can also change the pulley height and angle to shift where the resistance hits hardest, something you can’t do with a fixed bar. Many cable lat exercises let you train one arm at a time too, so you can fix a side-to-side imbalance that a two-handed pulldown or pull-up would hide.
I’m covering the 7 best cable lat exercises below, with the benefits and exact steps for each one. After that, I built a cable-only lat workout you can run start to finish, plus a look at lat anatomy and the questions I get asked most about training this muscle. For cable exercises across your whole back, not just the lats, see our cable back exercises roundup.
Table of Contents
- 1 The 7 Best Cable Lat Exercises
- 2 Cable-Only Lat Workout
- 3 Lat Anatomy
- 4 Frequently Asked Questions
- 4.1 How often should I train my lats?
- 4.2 Can you build your lats with cables only?
- 4.3 What’s the best cable exercise for lat width?
- 4.4 Cable row or cable pulldown, which is better for lats?
- 4.5 Do cable lat exercises help with pull-ups?
- 4.6 What rep range is best for cable lat exercises?
- 4.7 Why don’t I feel my lats on cable pulldowns?
- 5 Final Thoughts
- 6 References
- 7 Other Muscle Groups Exercises
- 7.1 The 9 Best Short Head Bicep Dumbbell Exercises
- 7.2 The 8 Best Short Head Bicep Exercises
- 7.3 The 7 Best Cable Glute Exercises
- 7.4 The 8 Best Lateral Head Tricep Exercises
- 7.5 The 9 Best Side Delt Exercises for Broader Shoulders
- 7.6 The 8 Best Rear Delt Bodyweight Exercises
- 7.7 The 7 Best Middle Trap Exercises
- 7.8 The 7 Best Cable Forearm Exercises
- 7.9 The 6 Best Cable Rear Delt Exercises (2023)
- 7.10 The 10 Best Front Delt Exercises
- 7.11 The 7 Best Medial Head Tricep Exercises
- 7.12 The 8 Best Bicep Cable Exercises
- 7.13 The 7 Best Long Head Bicep Dumbbell Exercises
- 7.14 10 Best Cable Shoulder Exercises
- 7.15 The 7 Best Lower Lat Dumbbell Exercises
The 7 Best Cable Lat Exercises
- Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown
- Cable Lat Pulldown
- Single-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown
- Half-Kneeling Cable Lat Pulldown
- Wide-Grip Cable Row
- Single-Arm Cable Row
- Cable Pullover
1. Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown
Benefits of the Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown
This is the exercise I reach for when I want to feel my lats working without any help from my arms. It also doubles as a solid warm-up before a heavier pulldown or row, since it gets blood into the muscle without taxing your grip.
- Isolates your lats since your elbows stay locked, so your biceps can’t take over the pull.
- Gives you a long stretch at the top and a hard squeeze at the bottom, good for building lat width.
- Easy on the elbows since there’s no bending under load, unlike a curl or pulldown.
How to Perform the Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown
- Attach a straight bar or rope to a high pulley and grab it with an overhand grip just outside shoulder width.
- Step back until your arms are extended in front of you around shoulder height, holding a slight bend at the elbows for the whole set.
- Hinge forward slightly from the hips and brace your core.
- Pull the bar down in an arc toward your thighs without bending your elbows.
- Let the bar rise back to shoulder height under control, feeling the stretch in your lats at the top.
Equipment: cable machine, high pulley, straight bar or rope attachment.
This video from Renaissance Periodization shows how to perform the straight-arm cable pulldown.
2. Cable Lat Pulldown
Benefits of the Cable Lat Pulldown
If you’re only going to do one cable lat exercise, make it this one. It’s the closest cable substitute for a pull-up, and it’s forgiving enough to fit into any program regardless of your pulling strength.
- Trains your lats through a long range of motion, from a full stretch overhead to a full contraction at your chest.
- Lets you load heavier than most single-arm cable lat exercises, good for building raw pulling strength.
- Adjustable grip width and bar attachments let you shift the emphasis across your back.
How to Perform the Cable Lat Pulldown
- Sit at the pulldown station and secure your thighs under the pad.
- Grab the bar with an overhand grip wider than shoulder width.
- Lean back slightly and pull the bar down to your upper chest, driving your elbows down and back.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the bottom of the rep.
- Let the bar rise back to full arm extension under control.
Equipment: cable lat pulldown station, wide bar attachment.
This video from Anytime Fitness shows how to use the cable lat pulldown machine.
Want to see how this compares against a bodyweight pull-up, or need a home-gym swap entirely? Check our lat pulldown alternatives guide.
3. Single-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown
Benefits of the Single-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown
I like this one for lifters who notice one side of their back filling in faster than the other. Training standing also means you can start adding this once your two-handed pulldown strength is solid.
- Trains each side of your back independently, so a weaker arm can’t hide behind a stronger one.
- Adds a rotational, core-stability demand that a two-handed pulldown doesn’t.
- Lets you angle the pull across your body for a different stretch than a straight-down pull.
How to Perform the Single-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown
- Attach a single handle to a high pulley.
- Stand facing the machine with your feet staggered and grab the handle with one hand.
- Pull the handle down and back toward your hip, leading with your elbow.
- Squeeze your lat hard at the bottom before returning to the start under control.
- Finish all your reps on one side before switching arms.
Equipment: cable machine, high pulley, single handle attachment.
This video from Nexus Performance Australia shows how to perform the single-arm lat pulldown.
4. Half-Kneeling Cable Lat Pulldown
Benefits of the Half-Kneeling Cable Lat Pulldown
This is the strictest version of a single-arm pulldown you can do. I’ll swap to this from the standing version any time I catch myself using body English to move the weight.
- Kneeling on one knee locks your hips in place, so you can’t lean back and cheat the weight down with momentum.
- Isolates your lat harder than the standing version, since your legs can’t help drive the pull.
- A good option if the standing single-arm pulldown puts too much strain on your lower back.
How to Perform the Half-Kneeling Cable Lat Pulldown
- Attach a single handle to a high pulley and kneel on the knee closest to the machine.
- Grab the handle so your working arm starts extended overhead.
- Brace your core and pull the handle down toward your hip, keeping your torso upright.
- Squeeze your lat at the bottom, then let the handle return under control.
- Finish your reps, then switch your kneeling leg and working arm.
Equipment: cable machine, high pulley, single handle attachment.
This video from Live Lean TV Daily Exercises shows how to perform the half-kneeling single-arm lat pulldown.
5. Wide-Grip Cable Row
Benefits of the Wide-Grip Cable Row
Think of this as the horizontal partner to the cable lat pulldown. Where the pulldown builds width, this row is where I load the heaviest weight on the list and build real back thickness.
- Pulling your elbows out and back instead of in shifts more work onto your lats and rear delts than a close-grip row does.
- Trains your lats along with your mid-back, so you build width and thickness in one exercise.
- The seated position takes your lower back mostly out of the movement, so you can focus on the pull.
How to Perform the Wide-Grip Cable Row
- Attach a wide bar to a low pulley and sit at the row station with your feet on the platform.
- Grab the bar with an overhand grip wider than shoulder width and sit up tall.
- Pull the bar to your lower chest, driving your elbows out and back.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the finish.
- Let the bar return under control until your arms are fully extended.
Equipment: cable row station, wide bar attachment.
This video from ScottHermanFitness shows how to perform the wide-grip low cable row.
For more cable row variations beyond the two on this list, see our cable row exercises guide.
6. Single-Arm Cable Row
Benefits of the Single-Arm Cable Row
This is my go-to for the second exercise on a back day once the bilateral rowing is done. The extra range you get from a free-moving handle makes it feel like a completely different exercise from a barbell row.
- Trains each lat independently, so you can match a weaker side’s volume to the stronger one.
- The free rotation of a single handle lets you pull toward your hip for a stronger lat contraction than a fixed bar allows.
- Easy to adjust the pulley height to change the angle of pull and hit slightly different parts of your back.
How to Perform the Single-Arm Cable Row
- Attach a single handle to a low pulley and sit at the row station, or stand facing it if there’s no seat.
- Grab the handle with one hand and extend your arm fully.
- Pull the handle back toward your hip, keeping your elbow close to your body.
- Squeeze your lat at the finish, then extend your arm back out under control.
- Finish your reps, then switch arms.
Equipment: cable machine, low pulley, single handle attachment.
This video from KAGED shows how to perform the single-arm seated cable row.
7. Cable Pullover
Benefits of the Cable Pullover
I save this one for the end of a session, once my grip is already fried from pulldowns and rows. It’s also a good option if you’ve got shoulder issues that flare up on heavier pulling exercises, since the load stays light and controlled.
- Trains your lats through the same overhead-to-hip arc a pull-up does, without your grip or biceps giving out first.
- Keeps tension on your lats even at the top of the range, where a dumbbell pullover loses most of its resistance.
- Works well as a finisher, since you can go lighter and still feel a hard lat contraction.
How to Perform the Cable Pullover
- Attach a rope or straight bar to a high pulley.
- Lie on a flat bench positioned a foot or two in front of the machine, or stand facing away from it.
- Grab the attachment with both hands, starting with your arms extended overhead.
- Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, pull the attachment down in an arc until it reaches your hips or thighs.
- Let it return overhead under control, feeling the stretch in your lats.
Equipment: cable machine, high pulley, rope or straight bar attachment, flat bench (optional for the lying version).
This video from Live Lean TV Daily Exercises shows how to perform the lying cable rope pullover.
Cable-Only Lat Workout
Here’s a full lat session built entirely from the exercises above. It opens with the heaviest bilateral pull, moves into a row for thickness, adds a unilateral pull to catch any imbalance, and finishes with two isolation exercises to fully stretch and squeeze the muscle. Rest 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets on the pulldown and row, and 60 to 90 seconds on the isolation work.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Cable Lat Pulldown | 4 | 8-10 |
| Wide-Grip Cable Row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Single-Arm Cable Row | 3 | 10-12 per side |
| Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown | 3 | 12-15 |
| Cable Pullover | 3 | 12-15 |
Run this once or twice a week as your dedicated back day, or drop the pulldown and row down to 2 sets each and use the rest as a finisher after a pull-up or deadlift session. If you’d rather rotate in the half-kneeling or single-arm pulldown instead of the standard pulldown, swap it in for the same sets and reps.
Add weight or a rep every week or two on the cable lat pulldown and wide-grip row, since those are the two exercises with the most room to get stronger over time. On the isolation work, straight-arm pulldown and pullover, I’d rather see you add a rep or two before you add weight. Both exercises lose their stretch and their strict form fast once the load gets too heavy for good control.
Lat Anatomy
Your latissimus dorsi, or lat, is a broad, flat muscle that starts along your spine, roughly from the middle of your back down to your pelvis, and attaches to the front of your upper arm bone. It’s the widest muscle in your body by surface area, which is why lat training does more for your back’s visual width than almost anything else you can do.
The lat has three jobs at the shoulder: it extends your arm (pulling it down from overhead), adducts your arm (pulling it in toward your body), and internally rotates your arm. Every exercise on this list uses some combination of those three actions, which is why pulldowns, rows, and pullovers all train the same muscle even though they look different.
The teres major sits right next to your lat and often gets called its “little helper” since it does a similar job at the shoulder. Your rear delts, rhomboids, and trapezius all assist on rowing exercises too, which is part of why a row builds more overall back thickness than an isolation exercise like the straight-arm pulldown or pullover. For a deeper look at what a specific pull trains, see our guide to lat pulldown benefits and muscles worked.
Your lats also cross your spine and help stabilize your torso under load, which is why deadlifts and squats train them to some degree even though nobody thinks of those as back exercises. That stabilizing role is part of why many powerlifters run lat work year round instead of treating it as a bodybuilding-only muscle. A stronger, more stable lat gives you a better bar path on a deadlift and a tighter upper back position under a squat bar.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I train my lats?
Twice a week works well for most lifters. Your lats recover faster than most other muscle groups, and hitting them with 2 sessions a week gets you more total volume than a single once-a-week back day without wrecking your recovery. If you’re only training back once a week, pair a pulldown with a row in the same session instead of splitting them across separate days.
Can you build your lats with cables only?
Yes. Your lats grow from progressive loading through a full range of motion, and a cable machine can do that just as well as a barbell, dumbbell, or pull-up bar. The workout above covers stretch, contraction, bilateral loading, and unilateral loading, which is everything your lats need. If you’re training at home without a cable stack, our lower lat dumbbell exercises guide covers the same patterns with just dumbbells.
What’s the best cable exercise for lat width?
The cable lat pulldown, done with a wide overhand grip. Pulling from directly overhead down to your chest trains the fibers that run along the outer edge of your back, which is what gives you that wide look from the front. The straight-arm pulldown is a strong second choice if your pulldown strength has stalled and you want a fresh angle.
Cable row or cable pulldown, which is better for lats?
Neither one beats the other, they train the lat from different angles and you get more out of doing both. A pulldown pulls your arm from overhead down to your chest, which is closer to a pull-up. A row pulls your arm from in front of you back to your hip, which adds more mid-back and rear delt work. Run both in the same week if you can.
Do cable lat exercises help with pull-ups?
Yes, especially the cable lat pulldown and straight-arm pulldown, since both train the same downward pulling pattern your lats use on a pull-up. Cables let you load a lighter weight than your bodyweight, which is useful if you can’t do a pull-up yet, or a heavier weight than your bodyweight once pull-ups get easy. If you’re building toward your first pull-up, our pull-up alternatives guide has more options to bridge the gap.
What rep range is best for cable lat exercises?
8 to 12 reps on the cable lat pulldown and wide-grip row, since those are the two exercises you can load heaviest and still control. On the straight-arm pulldown, single-arm pulldown, and pullover, I’d stick to 12 to 15 reps. Your lats respond to time under tension just as well as they do to a heavy weight, and those exercises are built for a slower, more controlled rep anyway.
Why don’t I feel my lats on cable pulldowns?
Usually it’s because your arms are doing more of the work than your back. Before you start pulling, pull your shoulder blades down and back so your lats are already engaged, then think about driving your elbows down toward your hips instead of just pulling the bar with your hands. Dropping the weight for a few sets until that cue clicks is worth more than adding plates while your arms take over the lift.
Final Thoughts
If I had to pick just 2 exercises from this list, I’d run the cable lat pulldown and the wide-grip cable row. Between the two you get a stretch-focused overhead pull and a thickness-focused horizontal pull, which covers most of what your lats need to grow. Add in a single-arm variation once a week to catch any imbalance between sides, and save the straight-arm pulldown or pullover for days when your elbows or biceps need a break from heavier pulling.
Progress these the same way you’d progress any pulling exercise. Add weight or reps over time, and don’t be afraid to drop the load on the isolation exercises in exchange for a slower, more controlled rep. Your lats respond better to a full stretch and a hard squeeze than to a heavy weight moved through half the range.
The most common mistake I see on any of these exercises is letting the shoulders shrug up toward the ears at the top of the pull. That turns a lat exercise into a shrug and takes tension off the exact muscle you’re trying to train. Set your shoulder blades down and back before every rep, and check your form in a mirror or on video every few weeks to make sure that position is holding as the weight goes up.
References
- Kenhub: Latissimus Dorsi Muscle
- Effects of grip width on muscle strength and activation in the lat pull-down (PubMed)
- Electromyographic Analysis of Back Muscle Activation During Lat Pulldown Exercise: Effects of Grip Variations and Forearm Orientation (PMC)
Other Muscle Groups Exercises
If you enjoyed this post, check out our other collections of the best exercises for each muscle group below.
