Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown
A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
Starting position
End position
How to Do Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown
- Attach a rope to a high pulley and make your weight selection. Stand a couple feet back from the pulley with your feet staggered and take the rope with both hands. Lean forward from the hip, keeping your back straight, with your arms extended up in front of you. This will be your starting position.
- Keeping your arms straight, extend the shoulder to pull the rope down to your thighs.
- Pause at the bottom of the motion, squeezing your lats.
- Return to the starting position without allowing the weight to fully rest on the stack.
Muscles Worked
Alternatives to Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown
10 movements that train the same primary muscle, closest substitutes first — same kind of training, then variations of the movement itself, then a similar difficulty.
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1
One Arm Lat Pulldown
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
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2
Straight-Arm Pulldown
A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
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3
Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.
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4
One-Arm Dumbbell Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using dumbbells.
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5
One-Arm Long Bar Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.
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6
Straight Bar Bench Mid Rows
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.
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7
Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
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8
Kneeling Single-Arm High Pulley Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
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9
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
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10
Bent Over Two-Arm Long Bar Row
An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles do rope straight-arm pulldown work?
Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown primarily works the upper back.
What equipment do I need for rope straight-arm pulldown?
Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown uses cable machine.
Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown: is it suitable for beginners?
Yes. Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown is rated beginner. Movements you can learn in a session, with a low skill floor and a forgiving failure mode.
What can I do instead of rope straight-arm pulldown?
One Arm Lat Pulldown, Straight-Arm Pulldown, Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.
Can Fitnit count my rope straight-arm pulldown reps automatically?
Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; rope straight-arm pulldown can be logged manually in the app, and tracked movements are added over time.
Photographs and step-by-step instructions from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. Muscle mapping and alternatives by Fitnit.
Track Your Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown with AI
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