Back · Cable
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
How to do the wide grip lat pulldown, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Vertical Pull
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Sit at a lat pulldown machine with a wide grip on the bar, palms facing forward. Pull the bar down towards your upper chest, keeping your elbows pointed outwards. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together as you lower the bar. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
- 1Take a grip wider than shoulder width and pull the bar to your upper chest, feeling your lats and upper back engage
- 2Initiate by drawing your shoulder blades down and back before bending your elbows
- 3Pause briefly at the bottom of the rep to maximise the squeeze before controlling the return
Common mistakes
- Don't lean back excessively or jerk your torso to move the weight
- Avoid pulling with your biceps, focus on your back doing the work
- Don't allow the bar to snap back up; control the eccentric phase
Muscles worked
The wide grip lat pulldown mainly works the lats and biceps, with the forearms, lower traps, mid traps, upper abs, and rear delts assisting.
- LatsPrimary
- BicepsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Lower TrapsSupport
- Mid TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Rear DeltsSupport
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown strength standards
See how your wide grip lat pulldown ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.
Bronzee1RM95 lb
Silvere1RM137.5 lb
Golde1RM195 lb
Platinume1RM250 lb
Diamonde1RM285 lb
Champione1RM312.5 lb
Find your rank
Enter your best set. We estimate your 1RM and match it to a tier.
Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.
Kovo programs the wide grip lat pulldown for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More back exercises
- How to do the archer pull-up
- How to do the resistance band assisted pull-up
- How to do the machine assisted pull-up
- How to do the back extension bench back extension
- How to do the machine back extension
- How to do the back lever
Last reviewed April 2026.