How to Do the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown for Stronger Back and Biceps

If your gym has a place to perform lat pulldowns, you know it’s one of the most frequently occupied spots of all. You reach up, sit down, and pull. What could be more user-friendly? And who doesn’t want to build a big back?

You think you’ve tried it all: wide-grip, narrow-grip, and you’ve even (carefully) ventured into the world of behind-the-neck lat pulldowns. But if you haven’t yet opened the door to the reverse-grip lat pulldowns, you may be missing out on a lot of back and biceps gains.

By reversing your grip, you’re putting a lot more emphasis on your biceps. Your back will still be in for a treat, but you’ll also be setting your biceps up for a spectacular pump. Here’s everything you need to know about the reverse-grip lat pulldown.

Table of Contents

• How to Do the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown
• Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Variations
• Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Alternatives
• Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Tips
• Benefits of the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown
• Muscle Worked by the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown
• Who Should Do the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown
• Common Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Mistakes 
• FAQs

How to Do the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown

To perform the reverse-grip lat pulldown, you’ll need a pulldown machine or a regular cable machine with a bar attachment. You could also do this using a resistance band attached to a high anchor in a seated or tall-kneeling position. This guide will focus on the version with a fully-equipped lat pulldown station.

Step 1 — Set Up

Grab the bar a little bit closer than shoulder-width apart with your palms facing you. You can choose to wrap your thumb around the bar or use a thumbless grip. Sit down facing the machine. 

Coach’s Tip: Adjust the thigh pad so that your stomach has enough room when you sit comfortably and so that your thighs are anchored under the pad but not completely locked down — you’ll have to be able to slip out and stand up to return the bar to starting position when your set is done.

Step 2 — Pull Down

Sit up tall and let the bar pull your arms up until you feel a stretch in your lats. Engage your core. Drive your shoulders back and toward the floor as you pull the bar down toward your chest.

Coach’s Tip: You can lean back to help the bar clear your chin and get it close to your chest. If you need to widen your grip a little bit to reach this position, that’s okay.

Step 3 — Control and Reset

Once the bar has passed beneath your chin or approached your chest, it’s time to reverse the movement. Maintain tension on your lats as you let the bar rise back up with control. Let yourself get a big stretch at the top. Reset and repeat for reps.

Coach’s Tip: If you don’t have any control of the bar when it rises back to the top position, you’re likely lifting too heavy.

Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Variations

Once you’ve gotten acquainted with the standard reverse-grip lat pulldown, you might want to try mixing things up a bit. Test out these variations to see which is the best fit for your program.

1 ½ Rep Reverse Pulldown

The 1 ½ rep method is a brutal but very effective way to up the ante of pretty much any exercise. If you want to use the principles of progressive overload without actually increasing the weight you’re using, 1 ½ reps are a solid way to go.

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They’re difficult to physically do but easy to figure out. First, bring the bar all the way down as you normally would to complete a rep. Then, let the bar rise up only halfway back to the starting point. Stop with your elbows at about 90 degrees and pull the bar all the way back down again. Finally, let it rise up to the starting position. That’s one rep.

Narrow-Grip Reverse Pulldown

As you figure out what type of grip feels best for your body, you might find that your reverse-grip lat pulldown naturally has a closer grip than your overhand lat pulldown grip. That’s likely because it’s less strain on your shoulders for your forearms to be supinated (palms facing you) when they’re closer together.

But with this variation, you’ll exaggerate that closeness even more. Perform your reps the same exact way, except with a grip that’s about the width of your cheeks instead of just inside your shoulders. If you need room to accommodate your upper arms when they come down toward your upper body, lean back a little more during that phase.

Wide-Grip Reverse Pulldown

Taking a wide grip for a reverse pulldown likely won’t be quite as wide as you would take it during an overhand lat pulldown. Depending on your limb length and shoulder mobility, your shoulders might not appreciate taking quite so wide a grip when your palms are facing you.

But if your mobility and limb length allows it, you can take a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart during a reverse-grip lat pulldown. This might be helpful if your arms need to make more room to accommodate your chest during the latter half of the pull. Perform these the same way you do with regular reverse-grip pulldowns.

Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Alternatives

If you don’t have a place to perform lat pulldowns, no problem. You can still reap similar benefits with these alternative exercises.

Reverse-Grip Resistance Band Lat Pulldown

All you’ll need here is a tall, stable anchor — think, a squat rack or power rack with a pull-up bar — and a resistance band. Depending on the length of your arms, torso, and band, you may be able to do this move in a tall-kneeling position or seated on bench. Alternatively, you may have to sit directly on the ground with your legs in a V out in front of you.

Once you’ve securely looped the resistance band above you, settle into your chosen position (kneeling or seated). Engage your core and perform a reverse-grip lat pulldown as usual. Pay special attention to the eccentric component here to maximize time under tension.

Seated Row

Perhaps your cable machine doesn’t have a lat pulldown component. Or maybe you’re in a stage of your training where you’re unable to lift overhead. Either way, the seated cable row can be performed with a cable machine or with resistance bands, and it’s a solid alternative to a reverse-grip pulldown.

Sit up tall and keep your core brace. When you grab the handle or resistance band — which should be anchored directly in front of you — allow it to pull you forward slightly to engage a stretch in your lats. Initiate the pull with your lats, keeping your shoulders back and down. Control the eccentric and repeat for reps.

Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row

If you’ve got a barbell and some weight plates on hand, you’re in luck. The reverse-grip bent-over row is a fantastic opportunity to build your back, biceps, grip strength, and stability in a hip hinge position — all at the same time.

Grab the bar with your palms facing up. Hinge at the hips until your back is near parallel with the ground. Maintain this position. Squeeze your glutes and engage your core. Pull the bar toward you just above your belly button by driving your elbows back. Keep your shoulders back and down. Initiate and control the pull with your lats.

Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Tips

Assuming you’re starting your pull days with barbell work — perhaps a bent-over row or deadlift — you’ll want to save reverse-grip lat pulldowns until after the main course. However, you may still want to do these before even smaller, single-joint accessory exercises like alternating biceps curls.

If you do want to save these for the very end of your session, though, use a lower weight and use it as a workout finisher. Here’s how to meet these different goals.

• For Strength: Do three to four sets of eight to 10 reps with moderate to heavy weight.
• For Muscle Mass: Perform two to three sets of 12 to 15 reps with a moderately heavy weight. Lower the weight slightly and then perform as many reps as possible all the way to failure.
• As a Finisher: Do four drop sets. For the first set, use a weight that you approach failure around 15 reps. Incrementally drop the weight for each of the following sets, approaching failure each time.

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Benefits of the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown

There are many reasons that the lat pulldown is so ubiquitous in the gym. Add a reverse grip to it, and you’ve got even more unique reasons to get after it.

Strengthen Your Back and Biceps

The primary reason many athletes turn to this exercise is its dual role as a strengthener of both your back and biceps. While your lats will remain your primary mover, reversing your grip allows your biceps to become even more engaged than they are with a conventional overhand grip.

Improve Your Grip

Since you’ll be placing a lot of emphasis on your biceps and forearms, this move is bound to help you develop a stronger grip. That’s a big asset when you’re aiming to develop a stronger deadlift, build bigger triceps, or both. Remember, though, to pull with your back primarily. Your grip will get taxed plenty while your back does most of the work.

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Add Low-Impact Training Volume

The reverse-grip lat pulldown doesn’t put all that much pressure on your body. You’re not ripping a loaded barbell off the ground or doing a back squat with 300 pounds on your back, after all. But you will get in a lot of high-quality training with much less impact on your body. 

This way, you can add this move as an accessory after high-intensity barbell exercises. You’ll be adding a bigger pump to your biceps and more work for your back without all that wear and tear on your body.

Muscle Worked by the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown

The name of the exercise gives some of this away. Your lats will, perhaps unsurprisingly, be the primary mover here. But expect your biceps and forearms to go to work, too.

• Lats: Your lats should be taking care of the major work here. This big, broad back muscle will initiate and follow through with the pull, as well as control the eccentric on the way up.
• Biceps: Your biceps play a large role in supination, otherwise known as the outward rotation of your forearm. The simplest way to picture this? Your palms facing up or facing you. That’s why the reverse-grip version of this exercise challenges your biceps so directly.
• Forearms: Your forearms will also get a lot of action here, as they assist with maintaining your grip strength. However, make sure they’re not the primary movers.

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Should Do the Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown

Athletes aiming to build a strong upper body and get better at pulling won’t want to sleep on this variation. From beginners to advanced athletes across the world of strength sports, the reverse-grip lat pulldown is a mainstay.

• Beginners: Even if you’re not into one particular strength sport, the reverse-grip lat pulldown is a relatively accessible way to practice vertical pulling. When you’re not ready to try pull-ups or chin-ups, this is a great way to strengthen your back and biceps.
• Bodybuilders: Many back and biceps workouts may well include some reverse-grip lat pulldowns. And that’s good news for bodybuilders, who have a vested interest in building both their biceps and lats.
• CrossFitters: You may not think of machine or cable exercises when you think of CrossFit, but these athletes need to develop a tremendous amount of strength and endurance in their back, biceps, and forearms. The reverse-grip lat pulldown is a way to add serious training volume without incurring as much muscle damage and body fatigue as cleans and muscle-ups.

Common Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown Mistakes

The reverse-grip lat pulldown isn’t all that mysterious — like its classic lat pulldown cousin, you sit down and pull. But that doesn’t mean that you’re impervious to mistakes.

Leaning Back Too Far

A bit of a backward lean can be tremendously helpful when you’re going heavy with lat pulldowns. But sending your torso back toward a more horizontal lean gives you a false impression of how much you can (and should) actually be lifting. The faster and harder you lean back, the more you’re yanking down with momentum instead of muscular strength.

Instead, opt for controlled reps that only utilize a slight backward lean. All that being said, there’s nothing wrong with a bit more body English toward the end of difficult sets to eke out an extra rep or two. Just make sure you’re not doing all your reps that way.

Leading With Your Biceps

Yes, using a reverse grip allows you to place greater emphasis on your biceps. That might be exactly why you’re using this variation to begin with. But emphasizing your biceps doesn’t mean leading with them.

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The reverse-grip lat pulldown is still a back exercise. For it to be most effective, treat it as such. Initiate each pull with your lats, bringing your shoulders back and down while imagining driving your elbows down and back slightly. Avoid yanking with your biceps and forearms. 

If you do that, you won’t be involving your lats nearly as much as you could. You’ll be leaving a lot of gains on the table.

Not Controlling Your Eccentric

With many lifts, the eccentric phase is the lowering portion of the exercise. But with lat pulldowns, the eccentric lengthening of your muscles happens on the way up. If you really want to maximize muscle gain, don’t let the cable machine yank the bar up between each rep. 

To make the most of each rep, control the ascent and resist the pull of the weight. This way, you’ll spend more time under tension and increase your muscle-building potential.

FAQs

Here are some typical questions that crop up about this move.

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