Back · Pulldown and pull-up
Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown
The Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown mainly trains your lats and biceps. Also working: upper back.
Both cables
Stable
How to do it
- Kneel in the middle, grip the bar underhand, palms facing you
- Chest up, lean back slightly
- Pull your elbows down close in front of your body, bar to your upper chest
- Extend slowly without locking out your elbows
Coach’s tip
With an underhand grip your biceps pull hard too, so you can usually handle a bit more weight than wide overhand. Good preparation for the chin-up.
Noticeably loads the elbow. If you tell DCFT that this joint bothers you, the app leaves exercises like this one out and picks a better supported alternative.
Setup
Pulley
Both pulleys at the top
Grip
Long bar, underhand, on both cables, shoulder width
Load
Both cables
Needs two cable towers
You need
Single handles
Stability
A bench, the floor or the frame takes the counterforce, or the cable pulls straight up or down. Good for heavy sets.
Alternatives
Other exercises for the same movement (pulldown and pull-up). In DCFT you can swap with one tap, and the app only offers what your equipment allows.
Questions about this exercise
What muscles does the Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown work?
Mainly the lats and biceps. The upper back help.
How do I set up the cable machine for the Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown?
Pulley: Both pulleys at the top. Grip: Long bar, underhand, on both cables, shoulder width.
Can I do the Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown on a single cable tower?
Not like this. The Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown needs both cables at once, so two towers. If you set up DCFT for one tower, the app leaves it out of your plan and uses exercises such as Pull-Up and One-Cable Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown instead.
What can I do instead of the Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown?
For the same movement: Pull-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up and Kneeling Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown. In DCFT you swap with one tap.
DCFT
The Kneeling Underhand Lat Pulldown in DCFT
In the app this exercise comes with your weight: the plate to pin, what you lifted last time and a rest timer that starts by itself.
Free on the App Store for iPhone. Pro is a one-time purchase with no subscription.