Exercise of the Week: X-Pulldown

The x-pulldown is a great vertical pulling movement which works the muscles of the back including the lats, teres major, rhomboids, and lower trapezius. This is a great variation of the lat pulldown and will build you up towards pull-ups. Set-up by kneeling on the ground and fully extending the hips. Maintain this position as you execute the upper body movement with a cable column. Grab the opposite handle so your arms create an X. Before moving the cables at all, squeeze the shoulder blades back and down and try maintaining this posture throughout the exercise. In the up position the palms should be facing forward, and as you pull the handles down and across, end with the palms facing the shoulders. This adds a small rotational component at the forearms and shoulders. The back needs to be stressed in not only a horizontal pulling action such as rows, but vertical pulling as well. That’s where the x-pulldown comes in!