Machine Pulldown
lats
What moves the load, and what it costs
3.5MET
Lats is the prime mover, with the biceps, upper back assisting. A fixed-path pulldown with a supported torso. Ideal for training close to failure without technique deteriorating.
Cue: Set the chest pad or thigh pad snug so the torso cannot rise with the weight.
स्रोत·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·FILED UNDER WEIGHTS, 8–15 REPS·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files machine pulldown under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 3.5, and middling for conditioning work.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so machine pulldown is filed under Resistance training (weight lifting), multiple exercises, 8–15 repetitions at varied resistance.
- Take the category's MET value — 3.5. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 3.5 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Machine Pulldown: 3.5 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 4.29 kcal/min
स्रोत·ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| LatsLatissimus dorsi | Prime mover | Pulls the upper arm down and back towards the ribs (shoulder extension and adduction) and rotates it inwards. It is the prime mover in every pull-up and pulldown. |
| BicepsBiceps brachii and brachialis | Synergist / stabiliser | कोपर वाकवतो, आणि (फक्त biceps brachii) तळहात वरच्या दिशेने फिरवतो. तो खांद्यावरूनही जातो, त्यामुळेच इनक्लाइन कर्ल आणि प्रीचर कर्ल वेगळे जाणवतात. |
| Upper backRhomboids and middle trapezius | Synergist / stabiliser | खांद्याची पाती एकमेकांजवळ आणि मणक्याच्या दिशेने ओढतो (scapular retraction). प्रत्येक आडव्या रोमध्ये त्यावर भार येतो; प्रत्येक पुलडाउनमध्ये त्यावर कमी भार येतो. |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
Machine. Every rep should look like the first one. The moment it stops looking like the first one, the set is finished.
PATTERN · PULL
- Set the thigh pad so your legs are pinned and you cannot rise off the seat.
- Take the handles and sit tall with a slight backward lean of 10 to 20 degrees, chest up.
- Set the chest pad or thigh pad snug so the torso cannot rise with the weight.
- Pull the shoulder blades down first, then drive the elbows towards your ribs until the bar reaches the top of your chest.
- Squeeze for a beat, then let the bar return all the way up until the arms are straight and the shoulder blades rise.
- Keep the torso angle the same on every rep — if you lean further back to finish, the weight is too heavy.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Leaning back further as the set gets hard.
It turns a pulldown into a bad row and hides the point at which the set should have ended.
Pulling behind the neck.
It forces the shoulder into extreme external rotation with load and offers nothing the front version does not. Pull to the chest.
Not letting the arms straighten.
The stretched position is where the lat does its best work. Let the shoulder blades travel up at the top of every rep.
Regress it, or progress it
Regress — earn it first
Nothing on this site regresses it further: this is already near the entry point of its pattern. Take load off, shorten the range, or slow the tempo — in that order.
Prescription: load, reps, rest
Read off the goal, then hold the technique constant as the load climbs. Derived from the movement's mechanics, not invented for this page: a compound lift loads several joints, so it tolerates heavy loads and needs long rests.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–5 | 3–6 | 3–5 min | Heavy loads need long rests. Cutting rest to two minutes turns a strength set into a conditioning set. |
| Muscle size | 3–4 | 6–12 | 90–180 sec | Take most sets to within one to three reps of failure. Total weekly hard sets per muscle matters more than the exact rep number. |
| Endurance / fat loss | 2–4 | 12–20 | 45–75 sec | Lighter loads and shorter rests. Fat loss is decided by the diet; this preserves muscle while it happens. |
| First month | 2–3 | 8–10 | 2 मिनिटे | Well short of failure, same weight every set, until the movement looks the same on the last rep as the first. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: Resistance training (weight lifting), multiple exercises, 8–15 repetitions at varied resistance — 3.5 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 3.5 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 4.29 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
स्रोत·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the machine pulldown work?
Machine Pulldown is a compound movement in which the lats is the prime mover, assisted by the biceps, upper back. Pulls the upper arm down and back towards the ribs (shoulder extension and adduction) and rotates it inwards. It is the prime mover in every pull-up and pulldown.
Is the machine pulldown good for beginners?
होय. तांत्रिक अवघडपणासाठी या साइटवर याला 5 पैकी 1 गुण आहेत — प्रशिक्षकाशिवाय एकाच सत्रात शिकता येण्यासारखे. सर्वात कमी योग्य वजनाने आणि 8–10 च्या दोन किंवा तीन सेटने सुरुवात करा.
What can I do instead of the machine pulldown at home?
The band lat pulldown is the nearest home-friendly version. Where a bodyweight substitute does not exist, progress by slowing the tempo and using single-limb versions instead of adding load.
How many sets and reps of the machine pulldown should I do?
For muscle size, 3–4 sets of 6–12 with 90–180 sec rest. For strength, 3–5 sets of 3–6 with 3–5 min rest. In your first month, 2–3 sets of 8–10, stopping well short of failure. Total weekly hard sets per muscle group matters more than the exact rep number in any of these ranges.
Does the machine pulldown burn fat from the lats?
नाही. कोणताही व्यायाम ज्या भागाला प्रशिक्षण देतो त्या भागातील चरबी कमी करत नाही — स्पॉट रिडक्शनची वारंवार चाचणी झाली आहे आणि तसे होत नाही. लॅट्सचा व्यायाम खालचा स्नायू तयार करतो; शरीरातील चरबी कुठून कमी होणार हे एकूण कॅलरी तुटवडा आणि तुमची जनुके ठरवतात, तुम्ही कोणता व्यायाम निवडला हे नाही.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
स्रोत·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
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