Stiff arm, or straight arm, pulldowns can add thickness and width to your back muscles. The movement is performed using either a rope or straight bar attachment connected to a cable station. Use a light weight to ensure your back muscles, and not your arm muscles, are doing most of the work. Straight arm pulldowns help bring striations into your back muscles, perfect for a bodybuilder wanting to get into peak shape before a contest.
Anatomy
ExRx.net notes the straight arm pulldown primarily works the latissimus dorsi, or lat muscles, spanning the sides of your back. The lats come into play when you extend your shoulders, turn your upper arm inward, or retract your shoulder girdle during a rowing motion. Doing stiff arm pulldowns also recruits the pectoralis, or chest, muscles, the triceps, and the rear shoulder muscles as secondary muscle groups.
Exercise Form
Grasp a cable attachment connected to a high pulley, keeping your arms slightly bent to ease tension on your elbows. Move one foot slightly in front of the other and bend at the hip until your upper arms are at the sides of your head. Pull the cable attachment down toward your knees. Pause for a moment as your upper arms become parallel to your torso. Slowly move the attachment back to the starting position. Do four sets of 12 repetitions to get a defined, stronger back. Rest for 60 seconds between sets.
Alternatives
Other exercises that work out your lat muscles include barbell pullovers, pull ups, close grip pulldowns, and lat pulldowns. You can perform pullups with or without weights, or you can use a machine or spotter to do assisted pull ups to build up your strength gradually.
Tips
Warm up with five minutes of brisk jogging and stretch for 10 minutes before your workout to reduce the risk of injury. Do straight arm pulldowns after compound heavy back exercises like dead lifts and T bar rows to bring definition and shape to your back. Consult a physician before starting a resistance training regimen.
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