Cable Straight Arm Pulldown (With Rope)

Step 1: Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step 2: Grab the rope attachment with both hands and extend your arms straight out in front of you. Step 3: Keeping your core engaged, exhale and pull the rope down toward your thighs. Step 4: As you lower the rope, focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together. Step 5: Inhale and slowly return to the starting position, keeping your arms straight. Step 6: Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.

How to perform the Cable Straight Arm Pulldown (With Rope)

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Cable Straight Arm Pulldown (With Rope) using your cable.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your rhomboids.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your rhomboids rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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