Lifters Club
Exercises

Band Kneeling Pulldown

A kneeling pulldown using an overhead band anchor — a home-friendly alternative to the cable lat pulldown.

Works
Back
Also works
Biceps
Equipment
Band

How to

  1. 1Anchor a band high overhead — over a door, a beam, or a pull-up bar — and grab both ends.
  2. 2Kneel down far enough that the band has tension at full arm extension, with arms reaching up and out.
  3. 3Pull both elbows down and slightly back toward your ribs, leading with the elbows rather than the hands.
  4. 4Squeeze your shoulder blades down and together at the bottom, feeling the lats fully contract.
  5. 5Slowly return to the starting position over 2 to 3 seconds, fighting the band the whole way up.
  6. 6Repeat for 10 to 15 reps, prioritizing a strong lat squeeze at the bottom of every rep.

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the biceps and bending the wrists, which leaves the lats understimulated.
  • Leaning back excessively to use bodyweight, which turns the move into a row instead of a pulldown.
  • Letting the shoulders shrug up to the ears at the top, losing the lat-pull pattern entirely.
  • Snapping the band back up on the eccentric and missing the most muscle-building part of the rep.