Best Lat Pulldown Machine For Home Gym

A lat pulldown machine is an age old piece of gym equipment – traditional lat pulldowns were popular because they mimicked the movement of a pullup. You could use less weight and go for more reps if you weren’t great at pullups (like me). There are also countless lat pulldown variations you can perform on your lat machine. So which lat pulldown machine is best for your home gym?

This article will explain the differences between our lat machines, and hopefully give you a better idea of which one will meet your needs. First we need to go through a checklist.

Do You Need a Budget Lat Pulldown?

If your budget is very tight, you might not be able to splash out on a standalone lat pulldown machine, but that doesn’t stop you from reaping the benefits of lat pulldowns. The Spud Pulley System is great if you’re in this boat. For less than two hundred bucks you can get a pulley system which is almost as effective as a standalone lat machine. They do look like DIY lat machines, but Spud are renowned for making high quality gear for powerlifters.

For lat pulldowns you’ll want to get yourself a Spud Tricep and Lat Pulley System, this will attach to any piece of gym equipment with a horizontal bar. Even a doorway if you don’t have those available.

If you were looking to do low rows, Spud also have a Low Row Pulley System. Another genius piece of gym equipment.

Do You Have a Super Bench?

ATX Lat Machines

If you don’t have a super bench and your budget isn’t especially tight, then you’re going to love the ATX lat machines. We stock both plate loaded and stack weight versions – which one you choose is a matter of preference.

All of our ATX Lat Pulldown Machines have a 1:1 weight ratio and come with a low row pulley and footpegs.

Plate Loaded Lat Pulldowns

The plate loaded domestic lat pulldown machine (ATX-LPL-680) has been a favourite for our customers with home gyms. It offers unbeatable value but functions exactly as a lat pulldown machine should.

We also have the plate loaded commercial lat pulldown machine (ATX-LPL-700). Although commercial gyms tend to favour weight stack machines, we have seen a rise in popularity of these machines among our commercial gym clients. This is probably due to the rise in popularity of idiots dropping the weight stack at the bottom of the movement.

Lat Pulldowns with Weight Stack

Home gym owners have frothed over the home gym lat machine with weight stack. Often people find using a weight stack preferable over plate loaded machines, as switching weight is so much easier. You don’t have to swap over your weight plates every time, meaning you can save your energy for all your favourite cable machine exercises.

The commercial lat pulldown machine with weight stack is a favourite for our gym owner customers. This machine truly is the cream deli cream of lat pulldown machines. Weights stacks are better for commercial gyms as your clients won’t be fighting over weight plates.

Another important thing to note about the weight stack lat pulldowns is that all of the weight stacks go up in 5kg increments. With a 1:1 weight ratio this can be a pretty big jump for accessory exercises. That’s where our fractional plates come in handy. You can get optional weight stack addon weight plates so you can make as little as 1.25kg jumps instead, and reap the benefits of micro loading.

Conclusion

Given the amount and variety of exercises that you can do a lat pulldown, they are very handy addition to any gym. Choosing the right one for your needs will come down to the amount of money you have to spend plus the space available.

The weight stack varieties do seem expensive, but considering that you will have the machine for many years to come, you will get great value from it over the years.