Lee Priest – 19 Lat Pulldown Bar Exercises with One Bar
Lee Priest – 19 Lat Pulldown Bar Exercises with One Bar Lee Priest ran an ATX lat machine with a single lat pulldown bar and knocked out 19 exercises (pulldowns, pushdowns, curls, rows, shrugs and a stiff-leg pattern) without swapping hardware. That is the job of a decent lat bar on a high/low pulley — variety first, extra attachments later. Clip a current revolving lat bar from the gym cable attachments range onto any lat pulldown machine and work through the same list.
The 19 exercises at a glance
One bar for all of them, in the order Lee runs them.
| Exercise | Pulley | Main muscles |
| Behind-the-neck lat pulldown | High | Lats, upper back |
| Lat pulldown to the chest | High | Lats, biceps, rear delts |
| Lean-back pulldown | High | Lats, mid-back |
| Reverse-grip lat pulldown | High | Lats, biceps |
| Straight-arm lat pulldown | High | Lats (light, stretch) |
| Tricep pushdown | High | Triceps |
| Reverse-grip tricep pushdown | High | Triceps, forearms |
| Tricep cable extension | High | Triceps (long head) |
| Lat bar high curl | High | Biceps |
| Bicep curl | Low | Biceps |
| Reverse-grip bicep curl | Low | Forearms, brachialis |
| Bent-over bicep curl | Low | Biceps |
| Poor man’s preacher curl | Low | Biceps |
| Forearm curl | Low | Forearm flexors |
| Wide lat bar row | Low | Mid-back, lats |
| Bent-over row | Low | Mid-back, lats |
| Shrug | Low | Upper traps |
| Upright row | Low | Side delts, traps |
| Stiff-leg deadlift | Low | Hamstrings, glutes (light) |
Pulldown variations off the high pulley
Lee starts with the obvious work: a behind-the-neck pulldown, pulldown to the chest, a lean-back pulldown, reverse-grip pulldown, then a straight-arm pulldown.
- Behind the neck: old-school. Only if your shoulders are happy there, and keep the weight moderate.
- To the chest: sit tall, lock the thigh pads, and pull the bar to the upper chest. Elbows travel down, not back behind the torso.
- Lean-back: a slight lean changes the line of pull. Do not turn it into a row by rocking the whole stack.
- Reverse grip: puts more biceps into the movement. Keep the same controlled path.
- Straight-arm: straight-arm pulldowns are a lat stretch and warmup, not a max-weight lift. Lighten the stack and keep the arms long.
Arms without changing the bar
Same bar, same carabiner. Lee flips straight into tricep pushdowns, reverse-grip pushdowns and extensions, then curls.
- Start the pushdown near the working range. There is no prize for dragging the bar down from the top of the stack before the first rep.
- Elbows stay pinned. If the shoulders take over, the weight is too heavy. Same rule on the extensions.
- For curls, stand or sit so the cable is coming from above or below depending on the variation. Lee shows high curls, standard curls, reverse-grip curls, bent-over curls, a poor man’s preacher curl and forearm curls on the same handle.
- Forearm work is short range. Do not swing the bar.
Rows and the rest of the back
From the low pulley he uses the same wide bar for rows, then shrugs and upright rows.
- Wide lat-bar rows and bent-over rows hit the mid-back if the chest stays up and the elbows do not flare into a shrug.
- Shrugs and upright rows only work if the cable travel is long enough. If the stack bottoms out, stop the set rather than yanking.
- The stiff-leg pattern at the end of the clip is light accessory work off the low pulley, not a substitute for a deadlift.
When one bar is enough
You do not need forty handles on day one. A wide lat bar covers most of the list above. Add a tricep rope or a pair of D-handles when you want a flare at the bottom of a pushdown or single-arm work.
If you already train with a shorter revolving straight bar, the same idea is mapped out on the Revolving Straight Bar Exercise Ideas page. For tricep-specific cable cues, use How to Build BIG TRICEPS with Cables.
Frequently Asked Questions
The long bar that clips onto the cable of a lat pulldown machine. Off the high pulley it is a pulldown bar. Off the low pulley it is a row, curl and shrug handle.
Nineteen exercises in Lee’s clip: pulldowns, pushdowns, extensions, curls, rows, shrugs, upright rows and a stiff-leg pattern. You need a high and a low pulley for the full list.
For pushdowns and extensions, yes. Elbows pinned, start near the working range. Add a rope later if you want the flare at the bottom.
A wide revolving lat bar. It covers most of the list. Tricep rope and D-handles come later.
