A resistance exercise performed on a cable machine where you pull a bar down toward your chest while seated, primarily targeting the latissimus dorsi muscles of the back.
Compound word from 'pull' (Old English 'pullian') and 'down' (Old English 'dūne'), describing the downward pulling motion. The term emerged in the 1960s with the development of cable-based gym equipment.
The lat pulldown was actually invented as a safer alternative to pull-ups for beginners, but many fitness experts now argue that assisted pull-ups are more functional than pulldowns because they engage stabilizing muscles throughout the entire kinetic chain!
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