# Cable Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown On Floor - Canonical: https://fitwill.app/exercise/11526/cable-parallel-grip-lat-pulldown-on-floor/ - Media ID: 11526 - Primary muscle: Back - Body part: Back - Equipment: Cable Machine - Video: https://fitwill.app/videos/11526/cable-parallel-grip-lat-pulldown-on-floor.mp4 ## Description The Cable Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown On Floor is a kneeling variation of the classic lat pulldown, performed on a dual-cable machine with a single handle in each hand. Instead of sitting at a fixed pulldown bench, you kneel on the floor between the two cable stacks, hold the handles overhead with your palms facing each other, and pull them down to shoulder height. The parallel grip keeps your shoulders in a more neutral, comfortable position than a wide straight bar, which many lifters find easier on the shoulder joints. Because you are kneeling rather than strapped into a seat, your core and hips have to stabilize your torso through every rep. The load wants to pull you up and backward as the weights rise, so bracing your trunk and keeping your ribcage stacked over your pelvis becomes part of the exercise. This makes the movement slightly more demanding overall than a seated pulldown, but it also teaches you to move load with your lats while keeping your spine steady. The primary target is the lats, the large muscles of the mid-back that drive the arms down and back. The biceps assist on every pull, while the rhomboids, mid-traps, and rear deltoids work to draw the shoulder blades together at the bottom of the rep. The grip and forearm muscles also stay active the whole time since you are controlling two independent handles. This setup suits lifters who want lat work without a dedicated pulldown station, anyone who finds a wide barbell grip uncomfortable on the shoulders, and people who want a bit of trunk-stability demand built into their back training. It is also a useful stepping stone toward pull-ups, because it trains the same pulling pattern with an adjustable, scalable load. To get the most out of it, treat the kneeling position as part of the exercise. Set your knees directly under your hips, sit tall, and resist the urge to lean way back and turn the movement into a row. Pull the handles toward your upper chest rather than your stomach, let your elbows travel down and slightly out, and pause briefly when the handles reach shoulder level before letting them travel back up with control. Start lighter than you would on a seated pulldown until you learn how the kneeling position feels under load. Two cables working independently can expose side-to-side strength differences quickly, so keep both arms moving together and let your weaker side set the pace for your reps. ## Instructions 1. Attach a single handle to each pulley of a dual-cable machine and set both pulleys to the highest position. 2. Kneel on the floor between the two cable stacks, knees roughly under your hips, and grip one handle in each hand with your palms facing each other. 3. Extend your arms overhead and step or slide back until there is light tension in both cables while you are kneeling tall. 4. Brace your core, tuck your ribs down, and squeeze your glutes slightly so your torso does not drift backward under load. 5. Pull both handles down at the same time, driving your elbows down and slightly out toward your sides until the handles reach about shoulder height. 6. Pause briefly at the bottom and squeeze your shoulder blades together without shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears. 7. Let the handles rise slowly back overhead, allowing your shoulder blades to travel up with your arms until you feel a full stretch in the lats. 8. Exhale as you pull down and inhale as the handles return overhead. 9. Keep your torso upright throughout the set; if you have to rock backward to finish a rep, the weight is too heavy. 10. Complete your reps, then release one handle at a time and let the stacks settle before standing up. ## Tips & Tricks - Think about pulling with your elbows, not your hands. If your biceps burn out before your back feels anything, lighten the load and picture your elbows driving down toward your back pockets. - Do not let the cables drag your torso backward at the top of each rep. The further the weight stack rises, the more it pulls you up and back, so re-brace before every rep rather than only at the start of the set. - Keep your wrists neutral and stacked over your forearms. Bending the wrists inward as you pull shifts stress away from the lats and into the forearms. - A common mistake on this floor setup is turning the pulldown into a row by leaning back a long way. A slight backward lean of a few degrees is fine; a big torso angle change means the load or the range is too much. - Because each cable moves independently, one arm can quietly drift ahead of the other. Watch both handles in a mirror or film a set to make sure they start and finish together. - If your shoulders complain at the very top of the stretch, shorten the range slightly instead of forcing a full overhead reach. The lat stimulus stays high as long as the pull itself is complete. - Use a thumb-wrapped grip around each handle. A loose, open-finger grip on single handles fatigues the forearms early and makes the set feel harder than it should. - Cushion your knees with a mat or pad if the floor is hard. Discomfort there will pull your attention away from keeping your torso still during the pull. - Control the return for a two- to three-second count. Letting the handles snap back overhead wastes the stretch portion of the rep and slams the weight stacks. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Which muscles does the Cable Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown On Floor work? The lats are the main driver, with the biceps, rhomboids, mid-traps, and rear deltoids assisting on each pull. Because you kneel without back support, your core also works to keep your torso upright throughout the set. ### Why kneel on the floor instead of sitting for this pulldown? Kneeling removes the seat and thigh pads, so your trunk stability has to do the work of holding you upright against the cable's pull. It also lets you use a standard dual-cable crossover machine that has no dedicated pulldown seat. ### Is the parallel grip better than a wide bar grip for shoulders? Many lifters find the palms-facing-each-other grip more shoulder-friendly because the arms stay closer to the body and the shoulders are not forced into an externally rotated, wide position. If a straight-bar pulldown bothers your shoulders, this grip is a reasonable alternative. ### How far down should I pull the handles? Pull until the handles are around shoulder height and your upper arms are roughly level with your torso. Pulling all the way to your waist turns the movement into more of a row and encourages excessive backward lean. ### Can beginners do the Cable Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown On Floor? Yes, as long as they start with a light weight and focus on keeping the torso still. Beginners who struggle with the kneeling position can first practice the same pull seated or on a standard pulldown machine to learn the arm path. ### Why do I feel this mostly in my biceps? That usually means your hands are doing the pulling while your elbows stay passive. Lighten the load, keep your wrists neutral, and focus on driving your elbows down and back so the lats initiate the movement. ### What can I use if my gym has no dual-cable machine? A standard lat pulldown machine with a neutral-grip handle works for the same pulling pattern, or you can use a resistance band anchored overhead and pull the ends down with a parallel grip while kneeling. ### How heavy should I go on this exercise? Choose a weight you can pull down to shoulder height without your torso swinging backward or your arms drifting out of sync. Because kneeling removes the seat's support, most people need slightly less load here than on a seated pulldown. ### Is it safe to release the handles at the end of the set? Release them one at a time and let the stacks lower gently rather than letting go of both simultaneously. Dropping both handles at once can snap the cables upward and jolt your shoulders. ### Does this exercise help with pull-up progress? Yes, it trains the same vertical pulling pattern with adjustable resistance, and the kneeling position also builds the trunk control that pull-ups demand. Keep the reps in a moderate range and progress the load gradually as your pull gets stronger.