Lat Pulldown Machines

In the next month we are going to be talking about all of the different kinds of cable machines. We will focus on a different style each week, and then at the end we will do a post comparing them and providing guidance on which one to choose. This week we will only talk about the lat pulldown machines (not if you should choose this over a functional trainer, for example)

Lat pulldown machines are a cable machine that has a seat and high pulley so you can sit down and pull the weight towards your chest.

There are three main considerations (in my opinion) for which one you should go with. They are:

1) what pulleys do you want it to have? You can get machines that have a high pulley, mid pulley, and/or low pulley. Most come standard with a high and low pulley, but if the mid pulley is important to you, there are relatively few that offer this option (the first picture is an example). If you do want the mid pulley, the below questions matter much less as you’re limited with your options

2) how do you want to change the resistance? These machines can be either plate loaded or selectorized (meaning there is a weight stack with a pin that you can use to select the amount of resistance). Simply put, selectorized is much more efficient and easier to work with, however, it is MUCH more expensive. My opinion: if this is a machine you plan to use a lot, you have a high budget, and space is not an issue, there is no reason to buy a plate loaded one. That being said, for ~90% of home gyms, the plate loaded is generally a good option as you can use your barbell plates for it, and you can go up in as small of increments as you’d like. You can usually pick the plate loaded ones up on marketplace for only a couple of hundred dollars

3) the weight ratio. Depending on the way the pulleys are configured, there is a different ratio. E.g., if it has a 2:1 ratio, that means that for each pound you load on the machine you will only feel 0.5 pounds of resistance. There is not really one better than the other, just something to keep in mind

You’ll notice we didn’t talk about the space much as they are all mostly the same size and footprint.

All that being said, what would JEV do? Plate loaded high and low pulley is the way to go for most! Easy to use, relatively cost effective, and you can go up in any increment you choose.