Single Arm Pull Downs

What You'll Need
A cable machine and, wouldn't you know it, a rope with which to pull down. Stunning.

Why You Should Be Doing This Exercise
Single arm work allows you to expose yourself. There's no opportunity to compensate, no hiding behind your dominant side. Just the facts. And the facts, like the hips, don't lie.

Start
Having attached the trusty rope to the even trust-ier cable machine, square yourself up to the machine so that you're facing it. Now, grab the rope (use a neutral grip) with whichever hand you'd like to start with. Hold the rope with your arm close to your body and your forearm parallel to the ground. Good? Good.

Middle
All we're looking to do here is to bring the rope to the side of your thigh. That's it. Need we remind you that the elbow stays in, and that the back stays straight. We thought not.

Finish
The more tension on the tricep, the more worthwhile this endeavor is. So, in returning your forearm to parallel with the floor, take the local. Nice and slow. Also, remember to keep the back straight and the shoulders nice and square.

Key Don'ts
Look, we know. You'll wanna hunch over to sufficiently pull that confounded rope down. We're also looking at this office-wide memo your triceps sent out earlier explicitly asking you not to hunch over, so… It’s on you.