Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown with the Andreoni Bar
Using the Andreoni Bar creates a unique neutral-grip lat pulldown that allows your palms to face each other, helping the wrists, elbows, and shoulders follow a more natural pulling path.
The open, cambered design of the bar is what makes the movement especially different. Instead of a traditional straight bar stopping against your head, shoulders, or upper body, the Andreoni Bar is designed to flow around the body - or your bench - as you pull.
This lets you continue naturally through the movement while maintaining a comfortable neutral grip and a strong contraction through the lats.
How to Do a Cable Lat Pulldown
Set the cable high and take hold of the attachment with your arms extended overhead. Keep your chest up and torso stable, then drive your elbows down toward your sides.
Pull through a comfortable range until you feel a strong contraction in the lats. Avoid turning the movement into a row by leaning excessively backward.
Slowly return to the starting position and allow the lats to lengthen under tension before beginning the next repetition.
Lat Pulldown Muscles Worked
The lat pulldown exercise primarily targets the latissimus dorsi, but several other muscles contribute to the movement, including:
- Latissimus dorsi
- Biceps
- Rhomboids
- Trapezius
- Rear deltoids
- Upper-back stabilizers
Using a neutral-grip lat pulldown can also provide a comfortable arm and wrist position while still allowing you to train the back through a strong vertical pulling pattern.
Why the Andreoni Bar Changes the Pulldown
Most traditional pulldown bars have a fixed straight shape. As the bar approaches the body, its shape can limit how naturally the movement continues.
The Andreoni Bar uses an open, curved design that allows the bar to travel around the body instead of directly into it.
This creates a smoother movement path and allows the elbows to continue driving downward while the hands remain in a neutral position.
For lifters using a cable machine or functional trainer, it creates a different way to perform the lat pulldown with greater freedom of movement and a more natural pulling path.
Get More From Your Cable Back Exercises
Lat pulldowns work well alongside other cable back exercises such as cable rows, straight-arm cable pulldowns, cable pullovers, and face pulls.
Changing your grip, cable height, and body position allows a functional trainer to target the back through several different movement patterns while maintaining continuous cable resistance.
The neutral-grip lat pulldown with the Andreoni Bar adds another option by combining a comfortable grip with an open design that lets the bar move naturally around the body.