For lat growth
For lat growth, seated cable row and straight-arm pulldown score the same.
Seated cable row is easier to progress; straight-arm pulldown is easier on the joints.
Both are good choices, and they train the lats differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Seated Cable Row. A stable, easily loaded row. Let the shoulders reach forward at the start to load the back in its stretch.
Straight-Arm Pulldown. Straight arms take the biceps out, so the lats work through a long overhead range.
For swimming, straight-arm pulldown rates well ahead on our research criteria: more carry-over to swimming.
For lat growth, seated cable row and straight-arm pulldown score the same. Seated cable row is easier to progress; straight-arm pulldown is easier on the joints. Both are good choices, and they train the lats differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Seated cable row needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Straight-arm pulldown needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Straight-arm pulldown: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Strong for seated cable row.