The cross-body lat pull-around is a half-kneeling single-arm cable exercise. You reach up and across your body toward a high pulley, then pull the upper arm down and around toward the opposite hip, following a diagonal rather than a straight line.
The name is unsettled. You will see it as cross-body lat pulldown, cable lat pull-around, lat pullaround, and crossbody lat pulldown — all describing the same diagonal single-arm pull. Brolic lists it as Cross-Body Lat Pull-Around (Cable), where one logged set covers both arms and the rep count is per side.
Muscles worked
The latissimus dorsi is the target, with the teres major and posterior deltoid contributing, and the biceps and forearms working as the elbow bends.
The claim you will hear about this exercise is that the diagonal path preferentially trains the “lower lats” because it loads them in a stretched position. That is a plausible-sounding idea, not an established one — this guide does not claim the exercise isolates a lat region or beats a conventional pulldown. What is true and useful is more modest: the diagonal path takes the lat through a long range with the arm across the body, and that is a different line of pull from a vertical pulldown.
Kneel: the position is part of the exercise
This is a half-kneeling movement. Put the knee nearest the stack down and the outside foot forward, so the hips are locked and square.
That position is not a stylistic preference. Standing lets the trunk contribute to a movement whose whole point is a controlled diagonal path at the shoulder — you can move more weight standing, but you are no longer doing the same exercise, and the numbers will not mean the same thing. Half-kneeling takes that away and makes the set repeatable.
A pad under the down knee is fine as long as it does not make the base wobbly.
Set up
Set the pulley at or slightly above head height and attach a single handle. Take the half-kneeling position side-on to the stack, with the working arm the one furthest from it, so the arm reaches up and across your torso.
Check the distance with a light rehearsal load. You need room for the full diagonal reach, a cable path that clears your head and shoulder, and a knee position you can hold without shifting.
Keep the same pulley setting, knee arrangement and torso orientation across sets. If you ever use a seated or bench-supported variation, name it in the notes — it is not the same task at the same stack weight.
Pull around
From the reached position, drive the upper arm down and around toward the opposite hip, letting the elbow bend as the handle travels. Think about moving the upper arm rather than just bringing the hand closer. Return under control to the same full reach.
Some movement of the shoulder blade is normal and wanted. A large trunk twist or side bend is a different contribution — if each rep needs progressively more torso rotation to finish, that is where the set ended. Pulling further is not better when the extra distance comes from turning your body.
The stretch you feel at the top is feedback about the position, not a measurement of what the set achieved.
Three related movements, three records
| Movement | Defining detail | Keep separate because |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-body pull-around | Diagonal reach across the torso, handle | Body orientation and reach |
| Single-arm lat pulldown | More vertical path, handle | Grip, elbow path and support |
| Cuffed Keenan flap | Cable attached at the upper arm | Cuff position and movement plane |
All three can sit in the same program without being interchangeable. Pick the one that fits the work you intend, and give it its own history.
Logging
One set covers both arms, and the rep count is per side: 10 means 10 on each arm. If one side falls short, note it, along with the stance and pulley setting. Stack labels only mean something within one machine — pulley arrangements and friction differ enough that “15 kg” on another station is not the same resistance at your hand. The free workout log has room for the setup, and the weekly-set tally covers the week.
Common questions
Must I kneel? Yes, for this exercise as Brolic lists it. You can pull a cable across your body while standing, but that is a different movement with a different amount of trunk involvement — log it separately rather than continuing this history.
What if I mostly feel my arms? Check the load first, then whether the reach is being replaced by early elbow bending. Sensation alone does not establish which muscle did the most useful work.
Is this the same as a lat pullover? No. A pullover keeps the arm roughly in line with the torso. This is a cross-body diagonal, and the cuffed pullover version is a different exercise again.
What can I use if a cable station is not free? A single-arm dumbbell pullover or a familiar pulldown fills the role. Record the substitution instead of comparing loads directly.
Sources and method
- How To: half-kneeling cable cross-body lat pull-around — demonstration of the half-kneeling version.
- Brolic catalog version 2026-09-05.3 — exact name, cable equipment and per-side logging.
Pulley height guidance is a starting point drawn from the demonstration cited. No exercise-specific growth advantage is claimed, and the “lower lat” framing is described rather than endorsed.
