StrengthIn review

Band Scapular Pulldown

A small straight-arm pull that draws the shoulder blades down against a high-anchored band.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Vertical pull
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Bilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Anchor the band above head height and hold one end in each hand.
Kneel or sit below the anchor with straight arms reaching up and the band under tension.

Do the rep

Keep the arms straight and pull the shoulders down away from the ears.
Let the shoulders rise back toward the ears under control.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the shoulders move down away from the ears with straight arms and then return to the start.

One rep starts with straight arms and raised shoulders, draws the shoulders down away from the ears without bending the elbows, and ends after a controlled return.

Breathing

Exhale as the shoulders move down; inhale as they return.

Cues

Keep the arms straight.
Pull the shoulders away from the ears.
Use a stronger band when the reps get easy.

Common mistakes

Bending the elbows
What you seeThe hands move down because the elbows bend.
FixKeep the elbows straight and make the movement smaller.
The rep trains the shoulder blades, not the arms.
Leaning back
What you seeThe torso tips back to move the band.
FixStay tall and use a lighter band.
A still torso keeps the motion at the shoulder blades.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if the band slips on the anchor or shows a tear.
End the set when you cannot meet the stated range under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Latissimus dorsi · moderate confidence
Trapezius · moderate confidence

Assisting

Forearms and grip · moderate confidence

Equipment

Resistance band

Optional: Pull up bar, Floor mat

Anchor the band above head height on a pull-up bar or a fixed post. Do not anchor it in a door.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Camera candidate

How this page was checked

Draft. A editorial reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 1, written from the blueprint CSV row and the Wave 2 rules page of 2026-10-12. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the rules page; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_lat_pulldown, the closest Wave 1 record.
The CSV lists horizontal-pull. The arms stay straight and only the shoulder blades move, so the record uses vertical-pull and the straight-arm pulldown roles (secondary_pull, isolation_target), not primary_horizontal_pull.
Band resistance has no kg value. The prescription is reps only, and a cue asks for a stronger band when the reps get easy.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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