Lat Pulldown
The lat pulldown is a cable machine exercise in which you pull a bar down to the upper chest from an overhead position. It is the first exercise in the NSW guide's upper body list and the closest weighted match to the pull-up, which the PST scores as a maximum-rep event.
How to Perform It
Sit at the pulldown station with your thighs secured under the pads and take a grip on the bar a little wider than shoulder width. Start with the arms fully extended overhead and the torso upright with a slight lean back. Pull the bar down to the upper chest by driving the elbows down and back, keeping the chest up and the shoulders away from the ears. Pause briefly, then let the bar return under control until the arms are straight again. Do not swing the torso to move the weight. The guide's prescription is one set of 8 to 12 reps with a weight that cannot be lifted more than 8 to 12 times using proper technique.
Why It Matters for BUD/S
The pull-up is the PST event most candidates find hardest to improve, and the lat pulldown lets you load the same pulling pattern with a weight lighter or heavier than your body. That lets a candidate who cannot yet do many pull-ups build the lats and biceps with full range of motion, and it lets a stronger candidate add resistance beyond body weight. The guide states that muscular strength enhances PST performance and increases the likelihood of success at BUD/S, and it asks you to alternate pulling exercises with pushing exercises. The pulldown is the primary vertical pull in that rotation.
Where It Sits in the 26-Week Plan
Upper body strength sessions fall on Monday and Friday in the 26-week schedule, each paired with the core block. The guide uses a split routine of upper body and lower body exercises on alternate days, and it suggests 8 to 12 exercises per session, moving from one station to the next with only the rest it takes to set the next weight. One set of 8 to 12 reps is the default, with an occasional second set or an occasional heavier set of 4 to 6 reps or lighter set of 15 to 20. The exercise list is not definitive, so the pulldown can be swapped for another vertical pull if the equipment is not available.
Pull to the chest, not behind the neck, and finish with the elbows tucked toward the ribs. The movement should feel like the top half of a pull-up.
Related Terms
Upper body strength training in the NSW preparation program targets the major pulling and pushing muscle groups through compound barbell and dumbbell exercises. These sessions complement the calisthenics work (push-ups, pull-ups) by building the raw strength that supports higher-rep endurance performance.
Pull-ups are an upper-body calisthenics exercise and one of the five scored events in the Physical Screening Test (PST). Unlike push-ups and sit-ups which are timed, PST pull-ups are performed as a single max-effort set with no time limit, testing absolute upper-body pulling strength and endurance.
The seated row pull is a horizontal pulling exercise, usually done on a cable machine, in which you pull a handle toward the torso while seated with the legs braced. It trains the mid-back, lats, rear shoulders, and biceps and is the horizontal pull in the NSW guide's upper body list.
Progressive overload is the training principle of gradually increasing the demands placed on the body over time. In the NSW preparation program, progressive overload is applied systematically — cardio distances grow week over week, calisthenics rep targets scale with PST performance, and strength training loads increase as the candidate adapts.
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