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cable one arm pulldown strength standards

What is a good cable one arm pulldown?

For a 180 lb male, an Intermediate cable one arm pulldown is about 62 lb (0.34x bodyweight). Advanced starts around 80 lb. Enter your own bodyweight below to get the exact standard and FVCP rank.

Good target 62 lb Intermediate at 180 lb
Next tier 80 lb Advanced standard
Gym median Separate tab Self-reported, not blended
Check My Level Estimate Your 1RM Methodology
Evidence ledger No blended rankings
Primary source FitnessVolt standards model
Available views Standards
Coverage 21 bodyweights × 5 levels

Competition results, gym submissions, and reader logs stay labeled separately so the ranking source is clear.

Quick Answer cable one arm pulldown

A solid (Intermediate) cable one arm pulldown for a 180 lb male is about 62 lb (0.34x bodyweight). Use the calculator below to convert your own cable one arm pulldown into an FVCP percentile for your bodyweight. An Advanced lifter at this weight reaches 80 lb (0.44x bodyweight).

FitnessVolt standards, with FVCP competition rankings shown separately from gym percentiles

cable one arm pulldown demonstration
Estimated Standards

How strong is your cable one arm pulldown? Compare your 1RM against standards for 21 bodyweight categories, from Beginner to Elite.

Primary Muscles lats
Equipment cable
Standards Coverage 21 bodyweights × 5 levels
Difficulty Intermediate
Type Compound

Estimated Standards - The level table for this exercise is modeled from FitnessVolt strength ratios for a related base lift, not from direct measurements of this movement. Learn about our methodology

How Strong Is Your cable one arm pulldown?

Intermediate (competition scale)
Typical FVCP: 50th percentile
A 180 lb male lifting 62 lbs (0.34x bodyweight) on the cable one arm pulldown ranks Intermediate on the FVCP competition scale, stronger than ~50% of verified competition lifters at this bodyweight. Enter your own numbers above to see where you stand.

That clears the median for this bodyweight and gives you a useful benchmark for the next tier.

Over 40? Our calculator also reports an age-adjusted percentile and an age-30 equivalent using the McCulloch age factor, so masters lifters are compared to lifters their own age. See the age-adjusted (Masters 40+) standards below for the full breakdown.

FVCP competition ranking, shown separately from gym percentiles and reader logs
Your FVCP:
Age-adjusted percentile
lb Age-30 equivalent 1RM

FVCP competition ranking, shown separately from gym percentiles and reader logs
th percentile

Illustrative: a normal-distribution model anchored to the real Beginner to Elite percentile thresholds for your bodyweight. The marker shows where your lift falls, not a measured frequency count.

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to track your progress over time.

Reader Data Is Still Building

We do not have enough reader-submitted cable one arm pulldown entries yet to publish a stable crowd benchmark. Until then, this panel shows the Intermediate standards baseline only:

62 lb Typical 1RM (Intermediate)
0.34x x Bodyweight

Baseline figures for a 180 lb male at Intermediate level, from the standards table. This is not reader-submitted data. So far readers have logged a lift here.

Enter your numbers above first. We publish reader benchmarks only after a sample threshold is met.

How Much Should You cable one arm pulldown?

Use this table to find the standard closest to your bodyweight. The tiers are standards, not claims about reader submissions.

How a male lifter's expected 1RM scales with bodyweight at each level. Exact numbers in the table below.

BW (lbs) Beginner Novice Intermediate Advanced Elite
110 15 24 35 48 63
120 18 27 39 53 69
130 20 31 43 58 74
140 23 34 47 63 80
150 26 37 51 67 85
160 29 40 55 71 89
170 31 43 59 76 94
180 34 46 62 80 99
190 36 50 66 83 103
200 39 52 69 87 107
210 41 55 72 91 111
220 44 58 75 95 115
230 46 61 78 98 119
240 48 64 81 101 123
250 51 66 84 105 126
260 53 69 87 108 130
270 55 71 90 111 133
280 57 74 93 114 137
290 60 76 95 117 140
300 62 78 98 120 143
310 64 81 101 123 146

Is Your cable one arm pulldown Good?

A quick read on what counts as a good cable one arm pulldown at each level, for a typical male and female lifter.

Men (180 lb): a good (Intermediate) cable one arm pulldown is about 62 lb (0.34x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 80 lb (0.44x), and Elite is 99 lb (0.55x).

Women (140 lb): a good (Intermediate) cable one arm pulldown is about 30 lb (0.21x bodyweight). Advanced lifters hit 44 lb (0.31x), and Elite is 59 lb (0.42x).

How Much Should You Be Able to cable one arm pulldown?

Men: a 180 lb male should lift about 62 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 34 lb).

Women: a 140 lb female should lift about 30 lb at an Intermediate level (a beginner target is around 11 lb).

By bodyweight (men): A 150 lb lifter lifts about 51 lb, and a 220 lb lifter lifts about 75 lb at an Intermediate level. Find your exact bodyweight in the table above.

By age (men): at an Intermediate level a 30 year old male lifts about 61 lb, while by age 50 the Intermediate standard is about 54 lb. See the By Age tab for every age band.

FitnessVolt standards, with FVCP competition rankings shown separately from gym percentiles

How Does Age Affect cable one arm pulldown Strength?

How cable one arm pulldown standards change across different age groups. Values represent a 1RM in lbs.

How a male lifter's expected 1RM changes with age at each level. Exact numbers in the table below.

Age Beginner Novice Intermediate Advanced Elite
15 25 37 52 69 89
20 28 42 59 80 102
25 29 43 61 81 104
30 29 43 61 81 104
35 29 43 61 81 104
40 29 43 61 81 104
45 27 41 58 77 99
50 26 38 54 73 93
55 24 36 50 67 86
60 22 32 46 61 78
65 20 29 41 55 71
70 18 26 37 50 64
75 16 24 33 45 57
80 14 21 30 40 51
85 13 19 27 36 46
90 11 17 24 32 41

What Do cable one arm pulldown Strength Standards Mean?

Beginner

Stronger than 5% of lifters. You are building the mind-muscle connection for the cable one arm pulldown, learning to initiate the pull with your back rather than your arms, and developing basic grip strength.

Novice

Stronger than 20% of lifters. You can perform the cable one arm pulldown with proper scapular retraction and a controlled range of motion. You are progressively overloading and building back thickness and lat width.

Intermediate

Stronger than 50% of lifters. Your cable one arm pulldown shows strong back engagement with minimal momentum. You use RPE to regulate pulling intensity and train strategically to balance horizontal and vertical pull volume.

Advanced

Stronger than 80% of lifters. You have built substantial back development through the cable one arm pulldown with refined technique and heavy loads. Your grip is no longer a limiting factor, and you manage rowing and pulling fatigue across training blocks.

Elite

Stronger than 95% of lifters. Your cable one arm pulldown strength is exceptional. You can handle loads that most lifters cannot move with strict form, and your back development reflects years of high-volume, periodized pulling work.

How to Progress Your cable one arm pulldown

Tier-specific training recommendations to move your cable one arm pulldown to the next level.

Beginner → Novice Building Your Foundation
  • Train the cable one arm pulldown 2x per week, focusing on initiating the pull from your back, not your arms.
  • Use linear progression with strict form - no swinging or excessive body English.
  • Pause briefly at peak contraction to build the mind-muscle connection.
  • Develop grip strength in parallel to avoid it becoming a bottleneck.
Track progress with the one rep max calculator →
Novice → Intermediate Structured Progression
  • Add a pull variation (different grip width, underhand, or single-arm) for balanced development.
  • Increase pulling volume to 10-15 sets per week across all back movements.
  • Program the cable one arm pulldown at RPE 7-8, saving RPE 9 work for top sets only.
  • Balance horizontal pulls (rows) with vertical pulls (pulldowns/pull-ups).
Plan your RPE-based sessions →
Intermediate → Advanced Periodized Training Blocks
  • Run 4-6 week blocks with progressive overload on the cable one arm pulldown.
  • Use RPE 8-9 for heavy sets with calculated backoff work at RPE 6-7.
  • Add controlled eccentrics and paused reps to break through plateaus.
  • Total back volume of 15-22 sets per week, distributed across pull patterns.
Program your backoff sets →
Advanced → Elite Mastery
  • Maximize the cable one arm pulldown through advanced intensity techniques and precise volume management.
  • Use periodized blocks with planned overreaching and supercompensation phases.
  • Refine execution: squeeze at contraction, controlled stretch, zero momentum.
  • Your back development should reflect years of disciplined, high-volume pulling.
View RPE-to-percentage chart →

How to Perform cable one arm pulldown

["Attach a single handle to a high pulley cable machine.","Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.","Grasp the handle with an overhand grip and extend your arm fully.","Keep your back straight and your core engaged.","Pull the handle down towards your side while keeping your elbow close to your body.","Pause for a moment at the bottom of the movement, squeezing your lat muscle.","Slowly release the handle back to the starting position.","Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.","Switch sides and repeat the exercise with the other arm."]

Read the complete cable one arm pulldown guide on FitnessVolt →

Where Do These cable one arm pulldown Standards Come From?

FitnessVolt keeps each data population labeled. Competition percentiles use verified raw meet results where available. Gym percentile tabs use self-reported Symmetric Strength data. Reader-submitted benchmarks appear only after enough entries are logged for this lift.

Standards data last refreshed: March 29, 2026

Is Your cable one arm pulldown Good for Your Weight?

Use this page to compare your cable one arm pulldown against clearly labeled standards and percentile datasets. Here is the cleanest way to read it:

  1. Start with Standards to find the tier closest to your bodyweight.
  2. Use Gym Percentiles when you want self-reported gym comparisons.
  3. Use Competition for verified meet-result percentiles where the lift supports it.
  4. Use By Age when age-segmented gym data is available.

If you do not know your 1RM, use the one rep max calculator to estimate it from any rep set. For example, if you can cable one arm pulldown 185 lbs for 5 reps, the calculator will estimate your max.

The important rule: do not mix the tabs. Standards, gym percentiles, competition percentiles, and reader logs answer different questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

A "good" cable one arm pulldown depends on your bodyweight, sex, and training background. The Intermediate tier is a useful first serious target, while Advanced and Elite represent much harder standards. Use the table above for the number closest to your bodyweight.
Many lifters can reach the Intermediate tier on the cable one arm pulldown after steady training, but the timeline depends on starting point, technique, programming, recovery, and bodyweight changes. Treat the tier as a benchmark, not a deadline.
Yes. Competition views use verified meet-result data where available, gym percentile views use self-reported gym cohorts, and reader-submitted benchmarks are shown only after enough entries are logged. The populations are labeled separately.
For weighted lifts, enter a clean raw 1RM or an estimated 1RM from a recent hard set. For rep-based movements, enter controlled full-range reps. Avoid equipped lifts, partial reps, or bounced reps unless you are comparing against the same style every time.

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Written by Tom Miller, CSCS · Reviewed by Editorial Team
Tom Miller, CSCS, is a Sr. Editor & Content Strategist with 10 years of experience in Powerlifting and Personal Training. As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, he is dedicated to delivering informative, engaging, and reliable health and fitness content. His work has been featured on websites including the-sun.com, Well+Good, Bleacher Report, Muscle and Fitness, UpJourney, Business Insider, NewsBreak and more.