Lat pull downs vs. pull ups

[maldorf]

Being too heavy

IMO a bodybuilder should never be too heavy to do at least 8-10 good pullups, as long as they are somewhat fit and not carrying too much body fat. When I was in good shape before my heart attack I weighed a lean 235 and could do 10-12 pullups with 65 lbs strapped to me.

I used to do pullups first and then later on do some narrow grip pulldowns once I was fatigued, at the very end of the workout.

 

[scottswald]

I assume you guys are talking wide grip?

Do yous feel as though narrow grip is as effective? It feels much more natural to me

 

[disturbed]

Pull ups give you wings. Pull downs are good just not as good

 

[CSUMuscle10]

I've always preferred pull-ups to lat pull-downs. To me I just feel stronger doing them because it forces me to control my movements. Yes, at 225lbs the tendons do hurt but that's just the nature of the beast; if you're controlled and don't pop in your movement the pain can be minimized.

 

[sazo75]

Lat Pulls when bulking pull ups when cutting.

 

[tri-terror]

Lat Pulls when bulking pull ups when cutting.

I'm sorry but this makes zero sense...

Pullups are far superior to pulldowns if you are trying to work the lats. Both movements engage more lat if you use a supinated medium to close width grip. Thats why underhand pullups are easier. Yeah you recruit a little more bicep too, but you think thise puny things are really doing much compared to your much larger lats?

Do an experiment if you dont believe me. Stand up and hold your arms up in the position you would if you were going to do a wide grip chin or lat pull down. Now, supinate your hands. Feel that? Now, slowly slide your arms in to shoulder width... if you are human you should feel your lats engage just by doing that.

If you are having a hard time getting more than a few pull-ups try this:
Let's say you can do 4. Jump up on the bar and do one rep. Get down and rest for 20 seconds or so. Then do 2 reps. Keep going up until your PR number. Then ladder the reps back down to one in the same fashion. You've just done 16 reps in a relatively short time.

Two or three days later do the same thing with 5 as your top number, then 6, 7 and so on. If you can get yourself up to 10 reps you should be pretty close to a straight set of 20. This is how I worked up to a perfect score on my PFT as a Marine.

 

[DECABEATZ]

Wide grip chins (pull ups) for superior overall lat width growth. I remember when I first started doing them I could only do like 3. It's ok if you can only get three. See if you can get a spot for forced reps. Those three are doing something especially the forced ones. I promise you will eventually go up in reps you just gotta push yourself!!!

 

[tri-terror]

Wide grip chins (pull ups) for superior overall lat width growth.

No no no.
Did you even read what I wrote? Wide isn't better...

 

[PitbullTank]

If you guys have never tried them you should try some towel pullups ....i hadnt done them since grappling training back in the day and did them yesterday... forearms are smokeddd... they really build forearms and grip strength

 

[tri-terror]

If you guys have never tried them you should try some towel pullups ....i hadnt done them since grappling training back in the day and did them yesterday... forearms are smokeddd... they really build forearms and grip strength

Holy shit, yeah those are awesome. if you really want to smoke yourself, try a static hold at the top for as long as you can...

 

[Gravel]

Holy shit, yeah those are awesome. if you really want to smoke yourself, try a static hold at the top for as long as you can...

Yep.....then drop to the bottom and hang and only pull with your lats (no bend in arms) the tie in on the lower lats start to pop out.

 

[Nbencze]

For some reason doing pull ups strains the hell out of the tendons in my right bicep. I don't have nearly as much an issue with pulldowns, even with the same grip. For this reason I rarely do pull ups. If there's any question of the benefit of pull ups though, just look at some of the backs of guys that have been in prison for a while.

have you tried using haulin hooks while doing them? amazon has them for 50 bucks. I've been using them since i has a distal biceps tendon injury.

 

[lntense]

I've noticed most pros never do weighted wide grip pullups. But for me being around 220lbs, I much prefer them over pull downs.

 

[Marty1087]

I personally love pull-ups and think that my best lat development could be attributed to an absurd amount of pull-ups. But, as others have said, I've had to limit myself due to biceps tendon strains.

 

[Unity68]

I voted that pull downs are better but after reading every page here I am going to start doing pull ups. Thanks everyone for educating me on the superiority of pull ups.

 

[carnivor]

I much prefer pull-ups, but I've never tried them with a towel before. I'll give that a shot on my next back day. Thanks for the idea.

 

[rainstony]

I do shoulder width pullups with an overhand grip, followed by lat pulldowns with a wide grip.

I can do wide grip pullups, but I feel a more narrow grip in my lats WAYYYY better, and I have more strength. It allows me to really get good negatives and a nice pause at the top.

Pulldowns right after let me focus on a squeeze in the lats more with better form.

These of course are all after heavy 1 Arm DB Rows.

 

[Hank the Tank]

I have done nothing but pull downs for over 20 + years. Two years ago , I switched to wide grip pull ups. I began to see a change in the size and proportion of my lats, but what was most noticeable was the dramatic increase in size of my forearms! The only time I include pull downs into my workout is for a warmup/ stretching.

 

[Mike Arnold]

Neither a wide nor a close grip is necessarily better than the other. Which is best depends on what area of the back one is trying to target, as both exercises work different parts of the back to a greater or lesser degree.

Close underhand grip chins work the lats more effectively and wide overhand grip chins work the teres major more effectively.

The teres major is a moderately sized muscle which lies directly above (and partially underneath) the lats. When maximally developed, it contributes significantly to upper-back width. Both wide and close grips chins are needed to maximally develop the lats and teres muscles.

 

[beastmode121]

I include both, i been starting with pull ups, taking it back to the old school training. then I include pull downs in my workout..