Wide grip pull ups and lat pull downs.

[Dastardly]

Who doesn't want a big wide meaty back?

Ive noticed that the only guys with intimidating bigness in their back seem to spend a lot of time doing wide grip pull downs and wide grip pull ups.

Now, I know that longest ROM is much in favour around here, machines generally despised. But I noticed that in Bill Starr's book he also strongly recommends wide grip pull ups as an ultimate back/lats exercise and that a lot of wide grip pull downs should be used to lead in for them as they are pretty hard.

Ive played around with wide grip pull ups lately, and have found them to feel pretty great when done properly. Doing them properly is hard, keeping the shoulders locked back really stretches the T-spine into a tight arch expanding the chest, working the lats, mid back erectors, rhomboids and rear delts extremely effectively. ROM is obviously much more challenging due to flexibility in that position, but the back definetely feels very intensely trained. At the expense of arms of course, which benefit from the greater ROM with a narrower grip.

So basically im thinking we should not be so quick to dismiss wide grip work as silly bro-ish bodybuilding nonsense. It seems that it would actually be very conductive to supporting deadlifts. And also, wide grip lat pull downs seem like a totally legit way to train the back in this manner with more volume if you are unable to do so with actual pull ups.

[Paul Sousa]

What is your deadlift at now? Do you really think you need to worry about grip width on pullups and pulldowns at this point? Seriously, just focus on the basics and get strong, then start dicking around with this stuff.

[gzt]

Yeah, I like wide-grip pullups, too, for those reasons. The only problem is that I'm pretty heavy and am weak at pullups in general, so wide-grip pullups are much harder than usual pullups.

[Paul Stagg]

The grip you use on a pulldown isn't important.

At least not until you are so big people stop and stare at you. It might matter a little then.

[Dastardly]

The grip you use on a pulldown isn't important.

At least not until you are so big people stop and stare at you. It might matter a little then.

But wide grip lat pull downs are a good way to learn proper technique for wide grip pull ups which are so much harder.

[MazdaMatt]

Dast, get a band for your wide-grip pullups. Wide-grip pulldowns don't work well because of the stability of them; you're locked in at a certain body angle.

I used a band and went from 0 to 2 wide-grip pulls in a week or two... highly recommended.

[mikejm]

Dast, get a band for your wide-grip pullups. Wide-grip pulldowns don't work well because of the stability of them; you're locked in at a certain body angle.

I used a band and went from 0 to 2 wide-grip pulls in a week or two... highly recommended.

OK, I am gonna ask a dumb thing: What is a band as it relates to pull ups?

[Dastardly]

[TTT]

It seems that it would actually be very conductive to supporting deadlifts.

right...

mate you say some stupid shit sometimes.
maybe you should stop saying things.

so tell us.
now that you've "played around with wide grip pull ups lately", tell us how much your deadlift 1rm has gone up by?

do you realise that you've come on to a strength forum suggesting that people do lat pulldowns?

tell us how the movement of a lat pulldown or wide pull up relates to the movement of lifting a bar from the floor?
how the hell do you figure it supports it?
because you got soreness in your back after lat pull downs?

are you serious?

every day I click new posts, I see a new awesomely retarded thread by you.
does eating beef make you stink
lets do lat pulldowns
ouch.. by bits hurt.

here's some quick responces for you.
deoderant
no
harden the fuck up

[Dastardly]

You are getting me mixed up with someone else who I admit is pretty fucking gay for starting a discussion about the taste of his dick.

Anything that helps with the musculature and flexibility that helps keep the back in extension and the bar against the legs is surely something which would have carryover to deadlifts. Kroc rows are a fucking favourite tool people use for deadlift acessory work. Thats right, a unilateral arm rowing exercise. And your saying pull ups are bullshit (strongly recommended by Bill Starr, Rip and nearly everyone else) based on what? It will also be conductive to bench pressing if the trainee's limiting factors are more to do with creating a strong platform by a strong thoracic extension, locking shoulders back and tensing the lats. You clearly have a personal issue with me. Put me on ignore if I annoy you so much.