do you guys think pull ups or rows are better for back?

[bbh90]

i cant decide sometimes i feel that doing weighted pull ups would work my back better while other times i feel that rows are best i usually do both in a work out but im trying to decide which one i should start out with

what you guys think?

[Diablomeister]

do both. start with pullups.

[Beachman]

I do pull ups first because I can't do too many. So I'd suggest you do whichever exercise you need to improve on more.


Good luck!

[gecko2424]

Pullups on Monday.

Rows on Thursday after deads.

Anything else and the commies win.

[SkarTissue]

I'd try to do both. Pull ups hit your lats better. Rows hit your middle back better

[Zee Deveel]

I favour pull ups massively.

Firstly because I believe they are better than rows for building width in your lats for helping with that v-taper.

Secondly because I think any time you can use a more fluid, bodyweight type exercise effectively over a barbell, you should as it builds more "practical" strength.

Thirdly, I don't enjoy rows. :P

[Mindi911]

Pull ups build your v-Taper

Rows build mass

Do both.

[mjw8204]

This topic was discussed yesterday. A number people thought the gentlemen who posted this gave helpful advice: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...41&postcount=2

[battousai216]

pullups for width rows for thickness. Do whichever is lacking first.

[Greg1975]

Originally Posted by Mindi911

Pull ups build your v-Taper

Rows build mass

Do both.

Yep, add deadlifts and you've got a solid back routine.

[Ubby 86]

both, start with pull ups for a good warm up, then daddy of them all Deads and after then move onto rows then over to pulldowns, my last move is either DB rows or seated cable rows

[liftforhealth]

Do both, and go wide on both!

[etaylor34]

do both, they both work out different muscles

for the rows do wide grip to get the most use out of your back muscles

[bigredelts]

looks like we all agree, do both, but i will also state that every week i try and switch things up, so instead of pull ups i will do lat pull downs one week and cable rows, then switch to weighted pull ups and BB rows or DB rows, always challenge the body, keep it guessing

[Juggernaut33]

Originally Posted by battousai216

pullups for width rows for thickness. Do whichever is lacking first.

I agree with this.

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

I can only do like 2-3 strict deadhang pullups (only with a bit wider than shoulder grip). And i think with a wide grip i can't even do 1 i think. My back must seriously suck, but i was just wondering how i could get past this.

Also just out of curiosity is my thinking about this right?
if improve on your pullups, you will also increase your chins. But if you improve on your chins, this may only translate to a little or even no increase in your pull ups.

[Omfgorzzz]

Originally Posted by Diablomeister

do both. start with pullups.

This.

[DJAuto]

That's depends upon the type of development you are referring to.

However, I am biased towards pullups, so I would choose them.

[aleeboy]

Originally Posted by Confuzzl3dOn3

I can only do like 2-3 strict deadhang pullups (only with a bit wider than shoulder grip). And i think with a wide grip i can't even do 1 i think. My back must seriously suck, but i was just wondering how i could get past this.

Also just out of curiosity is my thinking about this right?
if improve on your pullups, you will also increase your chins. But if you improve on your chins, this may only translate to a little or even no increase in your pull ups.

Wrt pull-up strength being transferred to chin-up strength, I would say they are different. I used to train exclusively for pull-ups and was able to do 10 and do 5 sets of 6 thereafter. My max number of chins was 6. Now that I regularly do them, I can now do equal number of reps for each exercise.

[lukegfaulkner]

Pull ups have always worked my back best for mass and strength, every article I have ever read on back routines have always said pull ups promote the most gains and a wider back. So I would start with pull ups.

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

Originally Posted by aleeboy

Wrt pull-up strength being transferred to chin-up strength, I would say they are different. I used to train exclusively for pull-ups and was able to do 10 and do 5 sets of 6 thereafter. My max number of chins was 6. Now that I regularly do them, I can now do equal number of reps for each exercise.

I would have thought that since pull ups (esp, wide grip) hit your back more than chin ups as you cannot use your biceps to help, it would mean a stronger back which would then help to increase number of reps you can chin. But if you improve on chinups, it may just be half biceps improvement, half back improvement which would translate to a lesser effect when switching to pull ups. Just my thoughts...

[Opies]

both are good and work your back differently. Pullups are better IMO because the difficulty forces you to use your entire back, while with rows, some people may be much more dominant with certain muscles.

[chocs]

Pull ups for wider lats, hence a better lat spread and rows for thickness.

[jondozded]

hmmm... "practical" strength again...

if you're a rock-climbing instructor, do more pullups/chins... if you work for a moving company, do more BB rows and deadlifts... "practical"...

anyway, do both of them (like you said you do) and just alternate from workout to workout what comes first. vary your grips too.

[Pullup17]

Both, i always like to switch my routine.

Sometimes i do rows first, next time i do pullups first.

Right now i split back into 2 different days, one for rowing and the other for chins.

Include different variations for each and you're good to go.

[We Drowned]

They work different muscle groups. It's like asking if you should do flat bench or incline.

[_AF_]

Originally Posted by Mindi911

Pull ups build your v-Taper

Rows build mass

Do both.

this ^