I really like pull ups, but I never know how far apart to put my hands. The thing I'm confused about is some say a wider grip focuses more one your lats, while others say you should use a medium width grip with your palms facing you so you can make it easy on the arms and focus on your lats.
So....what's the best and why:
Palms facing AWAY from you:
1. close grip (hands touching)
2. medium grip (about shoulder width)
3. wide grip (almost as far as you can go)
Palms facing you:
4. close grip (hands touching)
5. medium grip (about shoulder width)
6. wide grip (almost as far as you can go)
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Thread: Pull up grip width?
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01-02-2005, 03:58 PM #1
Pull up grip width?
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01-02-2005, 04:02 PM #2
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01-02-2005, 04:06 PM #3
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01-02-2005, 04:10 PM #4
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01-02-2005, 04:20 PM #5
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01-02-2005, 06:25 PM #6
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01-02-2005, 06:44 PM #7
Ok, what you guys have said makes a lot of sense, but now I read things like this that confuse me:
Whatever you do, you should always use a fairly narrow pronated (palms in toward you, underhand) grip rather than the much more popular wide overhand grip.
The underhand grip allows for almost a 50 percent greater range of motion. You wouldn't (I hope) do half-reps on squats or bench presses, yet so many trainers do a style of pulldowns that gives such limited results in relation to what is possible.
Show me a guy who can do ten reps of wide-grip pulldowns with 250 pounds, then compare his lat development to another guy who can do ten reps of chins with 150 pounds hanging from his waist. There would be no contest. The pulldown guy's back would be flat Kansas prairie next to the weighted chinner's Colorado Rocky Mountain Range. And, contrary to the name "chin up," chins should actually be performed leaning slightly back and pulling until the mid-chest hits the bar.
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01-02-2005, 08:09 PM #8
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01-02-2005, 08:49 PM #9
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01-03-2005, 02:02 AM #10
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01-03-2005, 02:07 AM #11
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01-03-2005, 03:31 AM #12
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Originally Posted by MrSinister
but i know a skinny person doesnt do them 1 handed only the very strong
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01-03-2005, 03:47 AM #13
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I do a variety. Chins, pullups, wide grips. Mix it up.
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01-03-2005, 10:54 AM #14
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01-03-2005, 12:45 PM #15Originally Posted by PumpAddict
The reason there is confusion, is that there is a difference in how grips affect you, and sometimes a little knowledge is confusing.
The latissimus dorsi is a fan shaped muscle like the pectorals, different parts can be trained.
The majority of the muscle fibers are at the bottom. So to train a majority of the lats, one must use a more narrow grip. Basically, the more narrow the grip, the lower your lats are worked.
Sounds easy right? Sounds like you should use a medium to narrow grip?
Well, here's the kicker.
Most people want a WIDE back. In order to make your back look like a "V", you need to:
a. Develop the UPPER/OUTER lats, and teres muscles (right under arms).
b. Spread the shoulder blades (make them more flexible, so they "stand out" more
The WIDE GRIP chin-up develops the upper/outer lats/teres, and pulls the scapula out.
So, really, they are two different exercises. Use either or both depending on your goals.
Regarding grips-use a palms away with wide grip, or hammer grip with closer grips (which is actually the strongest grip, not palms facing). You want to MINIMIZE bicep involvement, not maximize it.
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01-03-2005, 02:51 PM #16
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01-03-2005, 03:11 PM #17
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01-03-2005, 03:32 PM #18
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01-03-2005, 03:42 PM #19
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01-03-2005, 05:27 PM #20
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01-03-2005, 08:20 PM #21
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01-03-2005, 11:15 PM #22
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01-04-2005, 12:21 PM #23
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01-04-2005, 12:32 PM #24Originally Posted by PumpAddict
I think I'll listen to WILL Harris, the IFBB PRO who prefers to do them WIDE with an overhand grip. The width of his back speaks for itself. Same with Coleman, he does them with an ultra wide grip, about a foot wider than shoulder width!
You want Colorado Rockies thickness, do Barbell, dumbell, and cable rows, maybe a few v-handle chins every now and then. Will Harris considers seated cable rows to be the squat of back exercises.Last edited by AlxandrTheGreat; 01-04-2005 at 12:35 PM.
Some times you gotta add that poundage, and beat that muscle up!
- Kevin Levrone
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01-04-2005, 03:13 PM #25
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01-04-2005, 03:48 PM #26
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01-05-2005, 05:11 AM #27
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i read in muscular development magazine that the best exercise for developing width in the lats was, lat pulldown with wide grip and palms facing away (i.e. hands just slightly wider than shoulder, not too far out). i suppose you could substitute the lat machine for chins.
scientists discovered this by measuring the EMG (electrical activity in the muscle) and they found that wide grip with hands facing away on a lat machine, produced the most electrical activtiy in the muscle and therefore the most activity in the fibres of the lats that would stimulate most muscle growth.
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