Pull Ups or Chins

[LowKeyLifter]

I've always done chins and my lat spread is probably my best part. However, I've read conflicting information about what exercise recruits the most muscle fiber. What do you guys recommend more chins or pull ups?

 

[Jstrong20]

I recommend both. As for wich one to favor I'd say go with whatever one you feel the most. For me it is pullups because I can use a much wider grip on them.

 

[CROWLER]

I am not sure what you are asking or what you mean by pull up and chin. To me a chin would be with the palms facing me and fairly narrow grip. A pull up is with the palms facing away and can be narrow, wide or any grip inbetween.

To me chins are better for bicep exercise and pullups better for my lats.


CROWLER

 

[size]

To me chins are better for bicep exercise and pullups better for my lats.

i agree.

 

[Beowulf]

I prefer chins, but I do pullups b/c I think they are more effective. I remember reading something about the superiority of pullups being not just that it recruits the bis less, but also that the lats are recruited along a different plane, so that chins will develop lower lats more, which would actually decrease your V. Doesn't mean it is true, but I read it somewhere. I think it was Muscle&Fitness.

 

[cable626]

yea with pullups you also hit your forearms.

 

[Fury20]

RACK CHINS!!!!!!!!
truly the best exercise for back width i have ever done.

 

[cable626]

RACK CHINS!!!!!!!!
.

how do you do that?

 

[Fury20]

I got this exercise from DC, as it is used by many many DC trainees. I use it in my DC training as well. Here how to do it:

I use a smith machine, set the bar at waist height or so. put a decline bench in front of you. set the bench so the high end is in front of you. put your feet on the top of the bench and take a wide grip on the bar. your butt should be on the floor. Now do a pullup. You are doing a pullup with your feet on the high end of the bench. You can put a weight in your lap for resistance. I always set the bench at the highest position b/c your waist should never come above your feet.

Its hard to describe in words, but do them in place of pullups or pulldowns and get the feel for them. You will not be disappointed. If you have any more questions ask. The best explanations are by DC and others on MuscleMayhem and IntenseMuscle boards.

 

[Fury20]

Hey just found this pic on IntenseMuscle. credit to big JimPaul -- always coming through in the clutch!!

 

[cable626]

nice, I am going to try it. thanks for the pic fury!

 

[ChemicalD]

i agree.

I second that.

 

[hamper19]

Hey just found this pic on IntenseMuscle. credit to big JimPaul -- always coming through in the clutch!!

can you post the pic on here, or redo the link? I clicked it and it said "invalid attachment"

reading what u said is a little confusing.

h19

 

[James]

I do chins with my palms facing out. I can do twenty with my bodyweight. Sometimes on bent rows I will use a reverse grip though.

 

[Invincible]

Pull ups are better for lats, but I can never do to many. I love chins for biceps. Ever since I started chins regularily recently, my biceps have grown a lot.

 

[Moyer]

This might sound weird, but I think chins also work my pecs and abs quite a bit, but pull-ups don't.

I'm not sure why, but when I was young(maybe 10 yrs old), I could do many pull-ups, but could barely do any chins. Most people are the opposite. I think my chest was weak, but my back and shoulders were strong because I was big into archery at the time.

 

[Vincent124]

Switch between pulls and chins every once and a while. Conjugated methods produce better gains than linear.

 

[perp69]

Pull ups

Never really done pull ups a lot until about a year ago. My lats have never looked so good as they do now.

 

[ss01]

I much prefer the "Dillett". What is the Dillett? It's somewhere between a chin-up and a pull-up or rather a combo of both. Like this:

Hands shoulder-width, palms facing you, thumbs opposing the other fingers. Pull the bar down (on a pulldown machine) or your body up, holding your body at a 45° angle, so that at the end of the motion, your hands are at the sides of the plexus. Keep the elbows back and inflate your ribcage as you pull yourself up. This is a very difficult variation, most don't need to add weight. Actually, most will do it on a pulldown machine...

It hits the lats so perfecty it's freaky.

 

[davisville64]

I think pull ups are better for overall back and with, but chins hit the lower/inner lats, which helpts with thickness.

 

[davisville64]

I much prefer the "Dillett". What is the Dillett? It's somewhere between a chin-up and a pull-up or rather a combo of both. Like this:

Hands shoulder-width, palms facing you, thumbs opposing the other fingers. Pull the bar down (on a pulldown machine) or your body up, holding your body at a 45° angle, so that at the end of the motion, your hands are at the sides of the plexus. Keep the elbows back and inflate your ribcage as you pull yourself up. This is a very difficult variation, most don't need to add weight. Actually, most will do it on a pulldown machine...

It hits the lats so perfecty it's freaky.

So you are at a 45 degree angle at your waist, so your head is about over your knees? Sounds wierd but I think i'll try it.

 

[rhunt000]

I like to do as many wide grip pull-ups as possible, rest about 15 sec and then knock out as many narrow grip chins as possible. 5 sets of those and I'm feelin' it.

 

[-2z-]

Both. The muscle fibers in lats run a few different directions becasue of the way they are attached to the spine. Muscles get the most activation when the motion is the same direction as the fibers. So...if you do both, or rotate them out, you should be hitting the lats better. Kind of the "hitting the muscle from different angles" thing.
There's a study or two on this...I'll see if I can find it again...but I am at work.

 

[-2z-]

OK....here's one of them...
ignore the boldface...not sure why that carried over.:
---------------
By Brad Schoenfeld, CSCS


TRAINING CORNER: Lat Pulldowns: Close Grip vs. Wide Grip

A common question in weight training circles surrounds the performance of the lat pulldown. Namely, what is the difference between wide grip and close grip pulldowns and is one better than the other for developing thelats. In order to appreciate the answer to this question, it is necessary to understand the anatomy of the latissimus dorsi (lats). The lats are one of the largest muscles in the body and have multiple attachments, including those on the spine, scapula (shoulder blade), pelvis and humerus (upper arm bone). Because of these multiple attachments, the lat fibers are arranged in different directions, from almost perpendicular to almost parallel with the body. Since muscles are maximally stressed when an exercise moves in line with its fibers, the following protocols apply to lat training.
Close grip pulldowns target the lowerregion of your lats. Thelower lat fibers are basically straight up and down, running virtually parallel with the body. Thus, using a close grip keeps the line of pull in conjunction with the lower fibers.

Wide grip pulldowns, on the other hand, are best for targeting the upper portion of your lats. The upper lat fibers run in an oblique fashion, fanning out at a sharp angle. Avoid using a hand spacing that's significantly past shoulder length, though. There are diminishing returns to performing pulldowns with an extremely wide grip. What's more, range of motion is restricted, resulting in reduced muscular development.

In final analysis, both variations of the lat pulldown are effective in developing the lats. As a rule, using a combination of these movements will result in optimal lat development. It also is important to remember that you can't isolate the lats. Using either movement will only help to shift the emphasis to one part or the other, but the entire lat (as well as many synergistic muscles) will be active throughout the exercise.


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[TravTriggz]

wide grip pullups = The Absolute Bomb
for getting wide and overall back developement

 

[Robboe]

Am i the only one who finds much more benefit from using the pulldown machine for vertical rows?

 

[crazycal]

5x5 chins-excellent for working a variety of muscle groups including chest.bi`s and abs-do em slow

 

[magic8ball]

I prefer pull-ups. Also, thanks Fury for the new exercise, can't wait to try it.

 

[max silver]

I much prefer the "Dillett". What is the Dillett? It's somewhere between a chin-up and a pull-up or rather a combo of both. Like this:

Hands shoulder-width, palms facing you, thumbs opposing the other fingers. Pull the bar down (on a pulldown machine) or your body up, holding your body at a 45° angle, so that at the end of the motion, your hands are at the sides of the plexus. Keep the elbows back and inflate your ribcage as you pull yourself up. This is a very difficult variation, most don't need to add weight. Actually, most will do it on a pulldown machine...

It hits the lats so perfecty it's freaky.

I just tried this today, and I gotta say I really like this exercise. The contraction I feel at the lower end of the pull is off the chart, and for me feels right up there with rack chins/pullups, which I also really enjoy.

 

[rake922]

Pull ups- but I do both