Lat Width

[RelaxBro]

Sorry to start another thread steroid.com but i wanted to know whats a more efficient exercise for lat width? When i first started training i did pullups religiously 7 days a week & my back got very wide. I now do pull ups only on back days & havent really seen a difference in months.

What should i depen on now for lat width? Pullups or lat pulldown?

I do my barbell rows & deadlifts already.

[JJ78]

I do pullups everytime I walk by the Pullup bar almost every day. At least on set. I weigh 220 and I can do 25 slow and controlled. Definitley made my back strong and fairly wide, more thick than anything.

[JJ78]

I do pullups everytime I walk by the Pullup bar almost every day. At least one set. I weigh 220 and I can do 25 slow and controlled. Definitley made my back strong and fairly wide, more thick than anything.

[Mace1988]

I used to do massive amounts of pullups during MMA training circuits, when I started bodybuilding I found I pull ups didn't seem to have much of an effect on me. I started doing heavy lat pulldowns, with emphasized negatives, drop sets, and other intensity techniques, and they've helped me a ton, after about a month my back was noticeably wider, and I get a much better pump.

[CMB]

^I agree w/mace 1988.

Try heavy lat pull downs (but controlled and good form) both wide grip, and close grip. Include dead lifts as well as some row exercise.

[M302_Imola]

I used to do massive amounts of pullups during MMA training circuits, when I started bodybuilding I found I pull ups didn't seem to have much of an effect on me. I started doing heavy lat pulldowns, with emphasized negatives, drop sets, and other intensity techniques, and they've helped me a ton, after about a month my back was noticeably wider, and I get a much better pump.

interesting...I never thought about doing heavy negatives on lat pull down. Going to give them a try!

[gthom47]

pullups pullups pullups. i never really used to do them and only did lat pulldowns until a few weeks ago and in the last 3 weeks i have noticed my back get significantly wider from pullups than it ever was from lat pulldowns. i will usually do 5 reps until failure getting between 10-20 each set.

[Kawigirl]

As much as I hate pull ups....I do agree....gives the wings a huge advantage.

[FireGuy]

I am going to go against the grain and say lat pulls, simply due to the fact that the majority of people cant do enough perfect form pullups to make them as effective. I also would say back is the muscle where form is the most important for optimum results. Plus, your back muscles have no idea whether they are contracting against your bodyweight or a stack of plates. Of all the ego abused workouts in the gym I would say back is by far the most violated when it comes to too much weight and not enough mind muscle connection.

[JJ78]

What about slow negatives on Pullups, weighted pullups. i agree with you FireGuy though it is easier to do pulldowns with correct form.

[JJ78]

and I do believe form is everything. Slow and controlled.

[HALTEH]

Didn't read any of the other posts (no ignorance, just no time) but Pull-ups, FOR SURE. Negatives will help greatly, so if you've got a spotter with you, do 'em!!

[RelaxBro]

Ive been doing pullups since i started working out regularly. Im going to start doing some heavy lat pulldowns first before my deadlifts. I ll see how it changes in 10 weeks.

[bruary17]

WIDE grip pullups are best to build those wings! There not so much for thickness but width. And I have to agree, as much as common knowlege about lifting says don't do 'em everyday...I used to..and I saw awesome growth...I currently train traps everyday too and I see some good progress w them.

[FireGuy]

^^Wide Grip=Wide Back is another big misconception about working your back. A mid or even narrow grip is a much better choice.

[paulzane]

^^Wide Grip=Wide Back is another big misconception about working your back. A mid or even narrow grip is a much better choice.

I think Dorian Yates used to advocate the narrow grip, underhand, lat pulldown .... and what a back he had!!

[FireGuy]

Yes, if you just look at both exercises from a kinesiology perspective it's easy to understand why the narrower grip works better.

[bruary17]

WIDE grip pullups are best to build those wings! There not so much for thickness but width. And I have to agree, as much as common knowlege about lifting says don't do 'em everyday...I used to..and I saw awesome growth...I currently train traps everyday too and I see some good progress w them.

With me it always seemed the wider my grip the wider my back became, and the more sore my outer lats were, so It just made sense.

[JJ78]

I cant go wide because of shoulder issues. So I go shoulder width and chins and they seem to work great. As well as slow negs. Jump up grab the bar and take as long as you can to go down. It feels like shit is ripping and feels great.

[kiki123]

Always start back day with a variation of 50 wide grip then 50 narrow grip chins/pullups. Takes me a few sets but my back is certainly not a lagging area. Maybe I should add some weight for a change, those reps will either drop or I'll be in the gym a long time lol.

[RelaxBro]

Is it possible that my body just doesnt respond to pullups anymore & i need to do something different ? Ive been doing chins first every back workou since i was 16yrs old & now im 20. Ive worked myself up to doing chins with a 45lb plate on me for about 6 - 8 reps. I feel like im getting nothing out of it now.

[gbrice75]

Ok, i'm super frustrated after reading this thread. First, I have a back that just won't grow for sh!t. I feel like I work it very hard. I've worked it 1x a week, 2x a week, high volume, low volume, 5x5, 10x10, etc - and I never really see any difference. Width is DEFINITELY something i'm lacking. Then I come here and see 2 different people talking about how they did pullups every day and their back got wider. I just don't get it. How does the back (or any muscle group) grow without rest? Working a muscle group every day goes against everything we've learned about bodybuilding. As for exercises, i'm still trying to find what I like best - but I know I cannot go very wide grip because it absolutely destroys my left shoulder.

[RelaxBro]

Ok, i'm super frustrated after reading this thread. First, I have a back that just won't grow for sh!t. I feel like I work it very hard. I've worked it 1x a week, 2x a week, high volume, low volume, 5x5, 10x10, etc - and I never really see any difference. Width is DEFINITELY something i'm lacking. Then I come here and see 2 different people talking about how they did pullups every day and their back got wider. I just don't get it. How does the back (or any muscle group) grow without rest? Working a muscle group every day goes against everything we've learned about bodybuilding. As for exercises, i'm still trying to find what I like best - but I know I cannot go very wide grip because it absolutely destroys my left shoulder.

I did pullups 7 days a week religiously bodyweight & i definitely saw great results with it. After a few months of this practice, it seemed to slow down. Give it a try bro & see what happens .

[LatissimusaurousRex]

I wouldn't say an exercise is superior to the other. It's all about the ROM you want to achieve and which muscles you are using. I agree with back being butchered as far as mind muscle connection, but mostly because it's hard to just "pick up" a mind muscle connection with your back, it's much easier to heave the lat pull down bar back with all your weight. Pull ups are wonderful though, if you do them as SLOW and as CONTROLLED as you can you should def only be able to do a few, if you can knock out over ten then do them slower and more controlled. IMO a better BB would be able to get a better workout with lighter weight than average joe gym rat uses because of his superior mind muscle connection and focus on the contraction. A good rule of thumb is that if you can't hold yourself at the peak point of concentration (chest to bar or close to) for a few seconds the weight is too heavy. Also yes a wider grip on the bar is a big myth, you're actually decreasing your ROM by doing that. Where you're hitting your back is more largely dictated by the angle you're pulling the bar at and how you're elbows are positioned.

[dirtybrd]

I love doing pull ups. Not alot of people do them, they're hard to do. I also believe anytime you can lift using your own bodyweight that its a better lift compared to weights.

[Bulkn]

I think Dorian Yates used to advocate the narrow grip, underhand, lat pulldown .... and what a back he had!!

I saw Dorian last week when he came to Australia. He basically said with Lat pulls not to go too wide- You lose range of motion and your biceps will fail before your back therefore your back wont get worked very well. He also explained how form was very important and also getting the full contraction and squeeze, not just for Lat pulls but every back exercise.

[FireGuy]

I love doing pull ups. Not alot of people do them, they're hard to do. I also believe anytime you can lift using your own bodyweight that its a better lift compared to weights.

I have heard people say this before yet none of them can give me a valid reason(s) as to why it would be true. What makes you believe it to be true?

In my opinion it doesnt make any difference whatsoever. As stated earlier, your muscle has no idea how much weight you are lifting and it has no idea whether its on a machine, with free weights or a body weight movement. It knows one thing, how many fibers must I get to contract to do the movement my brain is signaling it to do. That said, there is an amount of weight on a lat pull exercise, (may be more than you weigh, it may be less) that will require the exact amount of muscle fibers to contract as when doing a pull up. Now, if you want to talk about stablizer muscles when using DB's as opposed to a barbell or a maching that's a different story.

[dirtybrd]

I also have no valid reason, LOL

[TOkidd]

Whichever exercise helps them to block out the sun!