Wide grip pullups better for lats = myth?

R

Razien99

New Member
Hey so ive always read that for lat development wide grip pullups were one of the best exercises. However im also a member on another forum & a guy recently posted some information explaining why wide grip pullups with a pronated grip arent as effective as close grip pullups with a suspinated grip, as the latter actually stretches the lats more.
Im really not knowledgeable enough yet to be able to tell if what hes preaching is true or has faults, so i thought some of u guys who know more about this stuff could read it & see what u think
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http://forum.myspace.com/index.c....0499941
 
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(Razien99 @ Mar. 09 2006,13:23)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Hey so ive always read that for lat development wide grip pullups were one of the best exercises. However im also a member on another forum &amp; a guy recently posted some information explaining why wide grip pullups with a pronated grip arent as effective as close grip pullups with a suspinated grip, as the latter actually stretches the lats more.
Im really not knowledgeable enough yet to be able to tell if what hes preaching is true or has faults, so i thought some of u guys who know more about this stuff could read it &amp; see what u think
rock.gif


http://forum.myspace.com/index.c....0499941</div>
A suppinated close grip puts your Biceps, the weak link in the chinup, in thier strongest position but still the Bicep will fail before the lats do. This being said, how could your back get stronger if the weekest link is in it's weekest position. Hope I'm making sense here.
 
How can you tell which muscle group fails first? Different people will perform the wide grip exercise differently. is your wide grip palms facing or away?

Iv read about this topic and the conclusion seems to be that the palms should be close grip facing you or ideally facing towards each other to put them in the strongest position.
 
Guys

This thread is being discussed in the hypertrophy specific forum, check it out there!

I am with style BTW, close grip hands facing you is the best, typically hands facing each other is even better.
 
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(Mike Echanis @ Mar. 09 2006,15:25)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(Razien99 @ Mar. 09 2006,13:23)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Hey so ive always read that for lat development wide grip pullups were one of the best exercises. However im also a member on another forum &amp; a guy recently posted some information explaining why wide grip pullups with a pronated grip arent as effective as close grip pullups with a suspinated grip, as the latter actually stretches the lats more.
Im really not knowledgeable enough yet to be able to tell if what hes preaching is true or has faults, so i thought some of u guys who know more about this stuff could read it &amp; see what u think
rock.gif


http://forum.myspace.com/index.c....0499941</div>
A suppinated close grip puts your Biceps, the weak link in the chinup, in thier strongest position but still the Bicep will fail before the lats do.  This being said, how could your back get stronger if the weekest link is in it's weekest position.  Hope I'm making sense here.</div>
And those are good points when considering the choices. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Close grip suppinated do put more stress on the bicep and may be a good choice if you are not isolating the bicep via other exercises, but so do rowing motions so in an overall workout you need to consider what it is you are trying accomplish.

Wide grip, when performed properly, activate the lats of course, but also activate the lower and middle traps, and teres major (and others) so as a general back exercise they are quite suited.

So balance the effect of either adduction or extension based on what it is you are trying to accomplish.
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Bryan's post on this issue:

Some muscles such as the lats, the traps, and the delts allow us to preferentially stretch certain portions of the muscle, therefore imposing greater strain on the area of the muscle that is stretched. For example, for the lat. Its origin is not restricted to a single location. the origin(s) for the lat is the vertebral spines from T7 to the sacrum, posterior third of the iliac crest, lower 3 or 4 ribs, and even sometimes from the inferior angle of the scapula. However, it does have a single insertion, floor of the intertubercular groove on the humerus. So, as we change the plane of motion during rows from narrow grip over head, to wide grip in front, we change the degree of stretch exerted primarily on the lower portion (posterior third of the iliac crest to the lower 3rd or 4th ribs) of the lat, reducing it as the plane of motion becomes more perpendicular to the trunk. Moving the hands wider simply reduces the amount of stretch experienced by the entire lat, therefore reducing the mechanical advantage for the lat. [NOTE: wide grip movements are often thought of as more difficult (can’t use as much weight) and therefore interpreted to be more effective at building “width” to the lats. However, when you look at what is causing the wide grip movements to feel more difficult (i.e. less stretch on the primer mover) you realize that the movement is actually less effective for building overall hypertrophy of the lat.]

I would also like to “NOTE” that even when the grip is wide or narrow, the lat is still fully activated. In the language of our HIT comrades, you can achieve high “intensity” with either wide or narrow grip. However, from a hypertrophy perspective, the two grip positions and/or planes of motion are NOT equal for producing hypertrophy. How can I say that? it is a simple matter of mechanical strain. As a general rule, Less stretch = less mechanical strain = less hypertrophy, regardless of effort (i.e. intensity).
 
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