Wide Grip Lat Pull Down

[Eyeball Chambers]

Hey,
Can someone tell me how wide your grip should be on this exercise? I always though you should do it about the same as you do bench press, but after watching some bigger guys im thinking it should be much wider?

Thanks,
Ben

[pumpster]

All widths are effective-wide, medium and close grip.

[Bluto]

shoulder width

[Thin Lizzy]

Similar to the bench press, different width grips work different areas.  A close grip will work the inner back muscles: traps, romboids, and inner-lats. Those muscles provide thickness. The wide grip will work the outer back muscles: Teres major, infraspinatus, and, to a certain extent, the rear delts, which will provide width.

Personally, I like a wide grip because I feel the seated row is better excercise for working the inner-back.

[Eyeball Chambers]

Oh yeah, I see what you mean. I just got back, I did really wide and feel it in my outer lats. Up till now I was doing I guess a kinda narrow grip and my middle back is really good, but my outer lats are kind of lagging.


Thanks.

[dontknowit]

Differ if you can, if you tend to have shoulderblade problems, comfortable.
But don't tend to spend to much time on pull-down. Rowing is a better choice, and also as effective, if not more effective.

[Bear03]

Although Chins are generally thought of as being the best builder for the lats, i think that for most people, wide grip pulldowns are a great exercise.  If you have really high lats, though, you're going to want to do these and close grip pulldowns in a 1:1 ratio.  As dontknowit said, rows are also key- but i disagree that they're more important.  Rows primarily build lat thickness (and thickness in other back muscles), but really pulling-down/pulling-over motions build width like know other

[GET_BIGGER]

I go as wide as possible.  Really stretch those f**kers out to get some width.  I rely on other movements to get my thickness.

[Eyeball Chambers]

Ok people Thanks. I do TBar Rows now. I think there helping a loooottt.

[JPM]

Wide grip lat pulldowns (not just a little wider than shoulder width, but as far as you can go and still preform a proper and full pull down....as Get_Bigger suggested) will give a different stretch or feel to the lats. A good warm-up movement for the upper back and shoulder girdle. For building added thickness and muscular width, the medium curl grip pulldown is most effective. When you use a  curl grip (also a different stretch feeling), where the hands are about 4-6" apart, the biceps will be influenced strongly along with the lats. That exercise could stand alone as a good bicep builder.  All three grip positions can be used in a single lat/upper back workout (like in a BP session) for good results.  Of course if you had a set of gymnastic rings, where the hands/wrist/elbows follow a natural curve in pulling up & in towards the body, that would be a good thing. One arm lat pull's can be very effective and close to using a gymnastic ring. Becoming very strong on the lat machine does not always mean that you are strong when doing regular chin-ups. That strength factor does not always transfer over to a even ratio.

Most causal trainee's who just want to look good and stay in some form of shape are probably better off using a lat machine. If you were born with high lats, low lats, etc than that's what your genetics gave you. Can not build a lat sweep from the waist to the upper back (Franco Columbo comes to mind) if you don't have the genetic potentional to do so. But one can always improve on the natural structure. Good Luck.