Lats - Close grip pulldowns widen, wide-grip thicken?

[Trucker111]

Right? So many times, people will tell you that wide grip widens your back.. but that's opposite from what I've experienced.

 

[adidamps2]

i use next to no wide grip back work..and my back is thick and wide.

 

[goiterjoe]

I used to do close and medium grip pullups without getting much flare to my lats. once I started doing pullups with the widest grip I could hold on with, my back flared out a couple more inches on each side within a couple of months.

I do heavy rows and deadlifts for thickness.

 

[mister69]

good approach...dont forget when you are all dieted down, your waist leans out and your v-taper always looks better. Right now i dont care about look so i wouldnt mind hanging out at 14-15% bf ...

 

[jocktheglide]

dorian yates does closed and he had a big back...

 

[Beast_19_301]

i do narrow and my back is bigger then my friends and he does really wide, so i guess it is right........yes for me, boo for him

 

[joshbeam1]

ive had best luck w/heavy dls, rows and pullups(wide grip)
those have given me the best results, but i still switch things up occassionally
diet is also very important

 

[GTC]

Wide grip makes my shoulders hurt bad the next day. Close grip is far more comfortable and I can feel it more in my lats aswell as the biceps.

Plus, I only have a straight bar so it hurts my wrists if I use wide grip. It's best to use one of those bars that bends downwards at each end for wide grip chins.

 

[silver_shadow]

remember wide grip will result in less bicep involvement which could explain size differences between wide and narrow. but i don't agree with that theory about what leads to thickness and what leads to width, IMO both get worked doing the same exercise... the muscle doesn't understand stuff like which way it should grow because you did exercise X vs exercise Y - the muscle understands load in the form of weight which results in microtrauma.

 

[AngryMuscles]

to make the story simple, just do it!

 

[evansss]

to make the story simple, just do it!

.

 

[Trucker111]

remember wide grip will result in less bicep involvement which could explain size differences between wide and narrow. but i don't agree with that theory about what leads to thickness and what leads to width, IMO both get worked doing the same exercise... the muscle doesn't understand stuff like which way it should grow because you did exercise X vs exercise Y - the muscle understands load in the form of weight which results in microtrauma.

So you're saying you won't get different results w/ a wider/more narrow grip?

Seems kinda strange since bench, DL, curls, tricep extensions all change emphasis when you switch up the grip.

From my experience from 2 different summers, when I used mostly wide grip, my back was thicker, but not as wide. When I used close grip, it was def. wider, but not as thick.

 

[silver_shadow]

it does make a difference, but what varies is the amount of bicep involvement. wide = less bicep, narrow = more bicep. i for one haven't noticed any difference in back thickness vs back width using narrow vs wide grip, and i'm sure many here will testify to this.

 

[Trucker111]

it does make a difference, but what varies is the amount of bicep involvement. wide = less bicep, narrow = more bicep. i for one haven't noticed any difference in back thickness vs back width using narrow vs wide grip, and i'm sure many here will testify to this.

Yea I know what you're sayin about the bicep involvement and agree w/ you on that.. but when I do close grip and look in a mirror, I can see the lower part of the lat bulging out further than when I use wide grip..

I think that has to do w/ shoulder position, and therefore, with where the muscle is stressed more.

 

[Mudge]

I think ultra wide is not safe, and I am tall with long arms but I just dont go max wide on that.