New Article: Leave Lat Pull-Down Land and Build A Bigger Back!

[Joe Black]

Leave Lat Pull-Down Land and Build A Bigger Back by Craig Weller

Latching onto a bar with your full bodyweight in tow can be humbling experience. This is why many people end up getting stuck in Lat Pull-down Land, and fail to ever perform a single set of double-digit pull-ups.

We're here to change that. We provide you with a routine which will DOUBLE your reps on Pull Ups and get you on the road to building a wider, more muscular back.

Just one question remains... Are you up for the challenge?

[the one]

i really like the idea of doing weighted singles with 10-15seconds rest betweet. thatll keep form perfect and make sure rom is full...good article

[David Trantham]

get article daniel, i need to start doing my chins again. i have not done them since i tore my bicep last year. great over all exercise for your back!!! thanks !!!!!!!

[Off Road]

That was a good article. I may have to try that since my chin-ups are in single digits.

[charles_316]

awesome article! i work out in my basement and i have a power rack.. unfortunately, the ceilings are approx 7 ft so the to top of the power rack that has a straight bar for pull-up and chin-ups clears the ceiling by a couple inches so i cannot do the exercises properly

have any of you built your own bar around the house or can i buy a piece of equipment with a lower bar strictly for these exercises?

[DMedley]

That was a good article. I may have to try that since my chin-ups are in single digits.

Mine are also single digit - 0. I can not do a single pull up. I got some bands so I am going to begin by using assistance and work on up to weighted.

[Joe Black]

Mine are also single digit - 0. I can not do a single pull up. I got some bands so I am going to begin by using assistance and work on up to weighted.

This has really worked for me. 4 months ago I was 0 body weight, but after a few months of band assisted I am able to do 5-6 BW for good clean reps.

[Tom Mutaffis]

awesome article! i work out in my basement and i have a power rack.. unfortunately, the ceilings are approx 7 ft so the to top of the power rack that has a straight bar for pull-up and chin-ups clears the ceiling by a couple inches so i cannot do the exercises properly

have any of you built your own bar around the house or can i buy a piece of equipment with a lower bar strictly for these exercises?

The Iron Gym and some similar products have multiple different grips and are pretty sturdy for the price ($25-30).

Another option would be to go to a local playground and do chins on the monkey bars.

[Craig Weller]

awesome article! i work out in my basement and i have a power rack.. unfortunately, the ceilings are approx 7 ft so the to top of the power rack that has a straight bar for pull-up and chin-ups clears the ceiling by a couple inches so i cannot do the exercises properly

have any of you built your own bar around the house or can i buy a piece of equipment with a lower bar strictly for these exercises?

You could also try hanging rings or blast straps off your power rack. You'll end up having to bend your knees at the bottom, which is annoying, but it's better than nothing.

Also, like someone else said, I know of a few people who have the "perfect pullup" bar or something similar and like it. Pretty sure the perfect pullup one has rotating handles, which is good for the wrists.

Another option would be to suspend your feet somehow and do "lean away chins" so that your body is at about a 45 degree angle to the bar at the top of the movement. This changes the emphasis somewhat and hits the upper back to a greater degree than standard vertical chins (halfway between vertical and horizontal pulling) and keeps your head/face further away from the ceiling at the top. You can do it by either just actively leaning back and extending the thoracic and cervical spine at the top (keep the abs braced to prevent lumbar extension) or by actually elevating your feet on something.

[frankf79]

Great Article, quality singles or doubles are better than a sloppy set or two of 8 reps. I usually get into the groove around the 4th set or so. I have recently started doing thick bar suspended chin-ups for sets of one. I perform these by wrapping around my black set of heavy bands around a pull-up bar and then insert a thick bar througfh the folds. Defintely makes the sets harder and forces me get tight and pull hard and fast.

Cheers

[ZenMonkey]

Cool article. Pullups are a staple in my routine(s). I love them!

[J.C.]

With the two workouts, is one workout done one day and the other a few days later? So in this scheme you only do chins/pull-ups once a week?

[bamazav]

Great article. I have been doing chins and pullups, with some assistance, but have not really focused on developing them. It is time to get serious about them.

[Craig Weller]

With the two workouts, is one workout done one day and the other a few days later? So in this scheme you only do chins/pull-ups once a week?

Right, you're doing heavy vertical pulling once per week, and heavy horizontal pulling once per week. That doesn't take into consideration anything else you're doing in your routine. If you're looking for higher frequency you can experiment with that but keep structural balance and recovery capacity in mind.

[LuNa]

I have been doing these for a month now and they are great. Im stuck at 2 per set. I will definitely give this try. Great article.

[shorm777]

Good article, i've gotta move onto those.

[View 1]

awesome article! i work out in my basement and i have a power rack.. unfortunately, the ceilings are approx 7 ft so the to top of the power rack that has a straight bar for pull-up and chin-ups clears the ceiling by a couple inches so i cannot do the exercises properly

have any of you built your own bar around the house or can i buy a piece of equipment with a lower bar strictly for these exercises?

Have you ever tried rack chins? All you need is something to prop your legs up on, added weight is optional.

Video

[Nicky]

I do rack chins now. Is the single arm eccentric something a beginner should worry about, or should I just stick to the basics?

[J.C.]

Right, you're doing heavy vertical pulling once per week, and heavy horizontal pulling once per week. That doesn't take into consideration anything else you're doing in your routine. If you're looking for higher frequency you can experiment with that but keep structural balance and recovery capacity in mind.

You know I may well start doing this exactly as you prescribe after Christmas. I've never done better than about 7 good pull-ups and 11-12 chins. It'd be really good to get to a solid 15 pull-ups and its about time I stopped blaming my long arms and height.

[Craig Weller]

I do rack chins now. Is the single arm eccentric something a beginner should worry about, or should I just stick to the basics?

It depends on where your strength to weight ratio is at. If you can do them and slow your descent, keeping under control, then you'll be fine.

If it's more like a freefall to the bottom, stick with other stuff to build strength for a while.

[vdizenzo]

For those who cannot perform a chin up or pullup you can try fatman pullups or chinups, you can also do them band assisted. I used to be good at pullups until I tore both biceps. Now if I try to do them without asdsistance they tear my biceps apart. They are such a great part of back work. I'm glad I found a way to incorporate them again.

[charles_316]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[IronDiggy]

I really need to start doing these as lat work. Maybe double my reps from 1 to 2 haha...

[4g64fiero]

I was supersetting lat pulldowns with flat bench for the last 8 weeks or so.

Today I gave this a try. I did pullups instead of chinups but I completed it.

That being said, I normally superset decline bench with t bar rows but went with bent over lateral raises today after reading some stuff around here. Should I still worry about doing the rows that the program suggests? I really dig the bent over lateral raises.

Also, should I strap some weight on next week for the pullups or should I raise the reps per set? I am not used to thinking within the confines of 25 sets of a single exersise lol.

[Craig Weller]

I was supersetting lat pulldowns with flat bench for the last 8 weeks or so.

Today I gave this a try. I did pullups instead of chinups but I completed it.

That being said, I normally superset decline bench with t bar rows but went with bent over lateral raises today after reading some stuff around here. Should I still worry about doing the rows that the program suggests? I really dig the bent over lateral raises.

Also, should I strap some weight on next week for the pullups or should I raise the reps per set? I am not used to thinking within the confines of 25 sets of a single exersise lol.

Add weight if you can but make sure you're focused on quality reps. Fast with a clean scapular retraction at the top.

Do the rows.