Pull Up Station Tip #1
Pull Up Station Tip – Pull Up Grip Width
There is a common misconception in the fitness world – especially in bodybuilding culture – that if you want to build a wide back, that when you train on a pull up station doing pull ups, chins, or the like, that you should use as wide of a grip as you can. The thought is that doing this will sort of ‘stretch’ the muscles of the lats (the muscles that run from the armpit to the lower back) and cause them to grow wider.
Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case. In fact, performing exercises on your pull up station in this manner will actually hinder you – not help you.
Ultra-Wide Grip – A Pull Up Station ‘No-No’
For generations, bodybuilders have talked about the benefits of doing pull ups and chins with a very wide grip. The common thought (and what they’ve passed down to others and printed in bodybuilding magazines for years) is that the wider you grip the handle or bar on your pull up station, the wider it will build your back.
They think this (and people believe it) because when you take a very wide grip and hang, you can feel a very strong stretch in your back muscles. It is then thought that this stretch leads to the muscles being stretched ‘longer’ (therefore bigger).
It’s also thought that if you take a real wide grip on your pull up station, that you’ll work a different area of the back, and those muscles that get stretched out wide will also get built up more. Therefore, a wide grip = a wide back.
However, the truth is really the exact opposite.
See, when you take a really wide grip on your pull up station, you are actually limiting the range of motion (ROM) that you perform with each rep of the exercise. Or in other words, you are only doing reps that are partially as long as reps would be if didn’t take a wide grip.
Think of it like this – say you were to grab onto your pull up station, and your hands were six inches outside of your shoulders. Hang all the way down so that your arms are straight, then pull yourself up so that your chin is over the bar. You’ll find that your body doesn’t actually go that far up and down through space.
However, if you were to grip your pull up station at a shoulder-width grip and repeat, think of how much further your body would be traveling up and down through space. This is because your ROM has increased that much. And that will lead to you being able to tax the muscles of the back just that much more.
And when you can tax the muscles of the back that much more, you can not only build them bigger, but build them stronger.
Maximize Your Grip on the Pull Up Station
However, this doesn’t mean that you should go super narrow with your grip. Doing this can put your elbows and wrists in a disadvantageous position, and actually hurt them. It will also focus emphasis away from the muscles of the back.
Your best bet is if you’re going to do pull ups, to use a grip that’s at shoulder-width or just outside. If you’re going to do chins, then a grip just inside shoulder-width is optimal.