Hey guys, I’m trying to widen my back as it’s lagging behind my chest development. As far as rows go, where do you guys grip the bar, closegrip or wide?
also interested in this, same situation. Need width.
Closegrip gets more in the lats. But who cares, just take the grip your strongest in, and keep on increasing the load
do both
Maybe you could try also to improve your pulldown/vertical pulling form, by letting the shoulders go up a little and initiating the pull by depressing the scapula first and then pulling.
The veterans probably have some good advice…
I’ve been taught that the body works in opposites, so if you’re wanting to widen the back you would use a close grip.
[quote]mroseland wrote:
I’ve been taught that the body works in opposites, so if you’re wanting to widen the back you would use a close grip.[/quote]
i know what your saying, a closgrip curl targets the outer biceps, opposed to a widegrip curl which targets the inner biceps, but i don’t think that principal holds true for an exercise like benching which i feel a widegrip would better widen my chest.
however i feel alot of the emphasis in closgrip rows on biceps. would one suggest keeping a slight bend in my arms, not going all the way down, so that less emphasis is put onto my biceps at the beggining of the pull?
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Hey guys, I’m trying to widen my back as it’s lagging behind my chest development. As far as rows go, where do you guys grip the bar, closegrip or wide?[/quote]
Wide. Actually slightly wider than shoulder width. So its not really wide. I remember watching Arnold do wide grip pull-ups. He seemed to have a grasp on back development.
[quote]Misterhamper wrote:
Closegrip gets more in the lats. But who cares, just take the grip your strongest in, and keep on increasing the load[/quote]
This.
I use various, but I really like the v-handle thing for pulldowns as it gives a great stretch which to me is important. If you really concentrate on getting a good stretch between every rep I think you’ll find it helps a lot.
Also, here’s a great DC exercise that’ll really hit your lats, performed by Dave Tate when he was going through his DC phase;
Edit; sorry, I know you asked rows but I explained about pulldowns too because I think rows are more for thickness than width.
For me I get my lats better not so much depending on grip, unless it’s really wide, but where I bring the bar up to. If you row it up too high you tend to shrug and get the upper back and bis more. If I keep my shoulders down and bring it up not much higher than my waist it really hits the lats.
[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
austin_bicep wrote:
Hey guys, I’m trying to widen my back as it’s lagging behind my chest development. As far as rows go, where do you guys grip the bar, closegrip or wide?
Wide. Actually slightly wider than shoulder width. So its not really wide. I remember watching Arnold do wide grip pull-ups. He seemed to have a grasp on back development.[/quote]
In the case of pullups or chins, you will stretch the lats more when you grip closer. The wider the grip the more you work your midback. I find close grip vertical pulling movements are ideal for width.
I’ve always gripped it just around shoulder width or a bit wider by maybe an inch or so. However, I’m pretty tall and I got long arms but I don’t know if that changes anything.
Try reverse gripping as well, it’s a great feel.
[quote]Rattler wrote:
I’ve always gripped it just around shoulder width or a bit wider by maybe an inch or so. However, I’m pretty tall and I got long arms but I don’t know if that changes anything.
Try reverse gripping as well, it’s a great feel.[/quote]
ya, closegrip, reverse grip pulldowns give me an awesome stretch