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tubesox

tubesox

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10+ Year Member
Im just curious...

Whenever i see the bigger guys in the gym, the ones that have the build to go IFBB, i never see them do any pull ups. Ever. There back routines consist typically of rows and deads.

Now I myself love pull ups, weighted, body weight, neutral grip, overhand, behind the neck...ALL OF 'EM. And honestly i haven't found another back workout that has been more effective at building and continuously gaining strength. Now the physique im after is more of a sleek jean claude van dam type build not a Branch Warren build.

Does anyone have any ideas or even facts of why i never see competitive BB's doing pull ups? The only one i've ever seen was Arnold i think...
 
tubesox said:
Im just curious...

Whenever i see the bigger guys in the gym, the ones that have the build to go IFBB, i never see them do any pull ups. Ever. There back routines consist typically of rows and deads.

Now I myself love pull ups, weighted, body weight, neutral grip, overhand, behind the neck...ALL OF 'EM. And honestly i haven't found another back workout that has been more effective at building and continuously gaining strength. Now the physique im after is more of a sleek jean claude van dam type build not a Branch Warren build.

Does anyone have any ideas or even facts of why i never see competitive BB's doing pull ups? The only one i've ever seen was Arnold i think...
Click to expand...

Whats the point really unless you strap on a weight belt, easier to just do pulldowns.
 
tubesox said:
reduces cheat movement imo
Click to expand...

IDK, when your enormous and on massive amounts of sauce it really doesn't matter as much as you would think if you use cheat movements...

For me as i have gotten bigger (and older) pullups bother my arms at the elbow crease vs the pulldown I can kind of position differently so that it minimizes any strain on that .

I good friend is pro, and he will do pullups when he is cut, never when he is bulking though. Never asked him why.
 
azazul said:
IDK, when your enormous and on massive amounts of sauce it really doesn't matter as much as you would think if you use cheat movements...

For me as i have gotten bigger (and older) pullups bother my arms at the elbow crease vs the pulldown I can kind of position differently so that it minimizes any strain on that .

I good friend is pro, and he will do pullups when he is cut, never when he is bulking though. Never asked him why.
Click to expand...

this does make sense..at times it bothers my elbows as well.

this is another thing i was wondering about because the multiple muscles you use when doing pullups could almost qualify as cardio depending on the rep range. Where as pull downs you aren't using as many stabilizers, wonder if that has anything to do with it?
 
Honestly i have had a few guys tell me they just become i bit harder when your bw reaches 250lbs +.I can say that when i weighed 185lbs-205lbs i would rep out on pull ups,chin ups behind the neck you name it..i wasn't getting any bigger from that shit either looking back on it.I now float between a bodyweight of 275-320lbs yearly and my lats are bigger then they ever have been and my back is thick,wide and dense but you know my pullups and chin-ups are shit.To each person they are different.
 
Pull ups are good, but I think that for mass bent rows and deads are better exercises. I always do pull ups, but as I'm getting heavier I'm finding them much more difficult. They are hard on your joints if you do too many, when I used to do them daily I had wrist pain and used to have to take aleve to make it through workouts. It also seems to me that with pull ups your arms just do too much of the work for them to be the best back exercise.
 
I was a big pull up enthusiast for a while there and was totally against pull downs. But now I'm finding that pull downs work my lat's better than pull ups. With pull downs I can make my back do almost all of the work, it's harder to keep the arms from taking over with pull ups for me. The super wide grip pull ups are tough on the rotator cuff too.
 
I do pull ups but I think I do them for show. The crossfit kids are like wow(with correct form) and I even sandbag sometimes for money on over/under on my pull up reps:). I do think pulldown is better for mass but pullups will help for definition. You have to be one strong dude to rep out on pull ups at 270 or greater.
 
Voltrader said:
I do pull ups but I think I do them for show. The crossfit kids are like wow(with correct form) and I even sandbag sometimes for money on over/under on my pull up reps:). I do think pulldown is better for mass but pullups will help for definition. You have to be one strong dude to rep out on pull ups at 270 or greater.
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So you guys bet on pull ups?
 
Ray if i could like your comment from my phone i would. I guess i'll stop doing pullups when i hit 270, right now im enjoying turning chicks heads in the gym with frank medrano routines lol.

If you dont know who frank medrano is youtube him NOW!!! You wont regret it.
 
I would not stop doing them....I think what happens is the pullups start putting stress on joints and such. So guys just mainly go with pulldowns to get the job done without the stress. Yes girls like pullups.... Frank reminds me of Bruce Lee if I was 5"7" 155 I would try to do the same thing.
 
Don't get me wrong though because there is no doubt if you can rep out 12 with 4 plates 180lbs hanging from the dip belt you will surely have some hypertrophy.
 
tubesox said:
Ray if i could like your comment from my phone i would. I guess i'll stop doing pullups when i hit 270, right now im enjoying turning chicks heads in the gym with frank medrano routines lol.

If you dont know who frank medrano is youtube him NOW!!! You wont regret it.
Click to expand...

i just did. awesome! heres one.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFPsvF3UOdo]Frank Medrano - Superhuman Bodyweight Workout Domination - YouTube[/ame]
 
The rotator cuff stress from the wide grips is worse than the joint issue IMO... If you stick to low volume I think you will be ok as far as your joints are concerned... Of course if you have a super high BW it could be an issue, I'm about 230 so I'm not worried yet.... When I used to do extremely high volume pull ups my joints hurt like hell, wrist especially, I aint going lie... Joint health is more important than one exercise IMO... If they hurt probably best to leave them alone... I did pull downs and Pull ups in Pull session today, Pull ups are a hell of a finisher...4 plates Voltrader, god damn you gotta be superman.. I do one plate at most on my last set sometimes, but BW get the job done....Dips are a different story, I always add weight and go deep as hell, I will dip till the day I die....
 
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