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[–]Syncharmony 6 points7 points  (1 child)


I'm not sure how everyone else does it, but when I go wide I use a pronated grip and flare my elbows out and when I go narrow I use a neutral or supinated grip and tuck the elbows. Going wide and flaring is for upper back work. Rear delts, rhomboids, lower traps, etc and so forth. Going more narrow and tucking more directly targets the lats. At least, that is MY experience with regard to both seated rows and pulldowns. When trying to hit my lats, I also prefer whatever handle will give me the best ROM to contract my scapula together and let my lats flex as hard as they can. Which is why using a cambered bar for barbell rows is pretty awesome, but anyway.

I generally mix it up when doing this stuff since I look at it as bodybuilding work. I'll do some sets one way, some set another. Some sets I'll go heavy and get a little body english into it and some I stay as strict as possible and focus on contracting the muscle groups I want to work.

So to me, it's less the handle you use, but what sort of angle it naturally puts your arms at and what sort of range of motion it allows. Experiment with them and see what fits the bill best for you.



Yep, that's pretty much it. IIRC there's studies that show greater lat activation on close grip pulls compared to wide grip. I think the neutral grip was the one with the most lat activation.