Q: If I’m doing lat pull-downs does this mean that I don’t have to worry about chin ups to build a wide back? Aren’t they basically doing the same job?

A: Basically, you’re right. But to build a decent physique you have to go beyond the basics. While at first glance the overhand wide-grip chin up and the lat pull-down may look like the same exercise in reverse, closer inspection reveals some important differences.

Both exercises require shoulder adduction where the upper arms come down (or up as in chins) to the sides. They both also involve inward rotation of the shoulder blades. These movements directly involve the upper lats, the lower pecs, the rhomboids and the middle traps. However, when you compare the two movements it becomes clear that the chin up involves much more of a direct vertical pull, whereas in the lat pull-down start position the bar is slightly in front of the body. This means that the chin up movement is more straight up and down, whereas the lat pull-down is performed on a slight angle. The effect of this is that, even though there is a smaller range of motion, the upper lats are more directly stimulated in the chin up. The pull-down is still a very good exercise for the lats, but will tend to develop thickness or density as opposed to width. The lat pull-down will also recruit the muscles of the rear delts, the middle traps and rhomboids to pull the bar back and down behind the head.

Another difference between the two exercises is that the chin up is what is referred to as a closed chin exercise whereas the lat pull-down is an example of an open chin exercise. This simply means that in a closed chin exercise the body moves towards the resistance (bar) and in an open chin exercise the resistance moves towards the body. These two types of exercise require very different muscle recruitment patterns even though the movements may look similar.

The bottom line here is that complete back development requires that both the lat pull-down and the wide grip overhand chin up be incorporated into your back program. Keep in mind on both these exercises, too, that even though we’ve mentioned a wide grip, you shouldn’t have your hands any further apart than just beyond shoulder width. Going too far will place an inordinate load on the biceps and these are not meant to be biceps exercises. Using a thumbless grip (thumb over the bar) will further reduce bicep involvement.