- Close-grip lat pulldowns are better for those strengthening their mid to upper back muscles.
- Wide grip lat pulldowns are better for those strengthening their lat muscles.
Neither the close grip nor wide lat pulldown is better, as they work different posterior chain muscle groups. The best choice is to use the close grip and wide grip lat pulldowns to build a bigger and stronger posterior chain.
Knowing these lat pulldown grip differences helps to ensure your training aligns with your goals. Otherwise, you might be costing yourself progress. Struggle to do a pull-up?
Check out this article that discusses the similarities and differences between a lat pulldown and a pull-up!
Table of Contents
Differences Between a Close Grip vs Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
| Standard | Close Grip Lat Pulldown | Wide Grip Lat Pulldown |
| Equipment | Use a straight bar or V-grip attachment | Use a straight bar with a pronated or overhand grip |
| Execution | Lean back slightly and pull the elbows back and down | Keep torso as upright as possible and pull the elbows down vertically |
| Muscles Used | Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboids, Trapezius, Biceps Brachii | Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboids, Trapezius, Posterior Deltoid, Biceps Brachii |
| Weight Used | You can use heavier weight with this movement because many individuals will learn back to get more core engagement to assist with their reps | Typically requires less weight due to having an upright posture and no core engagement |
There are key differences between the close grip and wide grip lat pulldown, and these can be broken down into four points.
The four main differences between the close and wide grip lat pulldown are:
1. Equipment
For the wide-grip lat pulldown, a standard straight bar with a pronated (overhand or with your palms facing down) grip is typically the only tool used.
The close grip pulldown could be performed using a straight bar or V-grip attachment. It could be performed pronated, supinated (palms facing up or underhand), or neutral (palms facing each other).
2. How You Execute Each
While the close grip and wide grip lat pulldown are similar, there are two key differences in how you execute each movement.
When performing the wide grip pulldown, keep your torso as upright as possible and pull the elbows down vertically, aiming the bar towards your chin or upper chest.
When doing the close grip pulldown, you will lean back slightly and pull the elbows back and down, aiming the attachment towards your lower chest or sternum.
3. Muscles Used
While both exercises train the back, each will target certain muscles within the back more.
The wide-grip lat pulldown will target the latissimus dorsi, as you maintain a more vertical torso angle and pull the bar straight down.
The close-grip lat pulldown targets the mid-and upper back (the trapezius and rhomboids) as you lean back and pull the elbows back and down to bring the bar towards your lower chest.
Using a supinated grip during the close grip lat pulldown will also involve the biceps more than a close neutral or wide pronated grip.
4. Weight Used
The close grip pulldown typically allows people to use more weight due to the increased involvement of the mid-back musculature.
In my experience, a close grip allows me to use approximately 10% more load compared to a wide grip.
Close Grip Lat Pulldown: How To, Tips, Common Mistakes, Muscles Used, Pros And Cons
How To Do A Close Grip Lat Pulldown
- Attach a straight bar or V-grip to the top of a lat pulldown machine and set the thigh pad with just enough room to sit under. You can also use a cable crossover if your gym does not have a pulldown machine.
- Grip the handle with a neutral or underhand grip. I personally prefer a neutral grip as it feels more comfortable and keeps more load in my back rather than my biceps.
- Sit down while holding onto the bar.
- Lean back slightly. Aim for 10-15 degrees. The goal is to have enough room to pull the bar or V-grip down into your lower chest.
- Pull your elbows down and back until the attachment nears your lower chest.
- Control the load back to the start position until your elbows are fully extended.
If you cannot access a lat pulldown machine, read my article 13 Best Lat Pulldown Alternatives (Dumbbell, At Home, Cable) to find the best alternative for you.
Tips For Performing The Close Grip Lat Pulldown
My top 3 tips for performing the close grip lat pulldown are:
- Use a grip that is most comfortable for you. A close grip does not have to mean your hands are beside each other. Use a grip that allows you to pull your elbows down and back and feel the exercise in the target muscles (the traps and rhomboids).
- Pause slightly at the bottom. Pausing at the bottom forces you to keep control of the load and feel what muscles you are using to move the weight rather than cheating reps or shifting more load to other muscle groups.
- Keep your torso still. Swinging your torso back and forth to move the load will only cost you progress in the long run. Keep the torso consistently and pull using your back rather than momentum.
Common Mistakes With Close Grip Lat Pulldowns
The most common mistakes I see when doing the close grip pulldown are:
- Using a short range of motion. Lifters either do not fully extend at the top of the movement, or they cut themselves short at the bottom of the rep. Pull from a fully extended arm position down to your chest and control the weight back to the top again.
- Using momentum to cheat the reps. Whether you’re throwing your torso backwards to drag the load down or coming up off the seat and using your body weight to get the weight moving, cheating reps is just making your training less effective.
Cheating on pull-ups is another common mistake I see. If you’re unsure how fast you should do pull-ups, check out the article Is It Better To Do Pull Ups Fast Or Slow?
Muscles Used During Close Grip Lat Pulldowns
The muscles used when doing the close-grip lat pulldown are:
- Latissimus Dorsi (the large muscles on the sides of your mid and lower back)
- Rhomboids (the muscles in the middle of your upper back)
- Trapezius (the muscles close to your neck in your upper back)
- Biceps Brachii
While all pulldown variations will use these muscles, the close grip lat pulldown will use less of the lats and more of the rhomboids and trapezius.
This is due to pulling the elbows back and down rather than working throughout a more vertical range of motion.
The increased elbow flexion also means that the biceps will be working more than other pulldown variations.
Benefits Of A Close Grip Lat Pulldown
- You can use more weight. If you want to increase your back’s overall strength, you can use more load compared to a wide grip pulldown. This is also helpful if you’re working your way towards increased chin up strength or maybe even your first chin up.
- You train the mid and upper back more – If targeting the mid back is your goal then these are a great option to train these more alongside rowing movements at a differing angle.
While vertical pulling can increase the strength of your back, read my article Do Pull Ups Help Deadlifts? (Yes, Here’s How) to find out how it also benefits your deadlift.
Cons Of A Close Grip Lat Pulldown
- They are less lat targeted. Many lifters use vertical pulling movements to target the lats more in their training. By doing a close grip lat pulldown, you may not be getting the same outcome you expected compared to a wider grip.
- For more advanced lifters, loading can become an issue. As most lifters can use more load with a closer grip, more advanced or stronger lifters may find themselves limited by the load available on a lat pulldown machine.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: How To, Tips, Common Mistakes, Muscles Used, Pros And Cons
How To Do A Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
- Attach a straight bar to the top of a lat pulldown machine and set the thigh pad so you have just enough room to sit under. If your gym doesn’t have a lat pulldown machine, you can also use a cable crossover.
- Grip the bar with a pronated grip between 1.5-2 times your shoulder width and sit down while holding the bar.
- Start narrower to begin with and work your grip outwards if needed. The goal is to find the grip that allows you to pull as vertically as possible.
- Keep your torso upright and pull your elbows straight down, bringing the bar to your chin. For most people, this will be enough range of motion as pulling any further will force you to pull back rather than down.
- Control the load back to the start position until your elbows are fully extended.
Tips For Performing The Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
My top 3 tips for performing the wide grip lat pulldown are:
- Trial different grip widths. Using a wide grip does not simply mean putting your hands at the end of the bar. Start with a grip at 1.5 times shoulder width and experiment with a slightly wider grip in your warm up sets. For your working sets, use the grip that allows you to pull as vertically as possible and feel the load through your lats.
- Pause slightly at the bottom. As with the close grip lat pulldown, pausing at the bottom of the wide grip lat pulldown forces you to maintain control of the load and feel which muscles are working rather than cheating reps or recruiting other muscle groups.
- Keep your torso upright. Leaning back will shift more load to your trapezius and rhomboids, but keeping the torso upright will keep the loading in your lats.
For more tips on targeting the lats, check out the article How To Activate Your Lats More During Pull-Ups (5 Tips)
Common Mistakes With Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
The most common mistakes I see when doing the wide grip pulldown are:
- Going too wide. A wide grip is relative to the size of your body and not necessarily the length of the bar attachment. An excessively wide grip will also limit the effective range of motion you are able to work through for each rep.
- Leaning back too much. Targeting the lats is the goal with a wide grip lat pulldown. As such, your setup needs to reflect this. By leaning back, you shift loading away from the lats and into the mid and upper back.
Muscles Used During Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
The muscles used when doing the wide grip lat pulldown are:
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Rhomboids
- Trapezius
- Biceps Brachii
The wide grip lat pulldown is the most lat-dominant pulldown variation. The wider grip gives you room to pull more vertically while maintaining a more upright torso angle.
This will still train the trapezius, rhomboids, and biceps alongside the lats, but it will activate them to a lesser degree compared to a close grip variation.
Benefits Of A Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
- They are more lat focused. Many lifters look to vertical pulling exercises such as pulldowns or chins ups to train the lats. A wider grip is more aligned with these goals as they target the lats more than a narrower grip variation.
- They carry over more to pull-ups. As pull-ups also use a wider grip, wide grip lat pulldowns are a great option for those looking to improve their pull-up strength or to train a similar movement within a higher rep range.
Wondering if pull-ups are enough to train the back and biceps? Check out my article Are Rows & Pull-Ups Enough For Back And Biceps?
Cons Of A Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
- You cannot use as much load. If you’re looking to increase your back strength, a close grip variation might suit you better as loading is typically less when using a lat-targeted wider grip.
Related Article: What Attachment To Use For Cable Rows?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is It a Good Idea to Alternate Between a Wide Grip and a Close Grip During the Same Workout?
It's a good idea to alternate between wide-grip and close-grip lat pulldowns in the same workout. Although both recruit the various posterior muscles of the body, the wide-grip and close-grip recruit these same muscles differently and can have a huge impact on developing balanced anatomy.
Is Close Grip Harder Than Wide?
Close-grip lat pulldowns often feel easier because they target lower lats, which require less shoulder mobility. Wide-grip pulldowns work upper lats, which require more shoulder flexibility, making them harder for some. Difficulty varies by individual biomechanics and strengths.
How Do You Activate Lats During Pull Downs?
To activate lats during pull-downs, focus on:
- Sitting with a straight back.
- Gripping the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width.
- Engaging your core.
- Pulling the bar down to chest level, leading with your elbows.
- Squeezing your shoulder blades together at the bottom of the movement.
- Slowly returning to the starting position.
- Visualize pulling with your lats and minimize bicep involvement for maximum lat activation.
Other Upper Body Exercise Comparisons
- Dips vs Decline Bench Press: Pros, Cons, Which Is Better?
- Pendlay Row vs Barbell Row: Differences, Pros, Cons
- Bench Press vs Overhead Press: Differences, Pros, Cons
- T-Bar Row vs Barbell Row: Differences, Pros, Cons
- Floor Press vs Bench Press: Differences, Pros, Cons
- Upright Row vs Lateral Raise: Differences, Pros, Cons
- Dumbbell Bench Press vs Barbell Bench Press
- Barbell Shrugs vs Dumbbell Shrugs: Differences, Pros, Cons
- Lat Pulldown vs Pull-Up: Differences, Pros, Cons
About The Author
Jacob Wymer is a powerlifting coach and PhD Candidate in Biomechanics and Strength and Conditioning, researching the application of barbell velocity measurements to powerlifting. He is involved in powerlifting across the board, from athlete to meet director. Jacob runs his coaching services at EST Barbell. You can also connect with him on Instagram.
