# Chin ups vs bodweight pull downs...



## asc (Oct 9, 2010)

How many can you do or how does it compare? I mean, if you are 80kgs and could do say 10 chin ups, would it be very similar to how many 80kg pulldowns you can do, 10ish? Or would you consider them to be very different in terms of strength, or maybe even technique? Any thoughts? Personally I have always struggled with pull ups and it is something I will be setting in terms of goals very soon.


----------



## Muscle Supermkt (Nov 28, 2012)

Not really, there doesn't seem to be a carryover / correlation between chins/pulls and pulldowns.

A lot depends on your weight, for example, a 110kg athlete may be able to pull down the stack on the machine, whereas when trying to pull his bodyweight; he may struggle.

Too many variables


----------



## asc (Oct 9, 2010)

Muscle Supermkt said:


> Not really, there doesn't seem to be a carryover / correlation between chins/pulls and pulldowns.
> 
> A lot depends on your weight, for example, a 110kg athlete may be able to pull down the stack on the machine, whereas when trying to pull his bodyweight; he may struggle.
> 
> Too many variables


Yes that makes sense. But to say there is absolutely no correlation? Could an 80kg guy who could not pull 70kg on the lat pulldown..would he be able to pull up his bodyweight? Or are there more and different muscles engaged in a pull up?


----------



## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

It will vary from pulldown machine to pulldown machine on the way it's geared with the pulley system, also how smooth it is.

You also push up with your legs on the pad.


----------



## gtir (Sep 25, 2012)

i did wide grip chin ups today on my back workout and managed 5 sets with the following reps

set 1 5reps

set 2 5 reps

set 3 3 reps

set 4 4 reps

set 5 2 reps

and i bench 200kg! i weigh in at about 20 stone at minute and chin ups are impossible, im absolutely knackered after them 5 sets


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

i do pull ups @ 120kg bodyweight sets of 3-5 , i can do more kg on a pulldown and more reps .

why would you want to do a pulldown if you have a pull up station lol


----------



## onthebuild (Sep 3, 2011)

ewen said:


> i do pull ups @ 120kg bodyweight sets of 3-5 , i can do more kg on a pulldown and more reps .
> 
> why would you want to do a pulldown if you have a pull up station lol


You get to sit down 

Some of us are lazy cvnts you know...


----------



## Muscle Supermkt (Nov 28, 2012)

It's similar to the leg press to squat debate. Leg pressing 300kg doesn't mean you will be able to squat 140kg. Different individuals will have different levels of carryover


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

onthebuild said:


> You get to sit down
> 
> Some of us are lazy cvnts you know...


haha i lay down between sets lol

ive been finding pull ups hard recently and thought wtf is going on then i jumped on the scales lol no wonder i been struggling .


----------



## onthebuild (Sep 3, 2011)

ewen said:


> haha i lay down between sets lol
> 
> ive been finding pull ups hard recently and thought wtf is going on then i jumped on the scales lol no wonder i been struggling .


I have that trouble too, its because I weigh so much, not cos I'm a weak cvnt... oh wait, thats a lie. :lol:


----------



## barsnack (Mar 12, 2011)

with pull ups, is the motion suppose to be slow or fast or does it matter...ive people do both and just wondered


----------



## Wardy211436114751 (Jan 24, 2011)

I think pulldowns are probably easier as your legs are locked in and its easier to cheat and lean back. Not tested to see the correlation in a long time because I've not done pulldowns since I first started at the gym :lol:


----------



## welshbuddy (May 3, 2012)

i weigh in at about 80kgs.

i can lift my bodyweight quite easily (pull ups)

5 sets of 10 reps.

But then lat pullDown, the lock in you get with your legs is a massive bonus!.


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

barsnack said:


> with pull ups, is the motion suppose to be slow or fast or does it matter...ive people do both and just wondered


depends on the fibre types you want to hit .

bb slow controlled .

power/strength explosive .


----------



## golfgttdi (Oct 6, 2010)

I'm 105kg can Do three sets of ten pulldowns @120kg

But wide grip chin ups?? Zero :-(

I know I should work on it, but everytime I come back to give them a bash I'm a lb or two heavier ha ha


----------



## barsnack (Mar 12, 2011)

ewen said:


> depends on the fibre types you want to hit .
> 
> bb slow controlled .
> 
> power/strength explosive .


that makes perfect sense, cause people ive seen doing the motion slow are 'big' guys at the different gyms ive been at...guys doing it fast have been from mma training videos etc


----------



## harryalmighty (Nov 13, 2011)

Muscle Supermkt said:


> It's similar to the leg press to squat debate. Leg pressing 300kg doesn't mean you will be able to squat 140kg. Different individuals will have different levels of carryover


this, good comparison.


----------



## RockyD (Oct 8, 2012)

Don't know what the correlation is but I would take pull ups over pull downs every time, although can be difficult to get decent numbers out if a high % of your body weight is fat.


----------



## F.M.J (Mar 23, 2009)

I can't do pullups at the moment. I know that if I try, within a couple months I could do some I just can't be bothered half the time tbh. I was actually thinking of starting to alternate pullups with pulldowns bi-weekly.

When I was lighter - and I mean really light - when I was 73kg/163lbs body weight I could do pullups until the cows came home. Now I'm 107-109kg/235-240 lbs body weight, I need a little assistance. But I can lat pulldown almost my own body weight.


----------



## F.M.J (Mar 23, 2009)

TBH after 5x5 on heavy deadlifts practicing rehearsals for Planet of the Apes is the last thing I want to do!


----------



## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Just to screw the trend. My pull downs and wide grip chins correlate really well lol


----------



## Guest (Dec 10, 2012)

@ 92kg I get 3x10 wide grip pull ups after heavy deads though, reckon I could eek a few more reps out if I did them first though.

I tend to go light on pulldowns and go for the squeeze.

Find it hard to do heavy pulldowns as momentum gets in the way.


----------



## a.notherguy (Nov 17, 2008)

when i cant do anymore chins i usually walk straight over and do some at higher than bodyweight on the pull down, so for the equipment in my gym there is no correlation at all as if there was i wouldnt be able to do the pull downs straights after chins


----------



## ducky699 (Jul 23, 2012)

when i was 80kg i could do 4x10 chins and 4x8 wide arm pull ups, now im 100kg i can barely do 4x5 of either, ive definately got stronger as i can lat pull and pull down about 110kg but its a lot harder

i would still choose the bodyweight exercises everytime though as it also works youe core, balance, co-ordination etc


----------



## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Wide pull ups every time over pull downs for me.

I remember the first time I tried to do them, half way up and that was it. Can pop um out no problem now 10-15x3 slowly controlled after deadlifts and barbell rows.

I know that doing pull downs never gave me any decent strength when doing pull ups. But I can say that doing wide pull ups has made me stronger on pull downs without even training them regular.


----------



## WilsonR6 (Feb 14, 2012)

I find it's harder to do pulldowns

Haven't tried since starting test, though


----------

