I've been told that its the difference between an open chain and a closed chain movement. What exactly does that mean?
Closed chain is when your limbs stay fixed and torso moves. Open chain is when torso is fixed and limbs move.
It's significant for pressing exercises. Insignificant for pulling movements.
Yea id do both. Pullups win though
Win at what? Silly.
Lat pull downs win because you can use heavier weights
This is not an inherent property. People can weight pull ups in excess of the maximum resistance some machines provide (some only go up to 300 for example). Similarly, the machines often go in excess of what people can comfortable attach to themselves (not everyone has a dip belt).
tense/flex your back more than you could from a pull up.
I don't understand this, explain further?
Hm, would you do both in the same session?
This is a valid option, yes.
Yeah I've definitely found that the pulldowns are easier, which is why I was wondering if maybe there was actually a difference in results.
If you're finding them easier, increase the weight.
This open-closed chain debate is pretty ridiculous in regards to pull ups/downs. The debate has much more merit in relation to benching and push ups due to scapular mobility and the instability of pushing movements, yet we still have throngs of benchers and people who do both.
If I was a 200lb guy who felt bench pressing was easier than doing push ups but I was only benching the bar and a couple 10lb plates (let's say 65lbs) then clearly the fault is not that of the bench press but that I'm just not weighting the tool enough. The same applies to the lat pulldown. If it's so easy, increase the weight.
The only valid complaint against lat pulldowns is if you reach the maximum for your stack and are hitting it for decent reps and want bigger resistance. This is a problem faced by some cheaper stations, like the ones from Wal-mart which only go up to 140 or 160 for example. Most gyms' go up to something like 300 though, and I'm doubtful most people complaining can pull that for many reps in good form.
Lat-pulldowns are better for lat development.
Why? The lats are developed from both movements.
But if you want the whole package pull ups win.
The whole package of what? What is it that a pull up would train better that a pull down would not train as well?
Pullups, Do pulldowns until you can do pullups.
Why not just keep doing the pull downs even after one can do pull ups? I do pull ups because they're fun and impress others, not because they're necessarily more effective.
i also go with lat pull also because you can add heavier weights..
You can add weight to your body with a pull up as well, but if your point is that it's easier to simply up the stack on the down, I agree.
Pullups are usually superior to pulldowns in most situations.
Why?
pullups are ore superior Because you can add weight
This makes no sense because you can add weight to pull downs.
and its a 100% natural movement.
So what exactly are pull downs, 50% supernatural?
If your going to fall from a cliff and your hanging on for your life, pullups would help you pull yourself up more than a lat pulldown would
Irrelevant, pull ups aren't likely to be enough to save someone from falling off a cliff. It would be more beneficial to practice things like muscle ups and climbing actual ledges learning to use one's feet. Assuming one doesn't muscle up (it's harder on a cliff because you can't kip, torso/legs can't go forward at bottom) then one would need to learn to hold one's weight on 1 hand while the other elbow is lifted overtop.
Cliffs also don't tend to have nice rounded bars on them, so you'd be better of training on difficult things to grip such as thick bars, eagle loops or steel beams.
if I can only do one for whateve reason, I'll do the pullup
I doubt you'll be in a situation where you have access to both movements but can only choose one of them. If you're in a situation where you can only do one then it will be due to equipment limitations. Like if you didn't have access to a lat pulldown then yeah, pull ups are doable in a wide variety of places. If you do have access to one, unless the gym has rules against it, any lat pulldown bar can be used as a pull up bar by setting the stack on maximum as long as it's greater than your weight. The only trouble with that is if it's mounted on a single cable instead of 2 then you might spin around.
