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This may be an old debate question, but are chinups that much better for you than lat pulldowns? I′ve been doing the latter, if only to ease the increase in poundage, it seems to me to be almost exactly the same movement. Charles Polinquin thinks chinups are vastly superiour, I don′t know how one is much different than the other.

I don′t think there′s much difference either.As far as Charles Poliquin,I wouldn′t take anything he says too seriously.He recommends 10×10 one week 5×5 the next week etc etc..The only reason he′s famous is because celebrities pay him big buck to babysit them 3-5 times a week for an hour or 2.

i had spoke with mike once when he informed me to be careful with pulldowns; something about the back muscles high up getting strained. i do chins and find them suitable.

I do both with a narrow, palms-facing grip and think of them as interchangeable. Pulldowns are more convenient because the machine resistance can exceed my bodyweight, while with chins I need to tie a couple of plates around my waist. However, resistance training is a subtle and individualized activity. Experiment a little. One may work better for you..

The difference might be in form. Most perform chin-ups by keeping the back straight, where the body moves around the bar, which feels to me to load biceps more than pulldowns, where you keep the body stationary, the back is arched, and the bar doesn′t move around the body, which seems to me to load the lats more than chin-ups.