It’s a full-body challenge—and unless you’ve been practicing them regularly since grade school, you might well need to look to a regression or variation to build size and pulling strength in your back and arms.
On the surface, all vertical pulling variations look the same, but there are differences—some subtle, some glaring—among the major variations of this move. Here’s how the pullup stacks up against its two closest rivals—the pulldown and the assisted pullup machine:
BEST FOR:Strength and athleticism. “Not many lifters can crank out three sets of twelve on full-range, bodyweight pullups,” says Angelo Poli, creator of the MetPro training app. Even if they can get to 12 or 15 on the first set, performance typically tanks after that, which reduces the move’s effectiveness as a straight-up muscle-builder. That said, they hit almost all of your upper-body muscles, primarily your back and biceps, and teach you to lift your own bodyweight, which is usualy more than you can manage with a lat pulldown machine.
Application: If your goals are primarily athletic—you’re into MMA, climbing, gymnastics, or some other sport requiring a lot of grip and pulling strength—pullups should be a go-to move, according to Poli. They’re also great for conditioning—do them as a part of a full-body circuit and you can be sure your heart rate will stay high. New lifters can get better at the move by performing up to 10 sets of 1-2 reps per workout, or by looping a heavy resistance band over the bar and performing the move with a foot or knee braced inside the loop. Vets can work with standard rep ranges (six, eight, twelve, and up). And if you’re super strong, you can even add weight with a dipping belt.
Safety: Dicey shoulders? Skip this one. “You have less control when you do pullups than when you do pulldowns or assisted pullups,” says Poli. Not sure? Approach with caution. And if you opt in, go with a neutral (palms-facing) grip—and don’t relax your shoulders fully between reps—keep your shoulder blades engaged (pulled downwards) rather than letting them shrug up towards your ears.
BEST FOR: Working up to bodyweight pullups. There’s almost no better way to work up to the coveted bodyweight pullup than using this machine. But don’t think that its usefulness drops off after you become a master of the bar.
Application: “The assisted pullup machine is great for both the beginner and the advanced lifter,” says Poli. Beginners who aren’t ready for bodyweight pullups can hop on the machine and perform them with a little (or a lot) of resistance, in increments of five pounds or so, and gradually work up to the bodyweight version. Gym vets, by contrast, can deploy the move as a finisher after they’ve already exhausted themselves with bodyweight pullups and other back-building moves. Poli does note that the counterbalancing weight gives you momentum on its way down, giving you additional assistance on each rep. Solution: perform each rep in a slow, taking muscle-building tension out of the movement. His solution: Go slow and be sure to squeeze your lats hard at the top.
Safety: Assisted pullups are safer on your shoulders than the bodyweight variety, though you’re still placing your shoulder ligaments under considerable strain, so take heed—and be sure to load the machine properly (remember, on this one, the more weight you use, the easier the exercise becomes!). It’s also possible to fall off the machine or dismount awkwardly.
BEST FOR:Hypertrophy. If pullups are often too tough for beginners, and assisted pullups too easy for most intermediates, pulldowns win the Goldilocks prize: for everyone from the newbie to the gym vet—they’re just right.
Application: If you’re trying to zero in on your lats and lower traps, there’s no better move in the gym. “With pulldowns, you’re pulling your knees into the pads as a counterforce to the weight,” says physical therapist and trainer Jeff Cavaliere, founder of Athlean-X. That makes your body much more stable, increasing the weight you can move. You’re lifting a stack of weights rather than fixed poundage, so you can choose any amount you want: less than, equal to, or much greater than your bodyweight. “Pulldowns are the most focused of the vertical pulls,” says Poli. The effort is more concentrated on the lats and upper back muscles, making it a great move for bodybuilders, especially if you don’t have the strength yet for pullups.
Safety: High marks here, too. We’ve all seen (and possibly been?) the guy at pullup bar twitching and writhing like a fish on a hook to get another rep. With pulldowns, your body is locked into place, making cheating much tougher. Upshot? Fewer shoulder injuries. Most gyms also have plenty of different handle attachments, which gives you many options for both joint safety and muscle activation.
