Pullups do not optimally grow your lats. "Pullups" here refers to any free-weight vertical pull with a pronated (palms over) grip. However, this style of pullup is not the best for growing the lats (latissimus dorsi) muscle.
The reason for this is simple. Since the lats and the arms cross the glenohumeral joint in the shoulders, the strength and stimulus to the lats depends on the position of the arms and, more specifically, the elbows. This means that the lats are optimally strengthened and grown when the elbow is in front of the body. However, in a pronated-grip pullup, the elbows are flared outwards from the body. This is why trainees are generally weaker on pronated-grip pullups in comparison to other variations.
The fix for this is simple. Just switch over to a neutral or supinated grip. This will force the elbows to stay tucked in front of the body which will lead to better strength and hypertrophy in the lats. Am I telling you to stop doing all pullups with a pronated grip? No. I perform these regular pullups myself and I find them a great upper back builder as well as good for weighted chin-up assistance work. However, when it comes to the growth of the lats specifically, pronated pullups are far from optimal.
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