Rows vs Pullups

[Liberator]

Some guy in the gym is telling me he swears by doing rows before pullups because they are superior in overall development (width AND thickness - not just width like what pullups give you)

when he says rows, he means T-Bar or barbell rows not dumbell rows.

I can see his point, if you are looking for overall back development it would make sense to do the rows first since they hit all areas of the back heavily, including the lower back AND THEN do pullups, which only seem to be good for adding width

Whats the concensus on here? What order do you do them in and why?

 

[The mann]

i always do a couple sets of pull ups to warm things up ,then i go into my usual routine.i have been doing them for years really only for warm ups and works for me,but i also do bent over rows, so i think they work good at the beginning for warm up.i think they would be hard to do at the end of the workout........just my .02

 

[GenetiKing]

I really don't think it matters what order you do in them, but I've always done chins first since I believe they are the most crucial exercise in any back routine.

Also, I do chins first because when I'm fresh, I can crank out about 8 solid reps before failing at a body weight of about 205lbs. If I did rows first, I would be failing in a much lower rep range (probably around 4 or 5) with the chins and that's not what I'm aiming for.

 

[gymtime]

I agree with GK. I think it's the same as the old incline vs. decline bench arguement. I don't think one is inherently better than the other. Basically, they are each variations of a row excercise. Best thing is to incorporate both, in whatever order you like.

 

[Ingram]

I like to do weighted pull-ups before I hit the rows. It just doesn't feel right the other way around.

 

[trial0r]

i always warm up with a few sets of chins then go straight to deadlifts then rows.