Which way is best for sprinters? Front pull to chest or behind the neck?
If the shoulder flexibility is there, I doubt it matters.
I suggest you are working different muscle groups, front verses back.
I prefer front pull.
Yea I was just wondering if either one was better.
Wide grip behind neck. 
Chin ups!
Pull downs should be banned for athletes
You have my vote.
Well I agree with this one.
Please be more specific.
Which way is best for sprinters? Front pull to chest or behind the neck? Palms facing away or not?
you know I used to always do pull ups. I liked to do em with a weighted belt and an extra 45 pounds but the gym I go to doesnt have one.
Do you feel you get more muscle activation with the pull ups?
Why? If you believe strength training is general then it shouldn’t matter. After tough training sessions, I don’t have the energy to do weighted pullups but can manage a couple sets of pulldowns or seated rows etc.
the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, I remember seeing a neurologist who had a test where you sat and went through a motion with your left leg, when the right leg joined in doing the same motion in the opposite direction the left leg followed. it is said impossible for the legs to do the two opposite motions at he same time, he concluded that the right side of the brain controlled the right leg, there must be a crossover point somewhere.
Guess I was asking in an abstract way which muscle groups in the upper body were thought to have the most effect on forward movement, the chest or back.
how exactly does a pulldown affect sprinting speed? Adding muscle bulk… seems more of a hinderance
As an eg. going by the notion you give.
If lets say your generally capable of doing 3 sets of 10 chin ups - and half of them are say touching your chest onto the bar.
Then, after a Harsh workout, your struggling to do any chin ups, let alone get your chest to the bar, then i would say - forget Pull downs, forget chin ups or rows. Call it a night, get a good feed and a good sleep.
Perhaps even follow this up with One days off and One or two days of Tempo. Its time to recover, energize and Grow.
Otherwise - If one is just simply, Too weak to do chin ups - I would spend a good Month Focusing on them.
I get my really weak people, who cant even do ONE chin up, doing “chinnies” where you add a little JUMP off the floor with your feet - and focusing on really pulling into your chest, so your chest hits the bar.
I agree strength is General - however, i deff find that People (athletes and people training for real world strength) are better off learning to control THEIR body weight v’s a weight stack. The benefits are too numerous to list.
I don’t value any exercise that much, so I don’t care if it’s pulldowns, chinups, or db rows they work the back muscles. I don’t see the problem with using a different exercise if the athlete is tired, for example hang clean vs power clean etc no different then CF knocking off sets from the 5x5 workout.
What direction do you have the hands facing when doing chinnies, long or short bicep.
always palms facing away from you.
When palms face you, your biceps end up doing a lot of the work. - not a bad thing if you want extra arm strength.
I agree. Behind the neck exercises should be benned too, they are innatural movements with no correlation with “real world strenght” that stress the shoulders too much.
I think that alternating pull ups and chin ups every workout should be fine.
Again, I agree with boldwarrior.