Loaded pull-ups for the widest, strongest lats around.
Get a full hang at the bottom and lead with your chest at the top.
The weighted pull-up is the ceiling raiser for back training. An overhand grip just wider than shoulders keeps the lats in charge as you drive your elbows down, the biceps assist the pull, and the added plate turns a rep-counting exercise into one you can load progressively like a squat or bench. Nothing signals a strong back quite like clean pull-ups with serious weight swinging from a belt.
When strict bodyweight pull-ups from a dead hang are no longer a challenge for your working sets. If your last bodyweight rep is still a grinder, keep building reps first.
For strength, yes. Once bodyweight sets drift into high reps you are training endurance, and adding load brings the reps back into the range that builds maximal pulling strength.
Grip. Pull-ups use an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulders and keep the lats dominant, chin-ups go underhand and let the biceps contribute more. Most lifters run both.
