7 best exercises to grow lats

The best exercises to explode your lats. This list is for long term lat growth.

Criteria for how they’re ranked and chosen:

  1. Heavy weight potential
  2. Deep stretch at the bottom
  3. Can be progressed on for a long time
  4. Actually trains the lats as a main mover
best exercises to grow lats

1. Deadlift

Though your lats won’t be doing any moving, they will absolutely be worked through keeping the bar close. One of the best exercises to grow lats. If you’ve done heavy deadlifts, you will know how sore they make your lats. The reason this is #1 is this being the heaviest your lats will be worked among any exercise. This exercise is the best way to strengthen your entire back, leading to you lifting more weight with other lat-focused exercises, therefore leading to more lat size.

2. Pull-Ups

There’s something primal about this movement, which makes it feel alot more effective than the lat pulldown and any other pure isolation exercise. The basis of most lat development for alot of people. Can be weighted also, which makes this exercise endlessly progressable. Perfect lat stretch and activation if done with a shoulder-width grip and not letting the elbows go out. The lats are the most stretched with your arms above your head, most contracted with your elbows at your side. As you pull, focus on moving the elbow, not the arm, in order to activate the lats more. If you can’t do them, use the assisted pull-up machine, bands or the lat pulldown to get strong enough. Focusing on exercises with the best stretched position has been shown in research to result in more growth1. No lower back fatigue.

3. Barbell Row

The stretch on it feels good and it can be loaded very heavy and progressed for a long time. There are many variations of it, however the Yates Row and the regular 90 degree bent over row are the best for opposite reasons. The Yates row focuses entirely on the lats, letting the weight stretch them out at the bottom of the lift. Since the Yates row is done more upright, you will be able to use more weight with slightly more loose form, resulting in the stretch being even more powerful as a tool to grow. The regular bent row will be done fully bent over, sometimes even to the point where the weight hits the floor with each rep. This stretches the muscle out more, brings the muscle through a larger range of motion, however forces you to use alot less weight, sometimes at the fault of the lower back musculature giving out before the lats.

4. Lat Pulldown

Very good accessory lift. Less fatigue than any of the 1-3# movements, excellent stretch and alot of different handle implements to play around with to find what works your lats the best. Definitely most useful to grow and strengthen your lats until you can do pull-ups. Not as mentally draining to go to failure on in comparison to the pull-up, barbell row or deadlift. No lower back fatigue.

5. Cable Row

Great for emphasizing the stretch and lifting heavier with various handles to max out lat development from each rep. Less fatigue than the barbell version, probably the most used machine in the gym though.

6. Pullover

Excellent old-school bodybuilding exercise. If done with your ass lower than the bench, stretches out the lats maximally. You would do that by putting the bench horizontally and only putting your upper back on it, letting your but lower while expanding your chest as you lower the weight behind your head. To emphasize the lats it’s best to keep your arms straight, however if you can’t – don’t. Bending them as you lower the weight is fine, but it might emphasize the long head of the tricep too at that point.

7. Dumbbell Row

The original science-based lift. Easy to emphasize the stretch, which makes it very hypertrophic despite not being able to handle as much load as the barbell row. To emphasize the stretch you have to let your arm go as low as possible, letting your lats stretch out as much as possible, then lifting through your elbow. Not as fatiguing for your lower back as any other row variation, other than chest supported machines.

You will have to try these to know what works best for you.

The best exercises for growth, however, will tend to be the heaviest ones.

For guides how to perform each exercise, reffer to the resources page.

  1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362864671_Muscle_Hypertrophy_Response_to_Range_of_Motion_in_Strength_Training_A_Novel_Approach_to_Understanding_the_Findings ↩︎

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