Training Lats

Lats:

LatsLatissimus Dorsi) include Teres major and Teres minor.  Lats are a very important part of a person's physique.  They add width to the body and give it that “V” look.  It's a very big muscle and it can handle a lot of weight and resistance training.  Lats tie in with all the other muscles in the back, especially the rhomboids which are in the middle of the back.  A lot of exercises that primarily hit the lats, will work either the traps or the rhomboids as well.  There is a wide variety of exercise you can do for your “wings” but try not to go for more than four, three should be enough.  A lot of exercise for back can be done on machines because it is not a particularly easy muscle to reach without them.   Pull Ups (Chin ups) are most definitely the best possible exercise for your lats if done properly.  First of all, always use the widest overhand grip possible that will not restrict your range of motion.  If you do pull ups reaching the bar behind your neck, then you will involve your traps as well.  That's why I prefer this version of pull ups to the one where the bar is in front of your face.  When you do front pull ups, the bar should touch the top of your chest and you should go all the way down, into the darkness.  Then pull yourself all the way up, reaching to save your life.  If you do it the other way, make sure the bar touches the top of your traps or at least the bottom of your neck.  Never swing or jerk your legs, that will just take the emphasis of your lats.  However if you don't have a spotter, you might have to resort to cheating to complete the last few reps to squeeze out just a little bit more intensity (don't make a habit of it though).  Pull ups are best done first in your regular back routine.  They are a good warm up and finish up exercise.  You can do these with weight after a sufficient warm up, but I don't recommend you add any weight until you can do at least 12 pull ups.  Use a slow to moderate speed when doing these.   *You can also use monkey grip to involve your lats (thumbs on top of the bar, not under).  Lat Pull Down.  If pull ups aren't the best exercise for lats then this is.  Most gyms are equipped with a lat pull down machine that will allow you to work with weight heavier than your own.  It's a lot like pull ups, the only difference being you pull the weight to yourself as opposed to being pulled.  The best way to do this exercise is using the same grip as pull ups.  However you can also do pull downs with a close underhand grip, that will include your rhomboids more, but you will no longer grow your lats outward, they will just get thicker.  I suggest doing 3 sets of close grip after doing 4 or 5 of wide grip.  This is one of the very few exercises that I do on a machine, free weights are always superior. Seated Cable Rows. Works your lats in much the same way as close underhand grip lat pull down.  To get as much of your lats involved as possible, pull the weight toward you stomach or even your crotch (basically just keep it low).  In this exercise its easy to let your arms and shoulders do the work, but don't.  Concentrate on your back, and make sure not to swing back and forth, that will work your lower back.  Stay upright, you may tilt back slightly.  Bent Over Barbell Rows. Works not only your lats, but almost your entire back.  Should be done with legs bent, about ¼ squat, back straight, almost arched and leaning forward a lot, almost parallel to the ground.  If you pull the bar into the middle of your stomach or lower you will develop the lower part of your lats.  If you pull the bar into the upper part of your stomach or close to your chest, you will train the upper part of your lats.  That's the way I do them (upper), I feel it adds much needed width to my back.  You must go all the way down and feel the stretch.  At the top you should touch your body with the bar.  This is a basic compound movement and its one of the basics for building a strong muscular back. Bent Over Dumbbell Rows.  Most of the time, when an exercise can be done with either a barbell or a dumbbell it is listed here under one exercise and the differences are explained in the paragraph.  This exercise is so different from bent over barbell rows that it has to be discussed separately.  It isolates the lat very nicely from the rest of the muscles in your back.  Your best bet is to do this exercise with one knee and one arm on the bench.  The other leg is supporting your body against the ground and the same side arm is holding the dumbbell.  Without swinging, at any pace, bring the dumbbell up and pull it in close to your body at shoulder/chest or chest/stomach level, slowly lower and repeat.  Make sure lats are doing the work, not shoulders and arms.  This exercise should not be done in the same work out as Barbell Rows.  The two are interchangeable and should be switched from work out to work out.  Iso-Lateral Low Row.  Another machine exercise that works your lats.  It isolates them pretty well.  Use any grip and just row your ass off. Pull Over.  Last but not least we have this exercise.  Most use it for chest and triceps, but here is how to isolate your lats with it.  Lie on a bench but perpendicular to it.  Only the upper part of your back and your shoulders should touch it.  Legs on the floor with a dumbbell standing upright on the opposing side.  For the first rep, your spotter could help you get the dumbbell up, or he could just hand it to you.  Arching your back slightly, lower the weight as far as it will go, trying to reach the floor.  With arms as straight as possible (almost at lockout).  Bring the weight up above your head. Don't go much further in that direction, this will lower intensity since no muscle work is done if you move the weight back and forth above your chest.  You should concentrate on your lats throughout the entire set.  A bonus of this exercise is that it also works the hard to develop Serratus muscle (a muscle on the sides of your ribcage, a part of the midsection).  Also your ribcage volume increases.  This is a very important exercise, but much neglected.  When was the last time you saw someone do it in the gym?