Best Lat Exercises & Workouts

Old School Labs ambassador Samir Bannout, Albert Beckles, Sergio Oliva, Flex Wheeler, and other bodybuilding legends were famous for their thick, wide lats. Bannout’s back, for example, was remarkably dense and well-defined. But what does it take to build stronger, bigger lats? What are the best lat exercises?

First, make sure you know a thing or two about back anatomy. 

The latissimus dorsi, or lats, contributes to both thoracic and brachial motion. This large, triangularly shaped muscle stabilizes your spine and plays a key role in truck extension and flexion, anterior and lateral pelvic tilt, arm adduction at the shoulder, and more. 

Lat exercises are essential for hypertrophy, strength gains, and injury prevention. Weak lats are often to blame for chronic neck and shoulder pain. Injuries to this muscle can be debilitating due to its size and central location. 

While it’s true that lat development depends largely on genetics, your workouts can make all the difference. 

Some guys don’t need to do much to grow bigger lats. Pull-ups, chin-ups, and rows will do trick. The rest of us, though, have to put in a lot more work to get a chiseled back. 

Now let’s take a quick look at the latissimus dorsi muscle and discuss the best lat exercises for mass and strength gains. 

Lats: Not Just for Pull-ups

Simply put, it allows you to move the shoulder joint and arms. Thanks to it, you can extend, adduct, and internally rotate your shoulders. 

But its role doesn’t end here. The latissimus dorsi is also an accessory respiratory muscle, allowing you to take deep breaths and expire forcefully. 

Moreover, it covers all back muscles, except the traps. That’s why people with strong lats are at lower risk for back pain and injuries. 

This wide back muscle also helps with side bending, scapular depression, pelvic tilting, and hyperextension. 

Weak lats can affect overall physical performance and keep you reaching your training goals. For example, you may have difficulty pulling your body weight up or flexing your trunk to the side. 

Luckily, the latissimus dorsi has serious growth potential. A well-rounded workout that incorporates the best lat exercises can lead to:

• Faster running speeds
• Improved bench press, squat, and deadlift performance
• Stronger shoulders, hips, and back muscles
• Reduced injury risk
• Improved breathing

This muscle responds well to multi-joint movements that involve elbow flexion and recruit the traps, brachioradialis, biceps, and other smaller muscles. 

Rows, for example, recruit both the lats and traps. But we’ll discuss these aspects later. 

The takeaway here is that your lats are the most influential muscles in the body, contributing to nearly every movement involving the shoulders, arms, spine, and trunk. Having strong lats will allow you to lift heavier weights, run faster, and keep your lumbar spine healthy. 

Training Tips to Maximize Your Lat Workouts 

Most gym-goers have one or two back workouts each week but don’t provide enough volume for their lats. 

These muscles are strong and can withstand high training volumes. There’s nothing wrong about doing three, four, or more lat exercises during a single session. 

For best results, perform eight to 12 reps per set and rest for about two minutes between sets. Use mostly free weights rather than gym machines for your lat workouts. 

Lat Exercise Tips

Keep these training tips in mind, whether you’re training at home or in the gym:

• When doing pull-ups, imagine you are trying to pull the bar apart. Squeeze your lats hard and pause for a second at the top of the movement. If you do it right, you should feel your muscles contract and stretch. 
• Take a wide grip for lat pull-downs. Place your hands as close to the curved parts of the bar as possible. Pull the bar low toward low on your torso instead of bringing it at the chest level. 
• Use a reverse grip and keep your elbows close to your body when you’re doing rows. This way, you’ll engage your rear delts to a lesser extent and recruit the lats more effectively. 
• Pre-exhaust your lats with straight-arm pull-downs, dumbbell pullovers, and other isolation exercises. Aim for at least three sets of 25 or more reps. When you’re done, move on to heavy lifts, like pull-ups, rows, and barbell deadlifts. 
• Try to increase the time under tension when training your lats. Perform each movement with a slow and controlled motion instead of rushing through the reps. 
• Stretch your lats at the end of each workout to enlarge the facial tissue and stimulate hypertrophy. 
• Increase the load gradually and avoid the temptation to sacrifice form. As mentioned earlier, injuries to the lats and other back muscles can be debilitating.

Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to wider, bigger lats!

Get a V-Taper with the Best Lat Exercises 

There’s a lot to say about building wider lats. In addition to the above tips, check out these training strategies used by Samir Bannout, the Lion of Lebanon. He suggests performing each set to muscle failure instead of counting reps. 

Keeping your lat workouts varied is just as important. Bannout never did the same routine twice. He also recommends using different grips to hit your back muscles from all angles. 

Know that pull-ups are not your only option. 

There’s also the seated cable row, the barbell bent-over row, the reverse-grip lat pull-down, and much more. The key is to use your lats to pull the weight instead of relying on your forearms and biceps. 

But enough with the talk. Our team has compiled a list of the best lat exercises to help you get that sought-after “V-taper.” Let’s get into it!

How to Do the Overhand Barbell Row

This compound movement also engages the lats, rhomboids, teres major, rear delts, pecs, and smaller muscle groups, including the biceps and triceps. When done right, it can improve your deadlift and develop back thickness. 

Using an overhand grip for barbell rows allows you to better isolate the lats. 

Follow these steps to perform the overhand barbell row with perfect form:

1. Stand up straight with your mid-foot under the barbell. Maintain a neutral spine and bend your knees slightly. 
2. Bend forward at the hips and grasp the barbell with a wide overhand grip. 
3. Lift your chest, take a deep breath, and pull the bar to the upper part of your waist. Keep your elbows close to your body. 
4. Lower the bar back so that your arms are fully extended. Repeat. 

Squeeze your abs when pulling the bar to your body to reduce the stress on your spine. Raise your chest to keep your lower back from rounding. 

Common mistakes, such as going too heavy and standing upright, can make the barbell row less effective. While it’s true that standing upright allows you to lift heavier, it will do nothing for developing your lats. 

Add Pull-ups to Your Lat Workouts

This full-body exercise is used as a measure of strength by the Marine Corps and other organizations. It’s one of the best movements for your lats, traps, infraspinatus, and other back muscles, but it also improves grip strength and adds size to your arms. 

Learning how to do pull-ups is a challenge worth undertaking, whether you want a bigger back, stronger abs, or massive arms. If you’re a beginner, start with machine-assisted pull-ups or use progressions. 

For example, you can pull your body upwards quickly and lower yourself down slowly. Or you can start an isometric hold and progress to leg assisted pull-ups (using a resistance band) followed by spotter-assisted pull-ups. 

Once you get strong enough, follow these steps to master the pull-up:

1. Position yourself under a pull-up bar and grab it with your hands. Use a double overhand grip. 
2. Hang to the bar with your arms straight and your legs off the floor. 
3. Cross one leg over the other, take a deep breath, and brace your core. 
4. Drive your elbows down toward the ground and pull your body upwards while exhaling. Squeeze your shoulder blades. 
5. When you’re performing the movement, keep your elbows aligned with the sides of your trunk. 
6. Continue to lift your body until your chin is at the same level as the pull-up bar. 
7. Lower yourself with a controlled movement and repeat. 

Remember to use a full range of motion throughout the movement. Keep your back straight at all times and avoid swinging your hips. Engage your shoulders at the top and try to hold the contraction for a second or two. 

Experiment with Pull-up Variations 

As you progress, you can make this exercise more challenging by wearing a weight belt or a weighted vest. Another option is to hold a dumbbell between your feet. 

Later, you can try more advanced pull-up variations as part of your lats workout. Here are some examples:

• Dead-hand pull-ups
• Mixed grip pull-ups 
• L-sit pull-ups
• Around-the-world pull-ups
• Wide-grip pull-ups, which are particularly effective for the lat muscle
• Eccentric pull-ups — use this variation to reach muscle failure
• Single-arm pull-ups 

Wide-grip pull-ups, for example, are particularly effective for the lat muscle. Close-grip pull-ups, on the other hand, engage your chest and biceps to a greater degree. 

Eccentric pull-ups increase the time under tension during the negative phase of the movement. As a result, they force your muscles to shorten and work harder.

Consider using a spotter for the above variations. Pay special attention to your shoulders, especially when performing dead-hand pull-ups, as it takes just one wrong move to get a shoulder strain.

Try the Wide-Grip Lat Pull-down

This upper-body strength exercise targets the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rear delts, teres major, and other muscles. 

By using a wide grip, you’ll place more emphasis on the lats when pulling the weight. A narrower grip, on the other hand, will engage more of your arms. 

The wide-grip lat pull-down is fairly easy to perform. Just make sure you avoid common mistakes, such as overusing your forearms, rushing through the motion, or pulling down too far. 

Here’s how to do it right:

1. Sit on a bench facing a cable machine. Set the desired weight and attach the wide grip bar to the hook. 
2. Grasp the bar with a wide overhand grip. Position your hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your torso stationary. 
3. Slowly pull the bar toward your upper chest, squeezing your shoulder blades. Hold the contraction for a moment. 
4. Return to the starting position with a slow, controlled motion and repeat. 

Take your thumb off the bar to decrease biceps involvement. Exhale when pulling the bar toward your chest and inhale as you return it to the starting position. Your arms should be fully extended at the end of the movement.

Do Inverted Rows for Bigger, Stronger Lats 

If you’re looking for at-home back exercises, inverted rows are your best bet. All you need is a dip station or a bar you can pull yourself up to. A suspension training system — like the TRX — will do the trick too. 

Another option is to use a sturdy table. Simply lie beneath it and grab the edge above your chest with your hands. 

The inverted row is ideal for beginners and advanced lifters alike due to its versatility. You can keep your feet up or on the floor, change your grip, vary the speed of movement, and so on. 

Over time, this exercise can lead to a stronger back, wider lats, and increased core stability. Your arms will get an intense workout too!

Here’s how to do an inverted row:

1. Set the bar or TRX handles at the waist level. 
2. Position yourself under it and grab it with an overhand grip. Keep your legs extended in front of you.
3. If you’re using the TRX, bring your feet forward and stand on your heels. 
4. Squeeze your glutes and core muscles while pulling your body up until your chest touches the bar (or the TRX handles).
5. Lower yourself back slowly until your arms are fully extended. 

If you find this movement too difficult, set the bar higher or bend your knees at 90 degrees. The lower the bar, the harder it gets. 

Get the Most Out of Your Lats Workout

The above lat exercises are a good starting point and can be scaled up as you get stronger. 

The inverted row, for example, can be performed with the legs raised or with one arm. Or you can try different row variations, such as T-bar rows, renegade rows, dead-stop rows, and seated cable rows. 

Of course, you’ll always want the best protein supplements to allow your muscles the necessary ingredients to maximize growth. If you haven’t already, check out our Vintage Brawn™ formula to help get that classic v-tapered look.

Even if you’re planning to work your lats, it’s still a good idea to stretch the lower back to prevent aches and injuries. Aim for one or two back workouts per week as part of a well-rounded training plan. 

Here’s a great video for those of you who prefer an old-school style back workout. Check it out for inspiration and let us know what you think! 

In the meantime, feel free to share your favorite lat exercises below. Tell us what works best for you and describe your routine to help your fellow gym-goers!