9 Of The Best Lat Exercises For When Size Is The Prize – Boss Hunting

Lat exercises can be challenging, especially if you aren’t doing the right workouts to properly target the correct muscles. However, trying to find the right workouts to fit into your sessions at the gym can be tough if you aren’t sure what to do, which is why we’ve gathered together a list of a handful of the best lat exercises to try yourself.
Building your lats doesn’t have to be difficult; you only need a few key moves to get the upper body muscles you want. Below, we’ll discuss the best lat exercises for mass and the number of reps and sets to perform them.
Here are the nine best lat exercises to build your latissimus dorsi muscles and upper body strength.
RELATED: 21 Best Rear Delt Exercises For Boulder Shoulders
Bent-over rows are an exercise that improves back muscle strength. It may feel challenging at first, but that’s because it’s a highly effective exercise to build a strong back and pack on mass.
This move isolates your lat muscles, making it an excellent method to strengthen your lats and build them more quickly. To get the best workout, ensure that you hold the proper stance to target the lat and avoid putting pressure on your lower back.
How to do bent-over rows:
Reps: 6-9
Sets: 3-4
Rest: 60 seconds
You may also try a single-arm dumbbell row to get an incredible upper-arm workout. Start by resting one knee and hand on the same side of the bench. Then, perform the steps with your other arm.
Remember, slow and controlled movements are key to safe lats exercises that properly target your muscles. If you want to build mass, do 3-4 sets of 6-9 reps. Aim for 5-6 sets of 4-6 reps with a heavier weight to improve back strength. Beginners should start with three sets of 10 wets using a lighter weight, focusing on proper form.
You may have previously done deadlifts to work other areas of your body and wondered how effective they are for your lats. The latissimus dorsi muscles do work their part in the deadlift. Additionally, this exercise allows you to use heavier weights than most workouts, which is ideal for gaining muscle mass and strength.
To put your lats to more use during a deadlift, picture oranges in your armpits and imagine crushing them during your exercise. This trick will help you keep your lats engaged, put your upper body into the proper position, and helps lift more weight.
How to do a deadlift:
Reps: 6-8
Sets: 4
Rest: 2-3 minutes
When performing deadlifts, it’s vital to ensure you maintain the correct posture. Otherwise, you won’t target the lats and could risk injury. If you struggle to engage your core, don’t skip your ab workout.
Beginners should start with four sets of 6 reps. If you can use the weight comfortably, increase the weight for the next session. To build strength, do six sets of 8 reps. Either way, take a 2-3 minute rest between your sets.
Lat pulldowns work the latissimus dorsi along with your traps, biceps, rear delts, and rhomboids. This move allows you to train multiple muscles simultaneously, developing strength throughout your upper body and back.
This exercise is low-impact but can help to widen your torso. You’ll need to use a lat pulldown machine to do this exercise.
How to do a lat pulldown:
Reps: 6-8
Sets: 2-4
Rest: 90 seconds
Beginners should start with 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps with moderate weight or 2-4 sets of moderate weight until near failure. Rest 1-2 minutes between each set. To build mass, do 2-4 sets of heavy weights until near failure.
Pull-ups strengthen your core, shoulders, back, and of course, your lats. Because your lats are muscles that allow you to pull or row, pull-ups are excellent workouts to strengthen your latissimus dorsi.
Not only are pull-ups a good workout for your upper arms and back, but research shows that pull-ups especially target the lats. Additionally, you’ll strengthen your chest to a lesser extent.
How to do a pull-up:
Reps: Until near failure
Sets: 4-5
Rest: 90 seconds
Perform 4-5 sets of nearly as many reps as you’re able to perform. So, if you can do seven reps, do 5 or 6 for each set.
Chin-ups allow you to increase your strength and the definition of your upper arms. Specifically, you’ll grow your lats, biceps, and the posterior deltoids of the shoulder. This move is an excellent way to improve your back muscles and gain strength.
Because of the required grip for chin-ups, this move offers less mobility and less demand on your shoulders. So, chin-ups tend to be more shoulder-friendly than pull-ups.
How to do a chin-up:
Reps: 8-10
Sets: 2-3
Rest: 2 minutes
Like the pull-up exercise, chin-ups can be challenging for beginners. To modify this move, begin by hanging on the bar and gradually work towards the ability to hang for one minute.
Start with ten sets of 2 reps with a minute of rest in between your sets. Shorten your rest periods by 10-15 seconds each week. Once you begin to gain strength, do 1 set of as many reps as possible.
Standing cable rows increase upper body strength and target several muscle groups in your back. This move targets your erector spinae, rhomboids, and your lower lats. However, your entire latissimus dorsi muscle will get an excellent workout too.
How to do a standing cable row:
Reps: 6-8
Sets: 2-3
Rest: 90 seconds
If it’s your first time performing a cable row, start by using a weight that you can control for 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps. Make sure you’re able to maintain proper posture and a solid technique throughout the entirety of your sets.
To put on mass during your seated cable row workout, perform 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps with heavy weights. If you want to work your shoulders, a wide grip seated row is one of the best shoulder exercises that will also work your lats.
To get an intense back exercise that allows you to build a strong and muscular back, add T Bar Rows to your fitness routine. This move targets your lats, trapezius, rhomboids, and posterior deltoid.
Not only will this exercise improve your strength, but it will effectively help you get a wider back. However, proper form is crucial for targeting the right muscles and avoiding straining your lower back.
How to do a T bar row:
Reps: 3-5
Sets: 2
Rest: 60 seconds
To focus on strengthening your upper body muscles, do two sets of 3-5 reps of a moderate to heavy weight. Rest 1-3 minutes between each set. Do three sets of 8-12 reps to build strength and add mass.
The dumbbell pullover is a classic bodybuilding move that is an excellent workout for your lats. This exercise works your back and chest simultaneously. When you perform it correctly, dumbbell pullovers are also one of the best tricep exercises that also work your lats.
To do a dumbbell pullover, you’ll need a dumbbell and a bench. Start with light weights to get used to the movement and test your range of motion.
How to do a dumbbell pullover:
Reps: 8-15
Sets: 1-3
Rest: 2 minutes
Start by using no weights or light weights to master your technique before adding more weight. Once you’ve got the movement down, gradually increase the load. Perform 1-3 sets of 8-15 reps.
Research shows that the seated cable row is as effective as a barbell row for training your latissimus dorsi muscles. However, it’s slightly different from using a cable because there’s a constant tension in your muscles.
How to do a seated cable row:
Reps: 8-12
Sets: 3
Rest: 1-3 minutes
To focus on strength, perform two sets of 3-5 reps with a 1-3 minute rest between your sets. For hypertrophy (muscle growth,) do three sets of 8-12 reps with a minute or so of rest between each set.
To get the best lat workout, it helps to understand what they are and their purpose in your body. They’re large v-shaped muscles on your back that connect your arms to your vertical column. They serve to stabilize your spine and promote good posture.
Lats connect to the upper part of your upper arm bone from the inside. Their main purpose is to allow you to pull and adduct things. Simply put, you will engage your lats anytime you perform a form of rowing motion. You also engage your lats during forceful respiratory functions like coughing.
However, with the wrong grip, you may engage other muscles. If your grip is too wide, you’ll target your middle traps and the rear deltoid.
Studies suggest that there may be mild advantages of pulling with a medium grip width in the vertical plane. They found that in the upward and downward movements, there were some advantages in using a medium grip rather than a narrow or wide grip.
Choosing the best lat exercises depends on your goals and the workout moves you enjoy doing. Once you try some of the workouts mentioned above, opt for the movements that you like to help you stay motivated.
If you want to grow your lats and have a bigger back overall, opt for wide-grip pull-ups and bent-over rows. These moves will allow you to strengthen and grow your upper body more efficiently than some exercises.
To pack on as much mass as possible, then be sure to add the T bar row to your workout routine. Your workout may look different if your goal is weight loss. Read How to Lose Weight Fast if you want to lose fat while gaining muscle.
Here are the most frequently asked questions regarding the best lat exercises for mass.
When you efficiently build your lats, you will have a wider back overall. So, lat workouts are an excellent addition if a wider back is your goal. Not only will the lats give you the look you desire, but strong lats will aid in your workouts. Because your lats help stabilize your spine and improve your posture, you’ll get more out of all your workouts.
Isolation exercises allow you to target specific muscle groups by using one joint at a time. So, to target your lats, you’ll need to perform exercises that don’t require multiple muscles and joints at once. Lat pulldowns are one of the best lat-isolating workouts you can do. With this exercise, you can increase your strength, enhance muscular development, and build a defined physique.
Although pull-ups are a great exercise to build lat muscles, there are plenty of other moves to build bigger lats. Rowing exercises, deadlifts, and even pushups can help you strengthen and grow your lats. The t-bar row is one of the best lat exercises for packing on mass. No matter which workout you do, aim to do 6-8 reps of a heavy weight to build muscle faster.
To maximize your muscle gain and get thicker lats, you’ll need to perform as many reps as possible nearly to muscle failure. Aim to do the movements until you cannot do a full rep for each of your sets. Additionally, you’ll need to up your protein intake to grow any muscle you target. Taking the right supplements for muscle growth can also help.
You can build a home gym with a few essentials to effectively target your lats at home. Get a few different sets of weights, a bench, and a pull-up bar. Choose various weights so you can perform the workouts at your starting point and have options to increase gradually. Dumbbell pullovers, deadlifts, and bent-over rows can be done at home.
Pushups primarily target your pectoral and triceps, but your lats will get some work in too. You’ll use your lats, traps, and core to stabilize your body while performing the movements. Performing pushups can help strengthen your lats, though you’ll gain more mass in your latissimus dorsi by opting for exercises that target your lats.
While pull-ups are an excellent way to build your lats, rowing exercises will work your lats more than pull-ups. Many of the rowing movements allow you to isolate your lats, allowing you to strengthen those muscles and get a wider back. To target your lats during pull-ups, keep your armpits closed during the movements.
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