Lats exercises
Your lats pull your arms down and back. They're the widest muscle of your back and power every pull-up.
By equipment:Pull-up bar (5)
Compound lifts
Several muscles at once. Do these first, while you're fresh.
- Barbell rowBarbellPull to the lower ribs
- One-arm dumbbell rowDumbbells and Flat benchPull the dumbbell to the hip
- Seated cable rowSeated row machineSit tall
- Lat pulldownLat pulldownLean back slightly
- Pull-upPull-up barStart by pulling the shoulders down
- Chin-upPull-up barChest towards the bar
- Band-assisted pull-upPull-up bar and Resistance bandsFull hang at the bottom
- Inverted rowSquat rack and BarbellPull the chest to the bar
- Ring rowGymnastic ringsPull the rings to the ribs
- Doorway towel rowNo equipmentFeet close to the door
- Kettlebell rowKettlebellsPull to the hip
- Scapular pullPull-up barPull the shoulders down away from the ears
- Slow pull-up loweringPull-up barLower as slowly as you can, about 5 seconds
Isolation exercises
One muscle, one joint. Good for adding sets without much extra fatigue.
How much to train your lats
About 8 to 12 hard sets a week to start, up to 12 to 20 as you get more experienced, split over two or more sessions, each set ending 1 to 3 reps short of failure. More in how many sets per week and reps in reserve.
A lats plan that adapts to you
Liftsmith picks lats exercises your gym can do, sets the weight for every set, and only trains them again once they've recovered.
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