Best Lat Workout Routine
The sample routine below is optimized for hypertrophy. However, you can alter the sets, reps, and loads to meet your fitness goals. Here’s a helpful guide for choosing your starting weight based on your one repetition maximum, or 1RM:
- Strength/Power: 80%–100% of your 1RM.
- Hypertrophy: 60%–80% of your 1RM.
- Endurance: less than 60% of your 1RM.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (Between sets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-Up | 3 | 10–12 | 60–90 seconds |
| Barbell Bent-Over Row | 3 | 10–12 | 60–90 seconds |
| Straight Arm Lat Pulldown | 3 | 10–12 | 60–90 seconds |
| Close-Grip Lat Pulldown | 3 | 10–12 | 60–90 seconds |
| Seated Single-Arm Cable Row | 3 | 10–12 | 60–90 seconds |
Anatomy Of The Back
Latissimus Dorsi
Large, triangular shaped muscles located just below your shoulder blades. They extend along your spine down to your pelvis.
The latissimus dorsi, or lat, is a large, fan-shaped muscle that covers most of your back. It has several attachment points: the spine, the hip, and the upper arm bone. It functions to move the arm in many directions, including pulling it back behind the body.
The lats also assist with breathing. Specifically, they help with deep inhalations and forceful actions like sneezing or coughing. The lats may also play a role in trunk control, although more research is needed to solidify their function.
Benefits Of Lat Exercises
Building up your lats has many benefits. We review three of the most important ones below.
Improved Range Of Motion
Resistance training with an external load (i.e., weights) can improve your range of motion, or ROM. This is thought to happen during an exercise’s eccentric (lowering) phase. As the weight is lowered, the muscle is stretched under load, providing an excellent stimulus for increasing ROM.
As discussed, the lat has several attachment points in the shoulder and along the spine. Lengthening the latissimus with resistance training may lead to improved flexibility in these areas. Shortened lats may also lead to abnormal movement patterns that could exacerbate lower back pain.
Improved Strength
While your primary focus may be hypertrophy, there is some overlap with strengthening regarding fitness goals. Typical hypertrophy workouts use moderate weights for moderate rep ranges to encourage muscle growth. Strength-focused workouts usually use higher loads for lower reps to boost maximum force output.
While higher loads are superior for strengthening, there is evidence to support moderate loads producing gains in hypertrophy and strength. This means the sample routine above can build size and strength when correctly implemented. You get more bang for your buck at the gym!
Improved Athletic Performance
Generalizing athletic performance is complex. Each sport requires unique skills, techniques, and physical abilities. However, research indicates that general resistance training can positively impact sports performance at lower levels of competition.
Sport-specific resistance training can also level up your performance. Targeting the muscles used in your sport may lead to more effective training programs and better transference to the field. For example, strengthening the lats could improve the throwing abilities of overhead athletes.
Expert Training Tips
Here are a few additional tips to get the most out of your lat exercises.
- Warm-Up: Incorporate 5–10 minutes of cardio and stretching before your workouts. This will help elevate body temperature and prepare your muscles for the upcoming exercises.
- Focus On Form: Use the proper technique to maximize muscle-building benefits. Start light and emphasize form. Check out these bodyweight lat exercises for challenging options without equipment.
- Consistent Progression: Progressive overload refers to regularly changing the sets, reps, or loads for an exercise to continue seeing results. It can help you avoid training plateaus and keep your motivation high. Check out this barbell back workout for bigger lifts, targeting your lats and other back muscles.
- Exercise Variety: Incorporating variety into your workout routine can enhance hypertrophy results. However, too much can have a negative effect. Use our list wisely, and check out these lat pulldown alternatives for more ideas.
- Prioritize Recovery: Rest is essential to progress in the weight room. Allow 48–72 hours of recovery between muscle group workouts to promote growth and avoid overtraining.
Conclusion
These 23 lat exercises will help you effectively build bigger, stronger lats. The benefits of working your lats go beyond an enviable V-tapered back. You can improve flexibility, increase strength, and even boost athletic performance. Use our expert tips above to implement some of them in your next workout strategically. Your lats will grow with consistent effort, and you’ll see a broader, more muscular back!
Frequently Asked Questions
Focus on exercises that target the lats, specifically rowing and pulldown exercises. Use the expert tips above to implement these exercises effectively. Don’t forget to progressively overload to continue seeing results.
The lats are considered hard to grow for several reasons. Primarily, they are difficult to activate due to their position on the back, leading to poorer mind-muscle connections. Improper exercise selection may also contribute to their reputation for being hard to grow.
The pull-up and the lat pulldown have the highest lat activation rate. The lat pulldown can activate the lat up to 60% of its maximum contraction. The pull-up is a similar movement pattern, indicating comparable activation levels.
It is not recommended to train any muscle every day. Muscles need rest to recover and grow bigger. Allow 48–72 hours of rest between workouts to optimize recovery and promote hypertrophy.
Resources
Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.
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