Quick Tip: The Best Way To Grow Your Lats

For some people, the lats just don't grow. Here's the simple method I use to grow unresponsive lats:

1. Get strong at chin-ups

By chin-ups, I mean pull-ups with a supinated (palms under) grip. The weighted chin-up is the best exercise for the lats (in my opinion). They force the elbows to stay in front of the body and thus activate the lats optimally in a biomechanical sense. They also have high progressive-overloading capacity (by adding weight with a dip belt!), and they build up bicep and forearm strength as well. I have never seen someone strong in the weighted chin-up who has small lats. Get strong as the basic compound lifts first.

I recommend you start with 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps done 2x per week. Doing this exercise only once a week will not be enough frequency to drive significant strength gains. On the second session here, you can vary the grip to be neutral or semi neutral (just not pronated, refer to this blog post). But, your main variation should still be the chin-up with a supinated grip.

2. Get strong at other vertical pulls

The chin-up itself, however great it is, does have some limitations. Doing the same exercise for the rest of history will be a surefire way to get yourself injured from overuse injuries in the long-term. I like to periodically rotate my chin-ups with some heavy lat pulldown work or rack-chins.

Heavy lat pulldowns force you to use less weight whilst also allowing you to experiment with a larger array of grip widths and types. Doing dropsets on lat pulldowns will certainly grow the lats. Just keep in mind to apply the same philosophy used in the chin-ups; don't use a grip with a pronated grip as this does not optimally target the lats.

Now, what are rack chins? Basically, they are chin-ups with the feet elevated onto a box/bench and the hips flexed. This means that the direction of pull is now more diagonal, which targets the muscle fibers of the lats better. Weight can be added here via a weight vest or backpack, but most lifters can get fine results by using just bodyweight. You can also experiment with using gymnastic rings here as well.

3. (Optional) Isolated Lat Work

If the two recommendations above don't get you a pair of wings on your back, you should probably try some isolated lat work. The best exercises here are variations of the straight-arm pulldown. On a cable station, use a straight bar or neutral-grip attachment and take a grip a bit wider than shoulder width. You'll then brace your core and bring the elbows down whilst keeping your arms straight the whole time. Here, any grip can be used, as long as it is wider than shoulder width. Either way, you arms are still going to stay tucked and your lats will be targeted directly. Most types of handles will work here, but I recommend a straight or cambered bar, or a rope for the neutral grip.

Do this exercise towards the end of your workouts 1-2x per week. 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps should suffice. Also, you can do 1 set of these prior to doing any vertical pulls (ie. the chin-ups we discussed earlier). This way, the fatigue in the lats will allow you to hone in on them during you working sets for your vertical pulls.

Give this method a go and watch that demon back grow!

- Hawtsauce

STOP DOING PULLUPS (Hear me out...)

Pullups do not optimally grow your lats. "Pullups" here refers to any free-weight vertical pull with a pronated (palms over) grip. However, this style of pullup is not the best for growing the lats (latissimus dorsi) muscle.

The reason for this is simple. Since the lats and the arms cross the glenohumeral joint in the shoulders, the strength and stimulus to the lats depends on the position of the arms and, more specifically, the elbows. This means that the lats are optimally strengthened and grown when the elbow is in front of the body. However, in a pronated-grip pullup, the elbows are flared outwards from the body. This is why trainees are generally weaker on pronated-grip pullups in comparison to other variations.

The fix for this is simple. Just switch over to a neutral or supinated grip. This will force the elbows to stay tucked in front of the body which will lead to better strength and hypertrophy in the lats. Am I telling you to stop doing all pullups with a pronated grip? No. I perform these regular pullups myself and I find them a great upper back builder as well as good for weighted chin-up assistance work. However, when it comes to the growth of the lats specifically, pronated pullups are far from optimal.

The Force-Velocity Curve

Power is the basis upon which all human movement is founded. Specifically, every single human movement is a unique blend of both force and velocity. Here, force refers to the ability to display strength, whereas velocity is the ability to display speed. 

These concepts of force, velocity and power and intuitively expressed in the "Force-Velocity Curve". Here it is below:

You'll notice that on each point of the curve, a certain mix of "speed" and "strength" are displayed. The 5 most important of these "mixes" are:

• Strength: The ability to produce maximal force without care for the speed at which the implement is moved. Examples include the typical powerlifts ie. back squats.
• Strength-Speed: More emphasis on strength than speed, but speed is still an important factor. Examples here include olympic lifting, where the weight on the bar is the most important but success still relies somewhat on the speed the bar is moved.
• Power: Power is a typically misunderstood concept. Power describes an equal blend of speed and strength. This would include things like resisted sprints and weighted jumps. Both the speed and weight/force heavily determine an individual's success.
• Speed-Strength: This includes mostly speed-based exercises with minimal strength demands. A good example here is a vertical jump. The ground contact times here must be quick, but enough force is required to overcome one's bodyweight. Since the resistance is limited to just bodyweight, there is more emphasis put on speed.
• Speed: These movements are purely relied on how fast you perform them. This includes sprinting and all types of assisted jumps, which lower the force required to overcome the necessary resistance (in most cases this resistance would just be bodyweight). 

It is a very common mistake for trainees to aim to improve ALL parts of the force-velocity curve at the same time. In almost all cases, this will be impossible to do if you want to reap real results. Most programs do not have the room for such high volumes, and trying to pursue multiples goals at once will lead you to inadequate accomplishment in each endeavor. Trainees are MUCH better off specializing in 1-3 of these points on the curve at a time, and then periodically rotating their priorities (basically periodization).

Beginner trainees should spend 1-2 years working in ONLY the strength part of the force-velocity curve. Once a decent strength base has been built, it can then be converted into power, athleticism etc. by slowly incorporating more speed-like movements. 

For all other trainees, NOT focusing on ALL the points of the force-velocity curve at some point in time WILL lead to a plateau. Refer to the graph below:

If ONLY power is increased without also increasing maximal strength or maximal speed, the force-velocity curve will become a straight line. Since the curve can never be convex in shape, the trainees power gains are now plateaued and will NOT increase. That is why ALL points on the curve must be addressed at some point in time. If a trainee accomplishes this with proper programming, the entire curve will shift and the trainees' athletic abilities will increase!

Theoretically, there is no limit on how far right this curve can shift. Of course, genetic limits will eventually halt progress, but there is certainly potential for ALL trainees to make significant progress on strength, power and speed continuously. 

- Hawtsauce

The Secret To Becoming HIGHLY Conditioned

Cardio is a topic that many lifters tend to shy away from. However, we simply cannot deny the numerous benefit offered by incorporating some form of cardio into your training program. You'll unlock beastly endurance and work capacity, and can become HIGHLY conditioned WHILST building strength and size. Here's how.

Typically, cardio is done in a LISS format. LISS stands for Low Intensity Steady State cardio. This is slow and repetitive cardio that challenges the endurance system to a very high extent. It can include long runs (above 1 mile), and other common endurance training modalities like swimming, cycling etc. The problem with this traditional type of cardio is that it is really damn BORING! Most lifters and general athletes will be unmotivated to spend a long amount of time at a grueling activity such as LISS cardio, for merely endurance and conditioning benefits. Also, no one has the time to be jogging slowly and steadily like Forest Gump for 30 minutes every damn day!!

This is where MIIT and HIIT come in.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Essentially, you perform a high intensity activity for a short period of time, then rest for a bit, and then do the high intensity exercise again for a few more rounds. The main difference between HIIT and LISS is that 1. there is a higher intensity (duh) and 2. HIIT is typically much shorter in duration than LISS. With such a high intensity of training, it doesn't really take much before you become fatigued. This means that short-tempered individuals can benefit from incorporating HIIT and still become highly conditioned and training the cardiovascular system without feeling insane. 

A good approach I like to take with HIIT training are density blocks. A density block is where you aim to complete the maximum amount of reps you can complete in a predetermined time period. For example, if I was doing interval sprints, I would aim to first do as many 60m sprints I can in 5 minutes. The next week, I would aim to do more sprints in the same 5 minutes. After a few more weeks, I would increase the density block time to 7 or 8 minutes and then repeat. Density blocks should only me done a maximum of 2x a week since they can be very demanding mentally and physically, and they will turn your lungs into kevlar!

As far as exercise selection for HIIT, you can really do whatever! I prefer loaded carry variations like the farmer's walk and sled drags, as well as sprint variations like hill sprints, tempo runs and interval sprint. General guidelines for HIIT would be to work for 10-30 seconds, rest 30-60 seconds, and repeat this for 5-10 rounds.

MIIT, on the other hand, stands for Moderate Intensity Interval Training. It's the same concept as HIIT but instead of being high intensity, it is a moderate intensity (duh, again). In MIIT training, we would be working for 1-5 minutes, resting 30-120 seconds, and repeating this for 3-5 rounds.

With MIIT training, the goal is going to be much more conditioning-orientated. Since we aren't focusing much on intense performance, the real challenge here is going to be pushing the cardiovascular system in comparison to the muscular system. For MIIT, you have access to a larger array of exercises at your disposal. I have experimented with 400-1200m runs for reps, weighted walks with a weighted backpack, long farmers walks (above 100m), and loaded stairmasters! Just like HIIT, MIIT can be done with unloaded variations as well, so even if you don't have any equipment you can hit the park and get running!

The methods of cardio that I have mentioned above are fun, challenging and easy to implement. Remember when you are first starting out that the weight you use is inconsequential, and you should focus on building your strength and cardiovascular fitness over time. Implementing cardio like this consistently will yield great results!

- Hawtsauce

How To Use RPE!!!

RPE stands for rate of perceived exercise. In weight training methodology, RPE is used to measure how "hard" you have worked in a particular exercise in relation to you proximity to failure out of 10.

For example, let's say you do a heavy set of squats. If you finish the set without even breaking a sweat or feeling fatigued, it was probably an RPE 3 lift. However, if you think that you could have done 2, maybe 3 more reps, then that set would have been an RPE 6-7 set. A max out, ball-to-the-wall set would be close to an RPE 9, and even an RPE 10, which is the max level of intensity you can reach. Essentially, we are taking qualitative data and turning it into quantitative data.

RPE 10: MAX EFFORT - CHILL OUT BRO

RPE 9: DAMN THAT WAS HARD

RPE 8: Challenging

RPE 7: Hard

RPE 5-6: Average

RPE 4: Eh

RPE 1-3: There's weight on the bar?

 

The main way to judge RPE is by bar speed. A slow moving bar is going to be a higher RPE. You can also judge RPE by how you feel after the set and the amount of grind you had to fight through, but all of this will more or less be manifested through the bar speed, so just focus on that.

It is important to not confuse RPE with RIR. RIR means reps in reserve, and essentially describes how many reps you could have done in a set after you concluded it. For example, if you finished a set of squats and though that you could have done 1 more rep, that would be an RIR 1 set. However, RIR and RPE are NOT the same. An RIR 0 set would NOT always be an RPE 10 set. For most trainees, I recommend using RPE as it is more flexible and suitable to auto-regulated training.

RPE works to prevent yourself from training harder than you should. When you see recommended RPEs written in a program, it gives you an idea of how hard you should be working on that particular exercise. Going to heavy and training too hard can actually be counter-productive, especially the more experienced you become as a lifter. Some lifters (such as myself!) have the tendency to push their sets way to hard. What this can do is lead to a high level of stress on the body both mentally and physically, which can really affect the rest of the training session and even your subsequent recovery. RPE ensures that you are stilled stimulating strength adaptations whilst not pushing yourself too hard to the point where you might die (or get seriously injured)!

Exercise Selection Doesn't Matter (For the most part...)

Exercise selection does not matter. I have been asked numerous times which exercise I think is best for growing you chest. Or which exercise is best for developing those hamstrings. Or seated overhead presses are better than standing overhead presses. 

Here's the reality of strength training in the long-term:

If you want to continue making gains in strength, size, power and athleticism, you should master EVERY reasonable exercise that you can perform!

Let me explain. If you wanted to become really strong at overhead press, for example, then you SHOULD master the overhead press! But you should also master the seated overhead press.

And the Z press.

And the overhead press off pins.

And the single-arm dumbbell overhead press.

And any vertical pressing variation you can think of! The truth is that every single vertical press variation is so valuable in its own right such that the actual variation you choose doesn't really matter! These are all tools in the toolbox, and you should rotate these exercises when they become stale. Of course, some of these exercises will be better for certain goals. For example, if your current goal is to increase your shoulder size, a stable pressing variation like the AD press is probably better than an unstable variation like the Z press. But if you want to master vertical pressing (ie. get strong at the overhead press), you should master ALL of these variations.

This is part of the reason I program in "movement categories" instead of actual exercises. Instead of telling the trainee what specific exercise to do, I just provide the movement pattern that the selected exercise variation should fall into. The trainee has the freedom to choose which specific lift they use depending on their goals or the specific qualities that they want to improve.

So instead of trying to find the "perfect" exercise which is the most "optimal", just do every exercise you can think of! If you can master every single effective exercise in the weight room, then you will certainly be a formidable opponent to anyone who tries to square you up in the streets!! Just remember than I am not advocating for you to do ANY exercise that you can think of. Please do not do single arm Bosu ball larsen rear-leg elevated split squats. Stick to the tried-and-true exercises which are shown to produce effective results, and master those specific lifts!