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