Want to Step Up Your Lats Workout at Home – Read these Tips from the Experts First
The lats are not the all-stars of the workout world. But they should be. Active people who enjoy a good workout often focus on other more coveted muscle groups that make up our bodies. We all want great biceps or incredibly defined pecs and abs. So why would you even try to work out your lats at home?
Lats, or latissimus dorsi, are the large and wide muscles that loom across your back. These are the muscles that best combine aesthetics with functionality. They have multiple functions and are used in a wide array of motions, but they do it while helping your posture and giving your physique that nice V shape look.
Building up or just training other parts of your body and neglecting your lats is not the best idea. And that is because, unlike skipping a leg day, skipping a lat day will affect your whole core strength. These integral and large muscles have the role of correlating other muscle groups into assuring a smooth upper body movement. So if you manage to train them properly, they will reward you with easier gains for your other muscle groups. And, of course, that superhero, tapered back that women love.
What are the best workout routines for lats that you can do at home? And what are the best strategies experts recommend?
When it comes to growing your lats, unilateral training is one of the best advice you can receive.
And it will be your starting point in your quest for better lats. This is a piece of workout philosophy that comes straight from professional bodybuilder and four times Mr. Olympia Winner, Jay Cutler.
You may not be going for the same level of training as John, but his advice is crucial for a great lat growth at home.
Training one side at a time will help you get a wider range of motion and address the fact that most people don’t have perfect symmetry, making one side always be stronger than the other.
What Jay recommends, and what you can replicate at home, is using dumbbells. More specifically dumbbell rows that are great for beginners and seasoned pros as well.
-Dumbbell row exercise:
Just hinge forward, place your left hand and knee on your workout bench, and grab the dumbbell with your right hand. Keep your torso nearly parallel to the ground at all times. Pull your right hand back until the dumbbell is just about the height of your belly button. Then slowly extend your right arm back to its original position.
Pull-ups are an incredibly effective exercise that most people fail to give the right amount of attention to. It can focus a lot of muscle groups and do wonders for your back at the same time. You don’t have to be a pull-up enthusiast to use this exercise and you’ll soon realize that nothing will focus your lats this good. And it is one of the exercises that Phil Heath uses to target this all-important muscle group.
You may not want the lat real-estate that this seven times Mr. Olympia has, but you will want to learn just how much pull-ups can do for you. The only thing you should temper when it comes to this workout routine is expectations. Pull-ups are hard, so you will not be making 4 series of 20 reps any time soon. The bright side is that you will no longer have to worry about posture. Hanging from a bar will help with that.
-Pull-ups:
Grab on to the bar with your arms completely extended. With your palms facing away grip as close to shoulder with as possible. Pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar. Pause for a moment and then lower yourself slowly, into the initial position.
The renegade row is an excellent exercise to target your entire upper body and core. The plank portion of the exercise requires the engagement of the deep stabilizing muscles, while the row portion of the exercise targets the upper back, arms and lats.
This exercise will help you not only grow your lats but also get that nice fit underline that everybody looks for.
And it is one that Mat Fraser, four times Cross Fit Games winner, recommends.
Renegade rows or plank rows are more related to Crossfit. They are very easy to do at home, even if you don’t have a home gym or a workout bench.
This is a workout that is best suited to intermediate levels of training.
-Renegade row:
You must start by getting into a push-up position while resting your hands on a pair of dumbbells in a neutral grip. Your first move is to do a push-up. As you come back to your starting position raise one of the dumbbells off the ground and row it towards your midsection. As you do that, you will need to support your weight on the dumbbell that remains on the ground.
Then return to the push-up position and repeat that with your other hand.
This is one exercise that will target your lats as very few do. And it doesn’t need any fancy gym equipment to do it. All you need is your workout bench and a set of dumbbells. Integrating this kind of routine into your workout is all about growing your lats. Its major advantage is that you can start easy, then use your bench incline and heavier weights to support your progress.
Another advantage is that it has Lou Ferrigno standing behind it. Lou is one of the best paid personal trainers in America and has worked with numerous celebrities, as well as staring as the Hulk. And Hulk has lats in its job description. Growing your lats at home without adding weight would be almost impossible without exercises such as these. The level of customizing it offers makes it a prime candidate for all levels of previous training.
-Inclined dumbbell row:
Set up your workout table at an angle, get on top of it, and grab one dumbbell in each hand. That is your start position. Keep your back straight and your shoulders back at all times. Then slowly lift the dumbbells to your midsection alternating between hands.
If you think that you have spent enough time training one side at a time, you can also try lifting them both at the same time. But the most efficient way to do it is by using one hand and alternating.
If your home gym has a barbell, and it should, you can use it to grow great lats. How? Deadlifts.
The classic barbell deadlift not often regarded as lat exercise, but it will provide a good foundation for your back. The secret behind using it effectively for your lats is to make your reps as slow and natural as possible, and not to stack up too many weight plates.
The celebrity that is best known to use deadlifting as a way to grow lats and other muscle groups is The Mountain, HBO’s own Hafthor Júlíus Björnsson. The 6 ft 9 in giant was the world's strongest man in 2018 and is a deadlift expert. His record currently stands at 1,045 lb (474kg).
The advantage of using barbell deadlifts in targeting your lats is that you end up using a lot of muscle groups, and it evens out your workout progress, in the process. This type of home workout will concentrate on both mass gains and stretching your lats at the same time. Thus building comprehensive mass in a reasonable amount of time.
Classic barbell deadlift:
Start with very small weights, at first. Place the barbell on the ground after you have loaded the weights. Move next to it until it almost touches your shins. Keep your feet a shoulder-width apart and your grip slightly wider than that. Pick up the barbell overhead while pushing your hips back. Bend the knees just far enough to grab the bar. From this position stand up lifting the bar and bring your legs into their original position.
Before you start focusing on lat routines, please take into consideration that you should avoid the most common mistakes people make when focusing on this muscle group. They could result in serious injuries, or just cause you to lose time and not get the most out of your workout.
-Not warming up before a lat training
Don’t start any exercise routine without warming up. Especially one involving the biggest muscles on your back. Yeah, it may sound boring but injuries may prove particularly painful and hard to recover from.
-Not pulling your elbows back enough
Only pulling your elbows halfway will put unwanted pressure on muscle groups that are not the object of your workout. For a full contraction, you need to pull back to the recommended position. Just use lighter dumbbells and better movement.
-Allowing your back to round
Rounding your back can be very dangerous. It puts a lot of strain on your spinal discs and may cause disc herniation. And that is not something that can be left untreated. Prevent serious problems like that by keeping your back as straight as possible during all routines.
-Don’t neglect elbow positions
The positioning of your elbows dictates what part of the lat is more isolated. If you want to better isolate lower lats keep your elbow as close to your body as possible. For the meatier upper lats, put a bit of distance between your elbows and your body.
Growing your lats at home may seem a pretty difficult job, seeing that you have to rely on less gym equipment than you do in a gym. But it is not impossible. Just use one of the expert recommendations in this article and you too can have that impressive v-shape body with the posture to match.
Lats, or latissimus dorsi, are the large and wide muscles that loom across your back. These are the muscles that best combine aesthetics with functionality. They have multiple functions and are used in a wide array of motions, but they do it while helping your posture and giving your physique that nice V shape look.
Building up or just training other parts of your body and neglecting your lats is not the best idea. And that is because, unlike skipping a leg day, skipping a lat day will affect your whole core strength. These integral and large muscles have the role of correlating other muscle groups into assuring a smooth upper body movement. So if you manage to train them properly, they will reward you with easier gains for your other muscle groups. And, of course, that superhero, tapered back that women love.
What are the best workout routines for lats that you can do at home? And what are the best strategies experts recommend?
1. Train one side at a time
When it comes to growing your lats, unilateral training is one of the best advice you can receive.And it will be your starting point in your quest for better lats. This is a piece of workout philosophy that comes straight from professional bodybuilder and four times Mr. Olympia Winner, Jay Cutler.
You may not be going for the same level of training as John, but his advice is crucial for a great lat growth at home.
Training one side at a time will help you get a wider range of motion and address the fact that most people don’t have perfect symmetry, making one side always be stronger than the other.
What Jay recommends, and what you can replicate at home, is using dumbbells. More specifically dumbbell rows that are great for beginners and seasoned pros as well.
-Dumbbell row exercise:
Just hinge forward, place your left hand and knee on your workout bench, and grab the dumbbell with your right hand. Keep your torso nearly parallel to the ground at all times. Pull your right hand back until the dumbbell is just about the height of your belly button. Then slowly extend your right arm back to its original position.
2. Pull-ups were invented for a reason
Pull-ups are an incredibly effective exercise that most people fail to give the right amount of attention to. It can focus a lot of muscle groups and do wonders for your back at the same time. You don’t have to be a pull-up enthusiast to use this exercise and you’ll soon realize that nothing will focus your lats this good. And it is one of the exercises that Phil Heath uses to target this all-important muscle group.You may not want the lat real-estate that this seven times Mr. Olympia has, but you will want to learn just how much pull-ups can do for you. The only thing you should temper when it comes to this workout routine is expectations. Pull-ups are hard, so you will not be making 4 series of 20 reps any time soon. The bright side is that you will no longer have to worry about posture. Hanging from a bar will help with that.
-Pull-ups:
Grab on to the bar with your arms completely extended. With your palms facing away grip as close to shoulder with as possible. Pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar. Pause for a moment and then lower yourself slowly, into the initial position.
3. Renegade push-ups
The renegade row is an excellent exercise to target your entire upper body and core. The plank portion of the exercise requires the engagement of the deep stabilizing muscles, while the row portion of the exercise targets the upper back, arms and lats.This exercise will help you not only grow your lats but also get that nice fit underline that everybody looks for.
And it is one that Mat Fraser, four times Cross Fit Games winner, recommends.
Renegade rows or plank rows are more related to Crossfit. They are very easy to do at home, even if you don’t have a home gym or a workout bench.
This is a workout that is best suited to intermediate levels of training.
-Renegade row:
You must start by getting into a push-up position while resting your hands on a pair of dumbbells in a neutral grip. Your first move is to do a push-up. As you come back to your starting position raise one of the dumbbells off the ground and row it towards your midsection. As you do that, you will need to support your weight on the dumbbell that remains on the ground.
Then return to the push-up position and repeat that with your other hand.
4. The dumbbell development
This is one exercise that will target your lats as very few do. And it doesn’t need any fancy gym equipment to do it. All you need is your workout bench and a set of dumbbells. Integrating this kind of routine into your workout is all about growing your lats. Its major advantage is that you can start easy, then use your bench incline and heavier weights to support your progress.Another advantage is that it has Lou Ferrigno standing behind it. Lou is one of the best paid personal trainers in America and has worked with numerous celebrities, as well as staring as the Hulk. And Hulk has lats in its job description. Growing your lats at home without adding weight would be almost impossible without exercises such as these. The level of customizing it offers makes it a prime candidate for all levels of previous training.
-Inclined dumbbell row:
Set up your workout table at an angle, get on top of it, and grab one dumbbell in each hand. That is your start position. Keep your back straight and your shoulders back at all times. Then slowly lift the dumbbells to your midsection alternating between hands.
If you think that you have spent enough time training one side at a time, you can also try lifting them both at the same time. But the most efficient way to do it is by using one hand and alternating.
5. Barbell for your back
If your home gym has a barbell, and it should, you can use it to grow great lats. How? Deadlifts.The classic barbell deadlift not often regarded as lat exercise, but it will provide a good foundation for your back. The secret behind using it effectively for your lats is to make your reps as slow and natural as possible, and not to stack up too many weight plates.
The celebrity that is best known to use deadlifting as a way to grow lats and other muscle groups is The Mountain, HBO’s own Hafthor Júlíus Björnsson. The 6 ft 9 in giant was the world's strongest man in 2018 and is a deadlift expert. His record currently stands at 1,045 lb (474kg).
The advantage of using barbell deadlifts in targeting your lats is that you end up using a lot of muscle groups, and it evens out your workout progress, in the process. This type of home workout will concentrate on both mass gains and stretching your lats at the same time. Thus building comprehensive mass in a reasonable amount of time.
Classic barbell deadlift:
Start with very small weights, at first. Place the barbell on the ground after you have loaded the weights. Move next to it until it almost touches your shins. Keep your feet a shoulder-width apart and your grip slightly wider than that. Pick up the barbell overhead while pushing your hips back. Bend the knees just far enough to grab the bar. From this position stand up lifting the bar and bring your legs into their original position.
Before you start focusing on lat routines, please take into consideration that you should avoid the most common mistakes people make when focusing on this muscle group. They could result in serious injuries, or just cause you to lose time and not get the most out of your workout.
-Not warming up before a lat training
Don’t start any exercise routine without warming up. Especially one involving the biggest muscles on your back. Yeah, it may sound boring but injuries may prove particularly painful and hard to recover from.
-Not pulling your elbows back enough
Only pulling your elbows halfway will put unwanted pressure on muscle groups that are not the object of your workout. For a full contraction, you need to pull back to the recommended position. Just use lighter dumbbells and better movement.
-Allowing your back to round
Rounding your back can be very dangerous. It puts a lot of strain on your spinal discs and may cause disc herniation. And that is not something that can be left untreated. Prevent serious problems like that by keeping your back as straight as possible during all routines.
-Don’t neglect elbow positions
The positioning of your elbows dictates what part of the lat is more isolated. If you want to better isolate lower lats keep your elbow as close to your body as possible. For the meatier upper lats, put a bit of distance between your elbows and your body.
Growing your lats at home may seem a pretty difficult job, seeing that you have to rely on less gym equipment than you do in a gym. But it is not impossible. Just use one of the expert recommendations in this article and you too can have that impressive v-shape body with the posture to match.
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