Pro tips to stimulate lat growth

[SAVAGEPMHNP]

I usually post my questions in the Beginner section but was really looking for some serious guidance/tips on what you guys are doing to get your lats to grow since I might try and do my first show next summer. It’s my only lagging body part right now according to my coach. I just can’t really “feel” them activate when doing any type of pulling movement for back. I feel like my biceps always take over the movement. I don’t know if it’s necessarily my routine that’s the problem but more my form/mind muscle connection. He suggested dropping the weight a little and working on my form which I started doing these last couple of weeks. Is it just more of a time/patience thing or maybe just genetics? Are started using straps too recently.

This is my current back day routine and a couple of pictures from 08/23 to 08/24. I guess they’ve grown some but they’re not where I would like them to be. I’m open to any tips, tricks, suggestions on what you guys are doing to get nice, thick lats! TIA!

BB Rows: 3x8-10 reps
DB Rows: 3x6-10 reps
Row Machine: 3x4-8 reps
Shoulder Width Neutral Grip PDs: 4x8-12 reps
Hyper Machine: 2x15-20 reps

 

[Flocci]

How is your actual execution? perhaps you could post some videos.

Try more unilateral work.

Try some of the cues they mention here:

When you warm up, i find it helpful to emphasize the stretch and the contraction, then try to bring that into your workset with hard intent, focus and control. It becomes a habit once you do it, start the movement with feeling your lat under tension, that helps a lot for connecting with most muscles in my experience. Something i picked up from ben pakulskis content, start the movement with the muscle you are trying to emphasize.


Think more about driving your elbow back/down versus moving your hands/grip/attachment as well can help.

 

[JJT]

You just need to get bigger overall bud. I’m in the same boat so not a shade.

I wasted a fair amount of time doing “optimal training” while the feeling of the movements are great I don’t think it paid dividends to what I was expecting. Yes your lats will grow from single arm pull downs and extended rope pullovers but it’s a waste of time at your current stage of development.

You’ve selected the best bang for buck exercises there maybe swap pull downs for chins even. And focus on executing them properly with the right muscles.

For eg. Have zero hip drive on your rowing movements. Pulling with your elbow. Then once executions is mastered get brutally strong at them. Get really good at the basics.

Make the basics great again

 

[cage99]

I had issues years ago.. I started using straps and literally take my fingers off the bar/or attachment. Used moderate weight too. I wanted to take my grip out of the loop to really focus on the pull. It’s what helped me personally truly feel the lat muscle working properly.

Cage

 

[Sectør]

I mean you're doing 9 sets of rows, and 4 sets of pulldowns. Try adding more pulldowns with variations in grip.

The grip can also affect muscle activation. For instance double underhand grip and I feel a lot of bicep activation.

I usually do shoulder width pulldowns, wide grip pulldowns, and v bar pulldowns with pullovers at the end to really hammer the Lats

In terms of not feeling the mind muscle connection--drop the weight for your 1st warmup set and focus on getting the squeeze and contractions, then you can increase the working weight. You absolutely should be able to feel it

As others said, you just need more size as well

 

[TomJ]

youre training a lot in low rep ranges, which is fine if you have good MMC, but you say you just cant feel them at all.

Try some higher rep ranges or do a feeder set with lighter weight and dont even think about moving the implement, only focus on activating the muscle you are trying to grow.

strap up and just imagine theres a rope tied to the handles from your elbow, dont think about moving the bar/cable/dumbbell to your chest, think about moving your elbow.

Hot take, but i would bench the DB and BB rows in favor of a chest supported or tbar, something that you can focus more on your back and less on stability and doesnt let you cheat as much

 

[Hansy]

Drive with your elbow ~ John Meadows

One tip that helped me with back training forever

 

[SouthernMuscle]

I usually post my questions in the Beginner section but was really looking for some serious guidance/tips on what you guys are doing to get your lats to grow since I might try and do my first show next summer. It’s my only lagging body part right now according to my coach. I just can’t really “feel” them activate when doing any type of pulling movement for back. I feel like my biceps always take over the movement. I don’t know if it’s necessarily my routine that’s the problem but more my form/mind muscle connection. He suggested dropping the weight a little and working on my form which I started doing these last couple of weeks. Is it just more of a time/patience thing or maybe just genetics? Are started using straps too recently.

This is my current back day routine and a couple of pictures from 08/23 to 08/24. I guess they’ve grown some but they’re not where I would like them to be. I’m open to any tips, tricks, suggestions on what you guys are doing to get nice, thick lats! TIA!

BB Rows: 3x8-10 reps
DB Rows: 3x6-10 reps
Row Machine: 3x4-8 reps
Shoulder Width Neutral Grip PDs: 4x8-12 reps
Hyper Machine: 2x15-20 reps

In my opinion you’ve only got one exercise that i would call a lat exercise and that’s pulldowns.

I’d change the pulldowns to as wide of a grip as you can manage

Add in
serratus crunches
cable lat pullover (I don’t like the term but it seems that’s what everyone calls it)
One arm low cable rows (seated)


Take out
BB rows
Row machine

Make sure you stretch unilaterally w hand at about waist level

 

[grammo13]

Don't love dudes content that much anymore, but Mike van wycks old back training videos helped me some. He uses some really dumb terminology in my opinion, but some of the body and elbow positions and ways he has people move really helped me. Especially with dumbbell rows and machine rows.

 

[aimanabolic]

cable lat pullover (I don’t like the term but it seems that’s what everyone calls it)

This, aka lat prayers, straight arm pull downs, etc

Focus on the stretched position.

You can start your workout with these to get the mind muscle connection, or end with them to cook the lats.

Also I find close grip (elbows tucked in at shortened position) get the most activation, but this is person specific.

 

[airman]

I would suspect its your form. Probably not really pulling with your lats. Main thing I learned is to keep my shoulders down on every movement, that's when you are actually on your lats. Keeping shoulders locked down, pulling with elbow on a pulldown, I can feel my lats fire all the way to the bottom near my ass.

Watch a few Mike Van Wyck videos, he explains it really well on a variety of machines. I adjusted my form based on his tips, and my back get ridiculous pumps now every workout. Can feel every fiber firing.

 

[alfresco]

Chin-ups, chin-ups, chin-ups. Pronated, supinated, parallel grip, I don’t care . . . just do them.

Do pushups in between. (Old school, chins and presses.) The presses will aid in your recovery between chins. True story.

Machine pullovers immediately, as fast as you can, do a set of rows; called pre-exhaust but the time between the two must be minimal for it to be truly be maximally effective.

Do what you want after that if you have any energy . . . but if done correctly you won’t want to.

This is pretty much what I did. Not the greatest back but better than it was.

 

[juggy38]

Dante low rows.

I don’t get shit from pulldowns than teres major.

Unilateral pulldowns, unilateral seated rows.

Lower the weight at first. Your Lower lat should cramp at the contracted position when it’s tired.

(My last also suck, but they are moving in the right direction)

 

[Fleezy]

Dante low rows

Is there a video of these?

 

[Doitagain]

Joe Bennet is one of the few people who actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to training.

 

[grammo13]

Is there a video of these?

Google dante rows. Low pulley, with rope, standing at end of bench, rounded over.

 

[Bio]

I think most of it has been covered but my best back routine and technique was this...

- For every exercise, always use straps to take the bicep out of it. Imagine your arm doesn't start until your elbow, so when you pull, imagine pulling from there and use a full range of motion.

- Wide grip pullups on a straight bar. The widest grip you can get!
- Pulldowns with a straight bar. Very wide grip.
- Barbell rows and keep them close to the thighs
- Good old school T-Bar rows

This was what worked best for me, but you may need to change up exercises. Always envision pulling from the elbows and use weight where you can feel the muscle activate, then the back will grow!

 

[luki7788]

As someone already wrote here you don't need to focus on "lats" or any other single muscle because you simply don't have much muscle mass. You need tons of it because you don't even have a good muscle base, so stick to the basics
-bench press/dips, fly's
-dumbbell/barbell rows, deadlifts
-squats variations, leg press, lunges, rdl's

that's what you need, not focusing on "lats"

 

[heavyhitter]

Weighted bar hangs
Dc low rows
Meadows rows
Doorknob stretches
Dc shoulder disclocates
Rack chins

 

[Gunsmith]

The only thing I'd add to everything everyone's already said is adding in some DC style extreme stretches