One group of muscles that you must make sure you’re not leaving out of your workout program is the lat muscles.
Lat exercises are going to be great for helping you to develop a higher amount of back thickness, increasing your image of power and muscular strength.
Most people perform bent over rows quite heavily for their back workouts, but sometimes overlook the importance of training the lats.
Let’s give you a quick run-down of the most effective lat exercises that you should be considering as you go about your workout routine.
The Top 5 Exercises For Developing The Lat Muscles
1) Lat Pull-Down
The lat pull-down is one of the most commonly performed lat exercises of the bunch and is great for isolating the lat muscle.
When performing this movement you can use either a closer grip or a wider grip depending on how much bicep action you are looking to receive. A closer grip will target the biceps and the lats equally, while the wider grip is going to place more force directly on the lat muscles.
For the widest back possible, the wider grip is the better bet.
2) Barbell Pull-Over
The second of the exercises to consider for developing the lats is the barbell pullover. This movement is going to target both the lats as well as the core as it’ll contract hard to keep your lower back in the proper position.
When doing the barbell pullover you want to make sure to only let the barbell go back as far as you can comfortably go otherwise you will place the shoulder at risk for a high amount of pain. Start with a lighter weight on this exercise and increase it once you do have a good feel for the movement pattern.
3) Dumbbell Pull-Over
The dumbbell pull-over is the next of the lat exercises to consider. This exercise is ideal for those who are working out at home since all it’ll require is a dumbbell along with some type of flat bench or table.
This one is very similar to the barbell pull-over with the only difference being that the hands will be placed much closer together, therefore it’ll target the mid-back to a larger extent.
Similar to the barbell pull-over, make sure that you are thinking of keeping the lower back down as best as possible while going about this exercise.
4) Pull-Up
The pull-up is the next of the lat exercises that you should consider adding to your program. This is a fantastic strength builder and is also going to help target the bicep muscle as well, which is going to round out your upper body workout.
The pull-up can be performed with a weighted vest for those who are really looking for a challenge and who need to advance the exercise.
5) Reverse Grip Pull-Up
Finally, the last of the lat exercises is the reverse grip pull-up. This one is very similar to the standard pull-up only this time you’re going to reverse the hand position, which will target the bicep muscle to a larger extent.
Pull yourself up to the top, pause, and then lower back down once again.
So there you have the top lat exercises that you should consider adding to your workout program. Add one or two to your next workout session.
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