The latissimus dorsi muscles run along the sides of your back and give your upper body a V-shape. Weight training exercises strengthen your lats by contracting your back muscles against resistance. You can work toward personal fitness goals by using enough weight to exhaust your lats within particular repetition ranges. Exhausting your lats within 12 to 15 repetitions builds stamina, 20 to 25 reps increases muscular endurance, and four to six reps maximizes size and strength gains.
Weighted Chin Up
Weight training exercises activate your lats at different rates throughout each repetition. According to electromyography data collected by Bret Contreras, weighted chin ups provide the greatest average lat activation among 25 popular weightlifting exercises for your lats. Stand below a chin-up bar, and add weight to a dip belt, use ankle weights, or grasp a dumbbell between your ankles. Reach up and grasp the bar with an overhand grip, and position your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull your body up until your chin is above the bar, then complete each rep by lowering your body until your arms are fully extended.
Rack Pulls
The rack pull is a partial dead lift. Position a barbell just below your kneecaps by resting it on blocks. Take a shoulder-width stance with your shins close to bar. Point your toes out slightly, and grasp the bar with straight arms while keeping your shins perpendicular to the floor. Place your hands 20 inches apart, stick your chest out, tighten your triceps, and position your shoulder blades directly above the bar. Execute the move by curling your toes, and pushing your heels through to the floor to pull the bar up across your thighs. Stop when your knees and hips lockout, then reverse the motion to complete each repetition.
Feet Elevated Inverted Row
The inverted row is a compound pulling exercise that activates your lats, particularly at the top of the repetition. Lay face up on the floor with a fixed bar over your chest. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, and place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Rest the back of your heels on an elevated surface, such as a bench. Pull your body up while keeping your body straight. Complete each rep by lowering your body until your arms and shoulders are extended and stretched forward. Increase the resistance by resting weight plates on your abdomen.
Pronated Wide Pull Up
Electromyography data indicates that pronated wide-grip pull ups achieve the highest peak lat activation among 25 popular lat exercises, including inverted rows, rack pulls, and chin ups. Peak activation is a measurement of the highest point of muscle activation during each repetition. Stand below a pull-up bar with weighted-ankles or a dip belt, and grasp the bar with your hands facing away from your body. The distance between your hands should be twice your shoulder width. Execute the exercise by focusing on your lats as you pull your elbows toward your ribcage, and raise your chin above the bar.
References
- ExRx: Weighted Chin-up
- ExRx: Weighted Inverted Row
- T Nation; Inside the Muscles: Best Back and Biceps Exercises: Bret Contreras
- Bodybuilding: Exercise of The Week -- Pull-ups; Charles Ridgley
- National Federation of Professional Trainers: Personal Fitness Trainer Manual; Ron J. Clarke, et al.; 2008
- Stronglifts: How To Perform Rack Pulls; Mehdi; Jun 4, 2008
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