Training Lats - Two Exercises?

T

Tom Treutlein

New Member
I've heard in the past that you should train the lats with two exercises, dual to them being a bi-pennate muscle or something to that effect. Does this hold any significance? Is it true that someone can't gain a nice v-shape and a thick back without doing more than, say, pullups and deadlifts?
 
Tom

I can't say that is true!

Deadlifts and pull ups should be able to build you a thick V-shaped back.

The importance is the amount of loading you will subject your back to. That is eventually what is going to get Thick and built (muscular).

As for the exercises and due to the construction of the back muscle system, a Compound exercise that allows some real poundage is the one you're after
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The back muscles have been shown to respond better to heavy poundage as they are big muscles.

Eg: Dr. Franco Columbu (Arnold's/Drapper/Zane's time) used to deadlift 800 or so pounds and man...it sure worked he had a fantastic back. Yates too used some very heavy poundage to get his fantastic back.
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You prob. won't get a very thick middle/inner-back without a rowing motion to hit the traps (middle and lower).

But lats will respond with a vengeance :)
 
From what Vicious told me some time ago, the easiest thing to do was to squat, deadlift, dip, chin. That would cover pretty much all bases for most people. Once you built a foundation on those four, you could bring up any lagging areas. This is my goal once I start lifting again. I was trying to determine whether I'd be okay without rows. I figured deadlifts and chinups/pullups would suffice. My worry is more regarding the loads one is capable of using with dips and pullup.

Every pound added to a dip or pullup isn't the same as a pound added to a bench or row, is it? If that were the case, bench presses and rows would be far superior for loading the musculature. I can't see that as true, though, because I feel sufficiently wiped out after some heavily loaded bodyweight movements.
 
Tom

Vicious was right, that is true of compounds!

Rows are good that is a fact!

Maybe you should consider that for back you should look at doing chins/any row (high/mid or low) cable/db or barbell.

Deads should be looked at from a leg builder type of exercise, what they build for the back is a bonus, it is actually an overall exercise, but I for one alternate them with squats and do them as a leg exercise and before anything else for they really get you breathing hard!
 
Would adding weight to dips and chins (assuming you trained these exclusively for upper body mass) give you a thick chest and v-taper? I mean, I know they WILL, but I feel like those two alone can't cut it, since you're limited on how much weight you can use.

Then again, as I was saying, adding weight to dips and chinups is more difficult, most likely because it's more effective at placing tension on the muscle.

You following me here, Fausto?
 
Tom

I can vouch for those exercises, if you can manage adding the weight, they are amongst the 2 best mass builders you'll ever get!

If you just do the math for dips as opposed to bench press, you may be able to bench 100 Kg whilst you weight, say 80 kg, then when doing dips you find yourself adding 40 Kg to your best dip, that amounts to 120 Kg, get my drift?

And for some reason, chin ups does more or less the same thing, as opposed to many of the rowing movements.

The best is to try and get the best of both worlds and when you get to the 5's and negs.

You start using isolatioin movements after you main exercises as metabolic stress inducers and then get the growth to really go ape!
 
In my opinion, and maybe this is just me, but chins are not sufficient for the back. I always do BB bentover rows in conjuction with weighted chins.
 
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