best lat exercise

S

style

New Member
Hey y'all, was wondering what the consenus was on the best lat exercise-primarily for width-. Has anyone ever tried decline barbell pullovers? Was wondering what the skinny was on them compared to close grip pulldowns/pullups (better stretch), wider grip pulldowns( bringing the elbows down to match the J shape of the lats and machine pullovers.

Look forward to hearing your opinions. :D
 
I'd suggest doing lat pulldowns (personally, I use a grip a tad wider than shoulder width, and try to pull my hands "apart" from each other as I pull down to the bottom of the pecs) until you can do bodyweight pullups with good form, then start doing pullups with added weight.
 
You can move the most load with weighted chins. Heavy negatives on chins is, in my opinion, the very best exercise for getting big lats.
 
BB Rows - Yates style - pulling your elbows back and sternum forwards at the top, and/or High Cable Rows. HCR are done to knee level, flexing the lats and flaring then at the bottom. A very isolated lat exercise indeed.
 
Totentanz is right, weighted negative chins is the way to go. I also agree with doing heavy deadlifts as that helps with back strength.
 
Hi

Follow Tot

He's right, weighted chins, underhand close grip gets the serratus and takes on the heavier weights.

Follow that up with wide grip overhand (cannot take as much weight) but it is the best for width.
laugh.gif


Yep, throw in some decline pull overs, they are the squats of the upper body!
butbut.gif
 
Fausto

Decline pullover? I've heard of flat bench pullovers using a dumbell, but declines? Could you please explain the exercise?

Thanks
 
You just lie on a decline bench at 45 degrees(135?), grasping a E Z bar about shoulder width apart with a slight bend in the elbows, and then lift it up until your arms are above parallel with the floor, not an exact description but when you do it you'll feel for yourself when the tension is in the muscle.

Cheers fausto, "squats for the upper body", I hope so!!! :D
 
Yep, Style

After all that exercise is a compound, so it is good, i have tried it and man...it rocks!
laugh.gif


It builds nicely the lats and the chest area, not to mention the triceps and the abs...not too bad in my opinion.
butbut.gif


The best tough are definitely the pull ups, no doubt but IMO throw in the pullover as an alternative!

Declining just makes it somewhat more effective as you can touch the bar on the floor, depending on your flexibility!

Cheers
thumbs-up.gif
 
fausto, do you do your pullovers with barbells, how do they compare to machine pullovers?

cheers
 
I think pullovers are great. Pulldowns are okay, but I think they are better used for metabolic work after doing heavy negatives on chins. It's imporant, in my opinion, to do some light weight work for your lats after you do negatives.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Fausto @ Jan. 03 2006,8:46)]Yep, Style
After all that exercise is a compound, so it is good, i have tried it and man...it rocks!
laugh.gif

It builds nicely the lats and the chest area, not to mention the triceps and the abs...not too bad in my opinion.
butbut.gif

The best tough are definitely the pull ups, no doubt but IMO throw in the pullover as an alternative!
Declining just makes it somewhat more effective as you can touch the bar on the floor, depending on your flexibility!
Cheers
thumbs-up.gif
Click to expand...
I usually use a dumbbell for pullovers so I don't know if that makes things different but I'd have thought a decline bench would lower the amount of stretch you can get and therefore reduce the effectiveness of the exercise?

I just rest my upper back on a bench (positioned perpendicular to my body) which results in my hips being lower than my upper back so effectively I guess it's an incline position, would that not make more sense?

Be interested to hear your take on that Fausto.

I also use them after pull ups as a stretch point exercise to follow the compound rather than separately (in case anyone is interested!).

Style - I would personally say mahcine pullovers result in less stretch but are perfect as a pulse exercise, I know vicious advocated their use for this reason.

Cheers

Rob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top