best lat exercise

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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.
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Yep, throw in some decline pull overs, they are the squats of the upper body!
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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!
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It builds nicely the lats and the chest area, not to mention the triceps and the abs...not too bad in my opinion.
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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
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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!
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It builds nicely the lats and the chest area, not to mention the triceps and the abs...not too bad in my opinion.
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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
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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
 
Rob

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]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?
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We'd be getting rather technical on this, but I think both would accomplish the same, I have tried both varieties and without putting anyone of the two varieties down, the E-Z one on a decline at least for me feels like it gives a better stretch, but I have limited equipment at home so the d/b one becomes cumbersome with a lot of weight.
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I think for one it depends on how tall you are, and on the other hand how much angle you need to have the excat amount of stretch you need, I use a 15 degree negative angle, so it is not that innefective in my way of seeing things.

Hope this helps Rob, I hate to make things too technical without the real need for it.
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Flat would have better stretch I think. When decline, you're "releasing the slack" and the origin of the muscle (closer to lower back)...not sure it matters. I've never heard anyone construct a powerful back using pullovers..just my $0.02.

But then the lats aren't really under tension when the bar is pulled from chin-> sternum on the flat OR decline bench.

Anyway, go with chins and rows, make them heavy and do burn sets afterwards.


Pullover = upper body squats :confused: Come on...look at neutral chins - lats, bis, forearms, serratus, even pecs for part of the motion...or BB rows, dips, bench...but pullovers? Nah...
 
Fausto - I know what you mean, I always get my knickers in a twist about things that probably really aren't that important!

I just can't figure out how you can even do them on a decline bench because when I did it on a flat bench The dumbbell would hit the floor before I got to full stretch!

Jester - I know what you mean about chins but I have heard pullovers described as the only isolation exercise that is as effective as compound exercises (on posts around here from I think Dan among others and elsewhere, haven't got any further justification of that point just thought I'd mention it!) I'd never use them in place of chins or rows but nice to do afterwards if there's time.

One thing I don't understand is pullovers are described as a chest exercise in other places?!?!?!? Iin fact first time I ever saw them was in the list of exercises that came with my first set of weights when I was 14 and it was put down as a chest exercise!

Cheers

Rob
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]One thing I don't understand is pullovers are described as a chest exercise in other places?!?!?!?
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That is a fact, that is why i call it a compound, it hits more than one muscle in one motion, albeit at different times, when you pull the weight back up your chest muscles get very much involved, as well as your triceps, and serratus's muscles.

Anyway don't want to make too much of this, the exercise IMO is used to tone up the lats and bottom part of the chest (kinda like dips in a way). It certainly is not or should not be thought of as a substitute for chin ups with heavy load, but the reason why it is called the squat of the upper body is bacause like the squat it works just about all the muscles of the upper "cage", and that will apply whether you use a dumbbell or a EZ bar and whether you place your body over the bench horizontally or whether you lye flat on it.

Just my last opinion!
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[b said:
Quote[/b] (Totentanz @ Jan. 01 2006,2:10)]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.
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I'm with Totentanz. My fastest growth came with heavy eccentric chins.
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