The ONLY 2 Lat Exercises You Need (NO, SERIOUSLY!)

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What would you say if I told you that there were only two lat exercises you need to do? In this video, I am going to show you the two lat exercises that should make up the bare minimum of your lat workouts. Not are these two exercises great for building big lats, but they will also make your back look thicker and wider.

Some might tell you that you only need two exercises total in order to build a muscle group. I disagree. I don’t think anyone should be limited to picking just two exercises for a muscle group because each one often has multiple muscle heads as well as multiple functions that can be targeted individually through exercise selection.

The chest is a great example of this; it has three heads well as two separate functions. Some might tell you that all you need is a flat bench press and an incline bench press. You are only hitting two of the three heads of the chest with this selection and while you are pressing, you are not getting adduction - another function of the chest.

In the case of the lat muscle, you needs to understand the anatomy of the muscle in order to understand how best to target it with your exercise selection. The latissimus dorsi is a fan-like muscle in the upper body, specifically the back, that attaches to the upper humerus, the pelvis, and along the spine. The lat muscle being the largest in the back will require exercises that take it through its full range of motion and increasing the stretch on the lats, as well as needing an opportunity for overload since we know that this is one of the main drivers of hypertrophy.

In the case of the lats, this is simply the foundation of what your lat training should include. Not every lat workout needs to include both of these exercises, but a complete training plan for your back will at least build off them or include them at some point.

The first lat exercise up in the only two lat exercises that you need is the kneeling one-arm cable pulldown. Now, you might already being doing lat pulldowns, but this specific variation is the one that you NEED to be including in your back workouts if you want to target your lats. The trick here is to take the lats through their full range of motion and that is getting the insertion point of the lat muscle on the upper humerus and the origin point on the pelvis to be as far from each other and then as close to each other as possible.

In the starting position of this lat exercises, getting your arm overhead and in front of your torso will put the lat muscle on loaded stretch, another way to induce hypertrophy. But taking the lats through their full range of motion will require you to bring your elbow as far back and down behind your body as possible. The range of motion you experience in this lat exercise is more than you would experience on a traditional lat pulldown, where the bar will be the limiting factor in the range of motion of the lats.

The second lat exercise for building big lats is the standard barbell row. If you remember the anatomy of the lats and end up following the fibers, you will notice that they don’t only go up and down, they fan into the spine itself, meaning the upper arm will have to travel back towards the midline of your back. You want to take a narrow grip as opposed to a wide grip when holding the bar because the wider your hands are, the more perpendicular to the spine your upper arms will be.

When building big lats with the barbell row, you want your elbows to be a little bit closer to your sides as this will give you better opportunity to get your elbows back behind your body, meaning more lat activation. If you your elbows are high and way, you will shift the focus towards the muscles of the upper back.

If you have low back problems that prevent you from performing a traditional lat exercise such as the barbell row, then you have the option of performing the chest supported barbell row. This will take the stress of the lower back and allow you to focus on overloading the lats with the row.

I don’t think we should ever be limited to just two exercises for a muscle group, the lats included. But you should at least start with these two exercises to build the foundation of your lats growth.

For more videos on how to get bigger, wider lats and the best exercises to do just that, make sure you subscribe!

Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
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athleanx
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Video been released less than a minute and people are already seeing result lol

mohammedqasim
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2:11 - kneeling one-arm lat pull-down (stretch at the top), pronated grip. Point elbow down to your hip on the way down
4:25 - barbell row (pronated grip)
4:44 - chest supported barbell row (alternative exercise if barbell rows hurt your back)

gnehsse
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I can confirm I am struggling to build a wide back and was in dire need of this advice❤️

BackGuy
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Appreciate the Only 2 Series - gives me options to change up my daily routines

desertsunman
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I just started doing barbell rows and I had no idea how good they were. For the past year I've struggled to engage my lats on pretty much every exercise, but this lights them up like I've never used them before. Definitely a permanent addition to my routine.

buezer
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We love Jeff, don't we? Yeah, we kinda do. He's like the friend we wish we had, and the trainer we know we've always really wanted.

shannonmartin
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Hitting 50! I am glad going to see your channel again. All you are doing just make sense to me! It keeps me to get gym right and leave the ego behind! Thanks Jeff! Cheers...

jamestan
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Can we just appreciate for a second how insanely shredded JC is? When he describes how the exercise should work and then performs the exercise, you can literally see every muscle fiber firing exactly as he describes it should. Truly remarkable.

markgiresi
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You taught us everything we needed to know in 5 minutes that's the work of a true professional

grahamburnett
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Omg just tried these 2 exercises and already i can feel the difference in my lats...thanks for this workout

jamessmart
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So smooth. I love it. No screaming or loud music. I love it

AurelienCarnoy
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Thanks for clarifying effectiveness variation of supinated and pronated grip, I always thought the supinated grip offered the most stretch & contraction. Also thanks for the reminder about the chest supported BB row, at my age I need that !!

thomascooper
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This is why we love you Jeff 🙏

You're always making things better, safer and more efficient.

I was so happy to receive my AthleanX T-shirt before I damaged my biceps tendon but I'm back in the gym and ready to make it fit me snug again 😊

I'm sure I can speak for many, many people when I say you changed my life for the better ❤

Your advice got me out of a seriously crippling depression and I am forever thankful for your channel 🙏 and

raven_wondervocals
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I love these “X exercises you only need” videos as I focus on Pilates and use weights as a supplement. These are perfect for me to ensure I’m hitting these on my weight days. Thanks!

wesley_b
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YES!!! Keep bringing these "ONLY 2' videos, they're brilliant! Though I love all of Jeff's videos, there's always a LOT of information to swallow/remember... for someone like me they're perfect. Example; I watched this one, and even though I have been doing the row suggested here (and correctly, I might add), I was not doing the single hand pull down... but I definitely will be from here. So yeah, Jeff, keep brining us these 'sound bite' videos, I love 'em!

Oldmanrules
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I have a bench press and a few dumbbells at home and I find myself limited to work on my lats or back. After seeing you demonstrate the Chest Supporting Row now I have access to a back exercise with the option of upping the weight unlike the row I’m not too familiar with. The equipment I already have is enough to target even the unthinkable muscles; thank you!

tonymonroy
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Tried these two in the gym today and I'm worked right now! Thanks Jeff! That tip on locking the angle helped a lot.

mickmac
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Unbelievable. It always amazes me how your muscles more specifically the back are easily seen. I need that leanness in my life.
Good content as usual. Thank you

rhodealexandre
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I’ve always greatly appreciated your videos, and this “2-Series” is what I’ve been needing, because I get overwhelmed and just mash together all of your recommended exercises and never end up building a great routine, because I end up getting fixated on only one muscle group. This series is great for building a full-body routine. However, I would love to see you add glutes, thighs, and core to this series, though that obviously be more challenging to pick 2.

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