Back workout: 5 exercises for huge lats

If your back is your weak point, Hunter Labrada is in a hurry to help you! This back workout will help you gain mass, strength and volume!

Author: Hunter Labrada

For a long time, my back muscles have been the weakest link in my body. It was much more interesting to work with the muscles, which I could admire in the mirror, and therefore the exercises for the back got a pitiful crumbs of my attention. Eventually, I consulted with my father, Lee Labrada, and with him developed a training program aimed at rapidly growing back muscles, especially the lats.

Since then, I have continued to actively work to improve the mass, proportion and strength of the back muscles. You have to put in a lot of effort and be consistent, but it’s definitely worth it.

Today I will offer you a back workout plan developed in collaboration with my father. Before you rush to the top-block machine, however, remind yourself to pull the weight with your lats, and not with your arm muscles or a snatch. If you pull the block with your hands, you are training the biceps. This is the road to nowhere.

Ready? Then let’s get started!

Back workout from Hunter Labrad

Rest 45-60 seconds between sets.

1. Row of the upper block with straight arms

This exercise uses the lats for their intended purpose. The lats move the humerus (the bone of the upper arm) down and back, and that is what you are doing in this exercise.

Bend your arms slightly at the elbow joints, but do not change the position of the torso. The driving impulse must come from the shoulder joint. In the upper phase of the movement, you should feel a strong stretch of the lats; at the bottom of the trajectory, pull the projectile to your chest. Do not use anything other than your lats to move the projectile.

We will combine this exercise with the low block deadlift into a superset to pre-fatigue the lats and fill them with blood. The more blood flows to the muscles, the more powerful their contractions, because the muscles are overcrowded.

I vote with both hands to stretch between sets. So, between supersets, grab anything and stretch your lats. Doing this superset will make your muscles super dense.

2. Seated row of the lower block

In the starting position, the muscles should be fully stretched, the lats stretched forward. On the way back, your back should be at about a 90 ° angle. Pull with all your strength with your elbows, not your lower back.

Keep your chest high throughout the exercise. If you let it go down, you will most likely start pulling the bar with your biceps.

3. Reverse grip pull of the upper block to the chest

Take a straight back position and pull the block towards your chest. When performing this reverse grip movement, lowering the elbows is much easier, since they are at a natural angle. Moving the elbows far down will result in a deep contraction of deep, full cuts. At the top of the rep, place your head between your hands. This will allow you to fully stretch and lengthen your lats.

Your grip width for this exercise depends on personal preference. I love it when the hands are shoulder-width apart. In this case, the traction is straight and does not load the wrists so much. It doesn’t matter where your arms are, it’s important to keep your elbows moving down and back and keep your chest high.

4. Reverse grip barbell row

For the same reason that we do the reverse grip row of the upper block, the lower grip row allows you to get into the most natural position and perform a deep, powerful contraction. When you are doing an overhead deadlift, your elbows may look like chicken wings and come too far away from your torso.

Many people want to lift their torso as high as they can. It is not necessary. If you are climbing too high, then the weight is too heavy. Stay above the bar. The back angle should never change.

Keep your head in a neutral position, in line with your spine. Do not straighten your neck to look at the ceiling. Correct head position will keep your back at an optimal angle.

The bar should be close to your hips. Pull the barbell up along your thighs to your stomach. This is one of those exercises that many people take with too much zeal and hang too much weight on the bar. In the meantime, in most cases, it’s not about the size of the tool, but how we use it. Use a working weight that is sufficient for you to feel the contraction of your back muscles, but not so heavy that you have to use other muscle groups.

5.Row of the upper block with a narrow grip

This exercise differs from the normal row of the upper pulley because you must sit with your back to the machine. Instead of locking your knees under the pillows, rest your back against them and try to keep your lower back straight. In this position, you will not make unnecessary auxiliary movements and isolate your lats well. Focus fully on the stretch, then bring the weight up to your chest.

Attack your back

Give this hard workout a try! If you still have questions, without a shadow of a doubt ask them in the comments below the article.

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