What is the best exercise for lats?

What is the best exercise for lats?

I have been doing seated rows, but noticed someone doing reverse grip pulldowns and thought that they end up looking like seated rows but with a longer initial stretch. Would this longer range of motion make them better for lat development?

Deadlifts, chins, pullovers.

Are you really intent on proving your idiocy or are you just trolling?

Oh, thanks for setting me straight on that. Just how much rom do you get for lats on pullovers? Aren't they pretty much relaxed when you're at the top of the motion, db above your chest? Granted tut is not the be all end all, but frankly I just don't see pullovers being particularly effective for lats, especially when compared to something such as a row or a pull up/chin up.

There is a way to do something like a pullover where you pull a weight from a lat machine down from overhead with your arms straight in front of you.

However whenever I try this it feels as if my elbows are going to break. This would take your biceps out of it but I've never quite gotten this to work

Yeah, there's also a nautilus pullover machine that allows you to get more of a rowing motion and rom, but that's not what most people mean when they say pullovers. fwiw, I never really felt much in my lats with a nautilus pullover machine either.

There is a trick to it, I guess. I have seen this 'Lat Pressdown or Lat Pushdown' motion performed by oldtimers many times. Their advice on form is as follows.

1) This is not a compete movement. So by starting this motion very high up doesn't allow for a good start. The oldtimers often added links of a chain to put the bar about 6 - 9 inches above the head. The yinsisted on getting enough leverage to be able to press down some weight. If they started too high, not much weight could be used.

2) The arm is bent out slightly at the elbow. The arm is still held in a flat plane as far as pushing the weight down But the arms were bent to take pressure off of the elbow joint.

3) Stand back from the pulley. Allow some movement away from the body on this one. Afterall, it is not a pull down motion. You are pulling the weight to you from a distance away from the shoulders. The movement is a great arc towards your thighs.

4) They were fond of lifting the chest high at the end of the movement. I am not sure that this performs any real physical function. But it was traditional and looked/felt good.

I have mentioned this a number of times on here. I knew a guy in high school who had polio as a youth. His arms were tiny and never developed beyond that of a small child. But he had the biggest, broadest back I ever saw. And he did this movement religeously. He could use far in excess of his body weight.

He had these little, tiny arms. And I would try to match him. My two healthy arms, against his single polio stricken arm. Guess who won?? He had no arms. He had to do everything with his back.

And again in the same gym, I saw a police officer who had his scapulae shattered by a bullet. He built himself back to full function using this motion. And his back was very well developed as well.

Maybe by working this motion one arm at a time, you can get a feel for it. It doesn't seem to work for everybody. But some folks seem to really respond to it. I don't like it that much myself.

yeah, and there's something about lying down on your shoulder blades, preventing ANY type of motion there, that seems to contradict the concept of pullovers being much of a lat exercise.

screw it.

chinups barbell rows yates rows

do 'em proper, and you will grow.

Bent over rows, DB rows, and pull ups are all good lat exercises.

In many cases, a longer range of motion is better. I don't see much difference in the range of motion between seated rows and lat pulldowns if you use the same width grip. However, a close grip puts more emphasis on the biceps than a wide grip.

Jeff out ...