Improving Low Lats


This is a before/after pic of my back between dec/2011 and dec/2012. What can i do for improving lower lats?

Current workout:
chin up (x3 to failure)
one arm dumbell row (piramid up to 3x8)
stretchers with a feet on the pad of the pull down machine (how meadows shows 4 x 12)
deadlift (piramid up to a set of 5)

Nice progress looks like you shed the love handles too!

Pull downs leaning back so it’s more like a row and b/over rows, pull ups and most other pulling movements with a narrower grip.
And focus on pulling your elbows in towards your hips

This helped with my lower lats anyway

Good progress so far!

Instead of focusing on the minutiae, you need to concern yourself with gaining more mass all over.

Fill out, then fill in.

It looks like someone grabbed your love handles and squeezed them up into your lats. Nice work.

I agree with ID - focus on adding mass all over.

I will add one tip. One of the best things I did to improve my lats was learning how to do a lat spread pose. Once I learned how to flex them on command the MMC in the gym improved dramatically.

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
I will add one tip. One of the best things I did to improve my lats was learning how to do a lat spread pose. Once I learned how to flex them on command the MMC in the gym improved dramatically. [/quote]

This is such a damn good point, and hasn’t been prescribed in a long time.

Many guys feel self conscious flexing in the mirror, but it IS one of the best ways to make that mind/body connection.

Focus on pulling into your hips like lemony said. Movements like yates rows, dy hammer strength row, t-bar row, cable row pulling into your hips all hit your lower lats. And if you don’t feel them, then do thib’s kayak rows as a pre exhaust. Your lower lats arent lacking you just need to keep getting bigger and leaner, great job so far

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
I will add one tip. One of the best things I did to improve my lats was learning how to do a lat spread pose. Once I learned how to flex them on command the MMC in the gym improved dramatically. [/quote]

This is such a damn good point, and hasn’t been prescribed in a long time.

Many guys feel self conscious flexing in the mirror, but it IS one of the best ways to make that mind/body connection.[/quote]

My wife always rolls her eyes when she see me “doing the cobra thingy” while looking in the mirror.

Reverse barbell or cable row, its more of a mind muscle connection dont just try to move the weight, picture your lower lats working and doing the work.

[quote]Sharpice wrote:
This is a before/after pic of my back between dec/2011 and dec/2012. What can i do for improving lower lats?

Current workout:
chin up (x3 to failure)
one arm dumbell row (piramid up to 3x8)
stretchers with a feet on the pad of the pull down machine (how meadows shows 4 x 12)
deadlift (piramid up to a set of 5) [/quote]

Yeah bro you just need to get bigger. Also the idea of training the lower lats is often misconstrued, most people think of the lats as the entire v shape in our backs, this isn’t the case. The widest part at the top is the teres major, this muscle adduct you arm, opposing the function of the lateral deltoid. Ie wise grip ulldowns/pullups. To develop the lats, any exercise where you pull the weight to your hip or simulate a pull down, ie closegrip pulldowns and cable rows to the hip, are your friends.