Exercise library

Exercises for lats

93 exercises that train lats, primary or secondary. Tap for technique and tips.

Latissimus dorsi covers the width of your back and powers pulling, rowing, and overhead movements. Strong lats don't just give you a broader physique—they also stabilize the shoulder joint and take stress off the lower spine.

This collection contains 93 exercises across barbells, dumbbells, cables, kettlebells, machines, and bodyweight movements. Whatever equipment you have access to, you'll find something that fits.

Foundation Exercises to Build Around

To establish a solid base, train your lats with compound movements where you can handle substantial load and track progression clearly:

Bent-Over Barbell Rows – the classic barbell lift that heavily engages the entire back width
Chin-Ups – requires nothing but a bar, but quickly reveals if you lack relative strength
Deadlifts – latissimus works isometrically throughout the lift, keeping your back tight and locked
Incline Dumbbell Rows – chest support eliminates momentum and isolates the pulling motion

These movements earn a spot early in your workout when you're fresh.

Cable Machine and Variations

The cable machine maintains constant tension through the entire range of motion, complementing barbell work beautifully. Close-Grip Lat Pulldowns are a natural choice for really feeling your lats work, while High Cable Rows change the pulling angle in ways that bars and dumbbells cannot replicate.

For lifters who want added movement with looser mechanics, Alternating Kettlebell Rows and Alternating Renegade Rows add a stability challenge—your core must resist rotational forces with every pull.

Adapt to Your Level

If you can't yet perform full chin-ups, assisted pull-ups with bands are the right entry point—then progress steadily toward full bodyweight. At the other end of the spectrum, single-arm barbell bent-over rows and two-arm barbell bent-over rows let advanced lifters press heavy load through the pulling plane.

For recovery or as a complement, hyperextensions and machine back extensions keep spinal mobility free through the posterior chain. Pullovers with bent elbows—barbell or dumbbell—hit your lats from an angle most rowing movements miss.

lats by equipment

barbell 19 other equipment 18 cable 16 dumbbells 6 bodyweight 6 medicine ball 6

Alternating Kettlebell Rowkettlebellintermediate Alternating Renegade Rowkettlebelladvanced Band Assisted Pull-Upother equipmentbeginner Barbell Deadliftbarbellintermediate Barbell Rear Delt Rowbarbellbeginner Barbell Rollout from Benchbarbellintermediate Bench Press - Powerliftingbarbellintermediate Bench Press with Chainsbarbelladvanced Bent Over Barbell Rowbarbellbeginner Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Rowbarbellbeginner Bent Over Two-Arm Long Bar Rowbarbellintermediate Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Rowdumbbellsbeginner Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row With Palms Indumbbellsbeginner Bent-Arm Barbell Pulloverbarbellintermediate Bent-Arm Dumbbell Pulloverdumbbellsintermediate Board Pressbarbellintermediate Bodyweight Mid Rowother equipmentintermediate Cable Incline Pushdowncablebeginner Catch and Overhead Throwmedicine ballbeginner Chair Lower Back Stretchbeginner Chin-Upbodyweightbeginner Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldowncablebeginner Dumbbell Incline Rowdumbbellsbeginner Dynamic Back Stretchbeginner Elevated Cable Rowscableintermediate Front Raise And Pulloverbarbellbeginner Full Range-Of-Motion Lat Pulldowncableintermediate Gironda Sternum Chinsother equipmentintermediate Gorilla Chin/Crunchbodyweightintermediate Incline Bench Pullbarbellbeginner Inverted Rowbeginner Inverted Row with Strapsother equipmentbeginner Kipping Muscle Upother equipmentintermediate Kneeling High Pulley Rowcablebeginner Kneeling Single-Arm High Pulley Rowcablebeginner Latissimus Dorsi-SMRfoam rollerbeginner Leverage High Rowmachinebeginner Leverage Iso Rowmachinebeginner London Bridgesother equipmentintermediate Lying Cambered Barbell Rowbarbellbeginner Lying T-Bar Rowmachineintermediate Middle Back Stretchbeginner Mixed Grip Chinother equipmentadvanced Muscle Upother equipmentintermediate One Arm Against Wallbeginner One Arm Chin-Upother equipmentadvanced One Arm Lat Pulldowncablebeginner One Handed Hangother equipmentbeginner One-Arm Dumbbell Rowdumbbellsbeginner One-Arm Kettlebell Rowkettlebellintermediate One-Arm Long Bar Rowbarbellbeginner One-Arm Medicine Ball Slammedicine ballbeginner Overhead Latother equipmentadvanced Overhead Slammedicine ballbeginner Overhead Stretchbeginner Overhead Tricepsbodyweightadvanced Pin Pressesbarbellintermediate Pullupsbodyweightbeginner Reverse Band Bench Pressbarbellintermediate Reverse Grip Bent-Over Rowsbarbellintermediate Rocky Pull-Ups/Pulldownsother equipmentintermediate Rope Climbother equipmentintermediate Rope Straight-Arm Pulldowncablebeginner Scapular Pull-Upbeginner Seated Cable Rowscablebeginner Seated One-arm Cable Pulley Rowscableintermediate Shotgun Rowcablebeginner Shoulder Raisebeginner Side To Side Chinsother equipmentintermediate Side Wrist Pullbeginner Side-Lying Floor Stretchbeginner Sled Rowother equipmentbeginner Sledgehammer Swingsother equipmentbeginner Smith Machine Bent Over Rowmachinebeginner Spinal Stretchbeginner Standing Two-Arm Overhead Throwmedicine ballbeginner Straight Bar Bench Mid Rowsbarbellbeginner Straight-Arm Dumbbell Pulloverdumbbellsintermediate Straight-Arm Pulldowncablebeginner Supine One-Arm Overhead Throwmedicine ballbeginner Supine Two-Arm Overhead Throwmedicine ballbeginner Suspended Rowother equipmentbeginner T-Bar Row with Handlebarbellbeginner Triceps Stretchbeginner Two-Arm Kettlebell Rowkettlebellintermediate Underhand Cable Pulldownscablebeginner Upward Stretchbeginner V-Bar Pulldowncableintermediate V-Bar Pullupbodyweightbeginner Weighted Pull Upsother equipmentintermediate Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowncablebeginner Wide-Grip Pulldown Behind The Neckcableintermediate Wide-Grip Rear Pull-Upbodyweightintermediate