One Lat Growth Exercise

The chest and arms are cool, but the criterion for quality is the lats, which can outshine the sun. Unblock their explosive growth with one simple exercise.

Powerful lats show the world that you are training conscientiously. The foundation for the development of the back is laid by exercises such as pull-ups, dumbbell and bent-over barbell rows, and upper block pulls. A perfect addition to these is one movement that can completely unblock the growth of the upper back muscles and give the body the V-shape you are striving for. Use it to improve neuromuscular communication, develop left and right body mass and strength evenly, look better, and improve athletic performance.

If you’ve noticed that your lats have stopped responding to training stimuli lately, then be sure to add this movement to your workouts. Trust me, you will definitely feel the difference.

Kneeling One-Arm Row

Navigate to the DailyFit.com exercise directory for step-by-step instructions on the one-handed deadlift technique. Instead of learning the basics of technique, I want to spend more time asking why this deadlift should rank first in your training program.

Yes, at first glance, the exercise does not make much of an impression, but it can completely change the rules of the game. The beauty of the exercise is the one-sided isolation of the lats, which forces you to move away from your usual pull-ups for maximum reps or full-stack deadlifts. Isolation allows you to fully concentrate on the muscle you are trying to develop.

Too many back-training athletes use unnecessarily heavyweights. Maximum weight only makes sense if your ambition is in the plane of strength. The main problem with this methodology is that other back muscles are involved in the work and at the same time the biceps so that the lats end up with a smaller piece of the pie.

Isolation Has Its Benefits

This exercise is performed on the upper block, so you can take full advantage of all the benefits of the cable trainer: it is better to isolate the lats while minimizing the risk of injury. Due to the special direction of the rope resistance vector, the lats are recruited to a greater extent, and you better focus on muscle contraction and increase its productivity.

One-sided isolation is also good because you have the ability to increase the range of motion. The maximum amplitude helps to provoke more micro-breaks in muscle fibers and thereby provoke more active muscle growth. In addition, when you perform a one-handed movement, each side is forced to do all the work on its own, thanks to which you can tighten up the weak side and improve proportion and symmetry, both in terms of aesthetics and strength.

Connect

Another huge plus of this exercise is that you can improve neuromuscular connections and really feel the work of the latissimus dorsi. Remember the problem of recruiting minor muscles that leaves the lats out of the hardest pulls? If you do an isolating movement and improve your brain’s connection to your lats, you will benefit more from other back exercises as well.

Want to get your biceps out of your exercise as much as possible? Wrap the wrist straps around the grip to reduce the involvement of the forearms and biceps in the grip. This will pull with almost one back every rep. Of course, if grip is important to you, it is better not to use straps.

And one moment. As the handle goes up, roll your shoulder blades forward a little to stretch your lats as much as possible. Beginning the next repetition, first bring your shoulder blades together, and then pull. Trust me, this slight movement of the shoulder blades will make a difference that you will definitely feel.

A one-arm row of the upper block in back workouts

Of course, you can place the one-handed row of the upper block in any part of the workout as you like, but I recommend starting your back workout with this exercise. The reasons are listed above: it activates the lats, fills them with blood and establishes strong neuromuscular connections from the first minutes of your training session.

Start the exercise with a weight that allows you to effortlessly complete 8-10 reps. The goal of the first approach is to feel that the muscle is working as it should. After a warm-up on the first set, do 4 working sets of 12-15 reps with the same weight, resting 60 seconds between them.