Lagging Lats?

[neverbeenalone]

Hello,

these are all the exercises I'm doing for back:

Pull Ups (swapped out recently for Pulldowns) Bodyweight 3x to Failure, usually 3-8 repsClose-Grip Lat Pulldown (I use the attachement you barely get the full ROM with) 3x8-12Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row with neutral grip 3x8-12Machine Row with overhand grip and elbows flared around 30-45 degrees 3x8-12Reverse Flies with dumbbells on an incline bench 3x15-20Face Pulls 3x15-20

For hip hinges I'm only doing back extensions because RDLs got me hurt years back. Snap City is a meme by now but that's what happened. Haven't done them ever since and only recently re-introduced back extensions.

here a few pictures:

no pump:

https://ibb.co/9q8Cf2m

with pump:

https://ibb.co/Fg2TvJH

https://ibb.co/gdSCmk6

https://ibb.co/hVLQgVH

https://ibb.co/cXMM2ct

Also, I've only recently figured out how to really activate the lats and train them instead of traps, rhomboids etc. What helped me most to figure it out was to a close and neutral grip lat pulldown and pulling with the elbows to my hips, then holding it there for a second or so, and then control the negative and then get a stretch. The burn in the upper area of the lats is really great and I've been able to get this feeling from other pulling variations as well.

I took a resistance band, bent over as on a bent-over row and kept the elbows close to the body with controlled reps and the lats really go fired up.

I now realized I've been training my back upper-back biased for around six years. Now I've figured I'd like to know what exercises I feel the lats best on so I tried it on a few movements but I'm not sure on which ones to go with.

I feel the lats during chest-suppord dumbbell rows now, but cannot keep the arms as close to the body as I want do as the bench is in the way. Is is worth swapping this exercise with a seated cable row or doesn't it matter?

 

[prestonz]

@neverbeenalone Blud you have a high body fat percentage and your lats are fine

 

[neverbeenalone]

@prestonz Ok, didn't think it was too much and I wanted to keep bulking as the definition is still there. I'm weighing 84kg at 1,71m at the moment.

 

[laurie2777]

@neverbeenalone Your lats are absolutely proportional. If you want to keep bulking then worry about your future aesthetic, not todays.

 

[neverbeenalone]

@laurie2777 https://ibb.co/2FGN8Nh

https://ibb.co/zxDqmgb

I have loose skin from fat loss so the skin is dragging down the fat and that makes it look worse than it really is.

 

[laurie2777]

@neverbeenalone You got it

 

[doks]

@neverbeenalone Get strong as fuck at weighted chin/pull-ups, bent over rows, chest supported rows and hip hinges (RDL, SLDL, deficit deads, good mornings, etc). You’ll have a wide & beefy back if you can get very strong at those movement patterns

 

[tri21mom]

@neverbeenalone Your bodyfat % is fairy high. You’re carrying a lot of it in your lower back so it makes your lats look like they are lacking but it’s because you have a big waist line. If you drop 15-20lbs of fat they wouldn’t look like they are lacking nearly as much.

 

[mrsneko]

@neverbeenalone Weighted neutral grip pull ups and dumbell pullovers + training back 5 times a week blew up my whole back and lats. Your back is like vanilla ice-cream that can be paired with any other flavor. It can be trained and put almost anywhere in your program. The upper back can handle a ton of punishment. E.g. 1 day you do a vertical pull, the next day a horizontal, the next a hip hinge and then just rotate.

In general for pulling movements, the closer the elbow to the body, the more lats are used. The further away the elbows are, the more of the upper back is used instead (traps, rhomboids, rear-delts etc). All pulling movements train the the upper back, just with biased muscles.

 

[piecebypeace]

@neverbeenalone Your right Lat looks smaller.

Try unilateral work.

 

[sherod]

@neverbeenalone None of your photos have flared lats because you are pulling your elbows back and contracting your traps , if you posed properly they would look much better.