You don’t need special gym machines to get a strong and sculpted Lat. To get the same results, you only require a barbell, weighted plates, 15 minutes, and motivation.
The barbell is one of the most versatile gym tools. When it comes to targeting your lats, it delivers both power and mass-building potential.
Even better, these workouts can be done in less than 15 minutes, even if you have limited time.
That’s especially true once you embrace heavier-weight barbell lat exercises, such as powerful bent-over rows and deadlift.
Here, I will share with you (based on science and experience) the 7 best barbell lat exercises and workout routines.
7 Best Barbell Workouts For Lats
Here are the Best 7 barbell lat workout that help to Build Massive back.
Start with these barbell workouts, which offer a mix of accessibility and challenge.
1. Bent Over Barbell Row
If you are looking to strengthen the lats with barbell exercises and want to add massive muscle to the upper back region, then bent over barbell rows is one of the best options.
The bent over barbell row is a compound weightlifting exercise that primarily targets the muscles in the middle of the back, particularly the latissimus dorsi (lats), rhomboids, and trapezius, among others.
- A narrower grip targets the central inner section of the lats,
- whereas a wider grip targets the outer lats.
How To Do
- With a narrow stance, grasp the bar with an overhand grip. Only use as much weight as you can safely handle.
- Bend your torso forward at an angle of 30–45 degrees to the floor, with the knees slightly bent and the bar hanging in front of you.
- Now, use the lat muscles and raise the bar until it touches the abdominal region, not the chest region.
- Slowly bring the bar back to the starting position under control.
- Exhale when you push movement and inhale when you return to the starting position.
2. Landmine Row
The Landmine row is one of the best barbell exercises for developing back thickness. Check the correct execution technique and blast your lat muscles.
It is a tough exercise, but building a strong back is a must to develop a quality physique, stay injury-free, and back pain-free for life.
How To Do
- Stand over the bar with a wide stance, with the barbell loaded.
- Get into a bent over position with your spine straight and your chest up.
- Keep your back arched while you bend at the hips.
- Lift the bar until it touches your chest, keeping your back straight.
- Now slowly lower the bar until it nearly contacts the floor.
- Make sure you go through the entire range of motion.
3. Pendlay Row
Unlike standard bent-over rows, we start each rep with the bar on the floor. This forces us to pull through a full range of motion, really stretching those lats at the bottom of each rep.
The dead stop at the bottom of each rep eliminates momentum. This trains our lats and other back muscles to fire more powerfully.
How To Do
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes under the bar.
- Bend at your hips and knees to grasp the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width.
- Lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor. This is essential, as your back should be flat and almost horizontal throughout the movement.
- Take a deep breath, brace your core, and explosively pull the bar straight up to your lower chest or upper abdomen.
- Focus on driving your elbows back and up, really squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top.
- After a brief pause at the top, lower the bar back to the ground in a controlled manner.
- Let the bar come to a complete stop on the floor. Don’t bounce it.
- Take a moment to reset your position if needed.
- Each rep starts from a dead stop on the floor.
4. Deadlift
The deadlift is the King of all exercises. This power exercise is designed to build an overall physique that utilizes more muscles than any other exercise. The deadlift is the best exercise for posterior chain muscle strengthening. It works on your whole body, including the lower back, upper back, arms, legs, and buttocks.
It is the biggest muscle builder, recruiting more muscle motor units than any other exercise. This exercise can be performed using either a barbell or a pair of dumbbells.
You can go real heavy on a barbell deadlift, but do this exercise with caution and technique.
How To Do It
- Place a barbell loaded in front of you.
- Use an underhanded grip with one hand and an overhand grip with the other hand to grab the barbell.
- Remember to keep your back as straight as possible and contract your back and hamstrings.
- Now raise the bar from the ground using your hamstrings and glutes.
- It would help if you kept your legs slightly bent, your back straight, and your head looking up. Your heels, not toes or elbows, should provide the initial movement.
- Raise it to the point where your body is erect. Do not hyperextend your body as the weight shifts to the lumbar spine.
- Hold the bar momentarily at the top of the lift.
- Now lower the bar slowly at a steady slow pace by bending at the hips first and then at the knees and let the weight touch the ground for a moment before you begin the next rep
- If you’re going heavy (sets of fewer than about 6 reps), do deadlifts first, so you’re fresh. If you’re doing for repetitions, you can do them later in your workout.
5. Landmine Single Arm Bent Over Row
If you want to strengthen the upper back and add massive muscle to the lat region, landmine Single Arm Bent Over Row is the best exercise.
The one arm row, with your arm bent and brought over the row, works your rear deltoid, rhomboids, middle trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and biceps.
It’s also a good anti-rotation exercise because you need to keep your torso facing forward toward the ground to resist rotation.
How To Do
- Stand parallel to the bar with the end of the barbell at your left side.
- Your feet should be positioned at hip width distance.
- To get into a bending position, hinge your hip back, bend your knees slightly, and lean your torso forward.
- Grab the collar of the barbell with an overhand grip. Bring your elbow up as high as you can in a row.
- Focus on squeezing the top of the lift, really feeling the tension in your rear delts and lat.
- Slowly lower the bar back to its original position.
6. Barbell Pullover
If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your lat workout, why not try a barbell pullover?
Barbell pullovers are the best exercise for building a strong rib cage, outer lat, and serratus anterior muscle, which in turn builds a complete chest and back.
How To Do
- Lie down on a bench with your head hanging and your shoulders touching the bench.
- Grasp a barbell with both hands and get it straight over your chest.
- Lower the barbell slowly in an arc, getting a good stretch in your outer lats and rib cage.
- Lower the barbell as far as you can and then lift it back up to the starting position.
7. Meadows Row
When doing a lat workout with a barbell, you can add plenty of single-arm exercises to correct potential imbalances.
The meadows row is a unilateral landmine exercise designed to target the back muscles: the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and rear deltoid muscles.
If done properly, it will create small muscle tears, which will heal and cause your muscles to grow stronger and larger.
How To Do
- Place a barbell in a landmine attachment or against the wall.
- Hinge forward with a staggered stance and grab the barbell with an overhand grip.
- Start by driving the elbow behind the body while retracting the shoulder blade.
- Pull the barbell towards your hip until the elbow is at or near the midline.
- The barbell should be slowly lowered back to its starting position.
- Do the exercise for the desired number of repetitions on both sides.
- Don’t allow momentum to carry the barbell through the movement. Keep control of the bar throughout each rep.
Conclusion
This exercise is highly recommended for anyone interested in strengthening lat muscles and gaining muscle mass. It allows for targeted muscle development and provides an overall upper-body workout.
It is easy to do and requires no more scientific details or fancy equipment. The results will speak for themselves if you do these lat exercises consistently.
Thanks for reading, enjoy working your workout!
Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.
Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.