Lats: moves, progressions and balance

Set up. Hang from a bar with an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders, arms straight.

1. Pull your shoulder blades down and back to start the movement.
2. Pull yourself up by driving your elbows down toward your ribs.
3. Bring your chin over the bar.
4. Lower under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your body still, legs together.
• Think of pulling the bar down to you.
• Finish every rep at full hang.

Common mistakes

• Kicking or swinging to get over the bar.
• Stopping halfway down between reps.

Set up. Hang from a bar with an underhand grip about shoulder width apart, arms straight.

1. Set your shoulders down and back.
2. Pull yourself up, keeping your elbows in front of you.
3. Bring your chin over the bar.
4. Lower slowly to a full hang.

Form cues

• Keep your chest up toward the bar.
• Keep your legs still.
• Control the lowering.

Common mistakes

• Craning the neck to get the chin over the bar.
• Dropping quickly from the top.

Set up. Use a box or bench to get your chin over the bar with an overhand grip.

1. Step off the box and hold the top position.
2. Lower yourself as slowly as you can to a full hang.
3. Step back onto the box and repeat.

Form cues

• Aim for a slow, even descent.
• Keep your shoulders set.
• Keep your body still.

Common mistakes

• Dropping the last part of the range.
• Jumping up so hard you swing.

Set up. Loop a resistance band over a pull-up bar and place one foot or knee in the loop. Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders.

1. Hang with straight arms, supported by the band.
2. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar.
3. Lower under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• A thicker band gives more help.
• Keep the body still.
• Use the full range.

Common mistakes

• Letting the band catapult you out of the bottom.
• Losing your footing in the loop.

Set up. Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip and straight arms.

1. Without bending your elbows, pull your shoulder blades down and back so your body rises slightly.
2. Hold for a moment.
3. Let your shoulders rise back to a full hang under control.

Form cues

• The arms stay straight.
• Think of putting your shoulder blades in your back pockets.
• Move slowly.

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows.
• Swinging the legs.

Set up. Sit at the cable pulldown station with your thighs under the pads. Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders and sit tall with a slight lean back.

1. Pull your shoulder blades down to start.
2. Pull the bar to your upper chest, driving the elbows down and back.
3. Pause briefly with the chest up.
4. Let the bar rise under control until your arms are straight.

Form cues

• Keep your chest lifted.
• Pull with the elbows, not the hands.
• Keep the lean small and fixed.

Common mistakes

• Leaning far back and rowing the weight.
• Pulling the bar behind the neck.

Set up. Attach a close or wide neutral-grip handle to the cable pulldown. Sit with your thighs under the pads, palms facing each other and arms straight.

1. Pull the shoulder blades down first.
2. Pull the handle to your upper chest, elbows driving down.
3. Let it rise under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your chest up.
• Keep the lean small.
• Get a full stretch at the top.

Common mistakes

• Pulling with the arms alone and shrugging.
• Leaning far back.

Set up. Choose an assistance weight, kneel or stand on the platform and grip the handles above you with straight arms.

1. Pull your shoulder blades down.
2. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the handles.
3. Lower under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• More assistance makes it easier.
• Keep the chest up.
• Use the full range every rep.

Common mistakes

• Bouncing off the platform at the bottom.
• Using so much assistance that the set stops being hard.

Set up. Adjust the seat so you reach the handles above and in front of you with straight arms. Sit tall with your chest against the pad if there is one.

1. Pull the handles down and back toward your sides.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades down and together.
3. Return under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Drive with the elbows.
• Keep the shoulders away from the ears.
• Keep the torso still.

Common mistakes

• Jerking the handles with the body.
• Shortening the range at the top.

Set up. Attach a single handle to a high cable. Kneel or sit facing it and hold the handle in one hand with the arm straight overhead.

1. Pull the elbow down toward your hip.
2. Pause with the lat squeezed.
3. Let the arm rise under control to a full stretch.
4. Switch sides after the set.

Form cues

• Keep the torso still.
• Pull the elbow to the pocket.
• Feel the stretch at the top.

Common mistakes

• Leaning sideways to pull.
• Pulling with the biceps alone.

Set up. Stand facing a high cable with a bar or rope attached. Grip it with straight arms, hinge slightly at the hips and step back.

1. Keeping your arms straight, pull the bar down in an arc toward your thighs.
2. Squeeze your lats at the bottom.
3. Let the bar rise back to about head height under control.

Form cues

• Keep the elbows nearly straight throughout.
• Keep the ribs down.
• Move only at the shoulders.

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows so it becomes a pushdown.
• Rocking the torso to move the weight.

Set up. Lie across or along a flat bench holding one dumbbell with both hands over your chest, elbows slightly bent.

1. Lower the dumbbell back over your head in an arc, keeping the elbow bend fixed.
2. Stop at a comfortable stretch through the lats and chest.
3. Pull the dumbbell back over your chest along the same arc.

Form cues

• Keep your ribs down.
• Move only at the shoulders.
• Use a weight you control easily.

Common mistakes

• Arching the lower back as the weight goes back.
• Bending the elbows so it becomes an extension.

Set up. Hold a barbell with an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders. Hinge at the hips with soft knees until your torso is well inclined and the bar hangs below your shoulders.

1. Brace your stomach and keep your back flat.
2. Pull the bar toward your lower ribs, driving your elbows back.
3. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.
4. Lower the bar under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your torso angle fixed.
• Lead with the elbows.
• Keep your neck in line with your back.

Common mistakes

• Standing up more with every rep to heave the weight.
• Rounding the lower back.

Set up. Sit at the cable row with your feet on the platform and knees slightly bent. Grip the handle and sit tall with your arms straight.

1. Pull the handle toward your stomach, driving your elbows back.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.
3. Let the handle move forward under control until your arms are straight and you feel a stretch across the upper back.

Form cues

• Keep your torso upright and still.
• Keep your shoulders down.
• Pull to the belly button area.

Common mistakes

• Rocking back and forth to move the weight.
• Shrugging the shoulders up to the ears.

Set up. Place one knee and the same hand on a flat bench, back flat and parallel to the floor. Hold a dumbbell in the other hand with the arm hanging straight.

1. Pull the dumbbell up toward your hip, keeping the elbow close to your side.
2. Squeeze the shoulder blade back at the top.
3. Lower the dumbbell under control to a full stretch.
4. Finish the set and switch sides.

Form cues

• Keep your hips and shoulders square to the floor.
• Pull toward the hip, not the chest.
• Keep your neck neutral.

Common mistakes

• Twisting the torso to lift the weight.
• Using only a short range at the top.

Set up. Straddle a barbell anchored in a landmine or T-bar base, attach a close handle and hinge forward with soft knees and a flat back.

1. Hold the handle with straight arms.
2. Pull it toward your chest, driving the elbows back.
3. Squeeze your upper back at the top.
4. Lower under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your torso angle steady.
• Brace your stomach.
• Keep your chest up.

Common mistakes

• Standing up as you pull.
• Rounding the lower back under the load.

Set up. Adjust the machine so your chest rests on the pad and you can reach the handles with straight arms. Plant your feet.

1. Pull the handles back, driving your elbows past your body.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.
3. Return under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your chest on the pad.
• Keep your shoulders down.
• Pause briefly at the back.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the chest off the pad to move the weight.
• Cutting the stretch short at the front.

Set up. Set up as for a barbell row with the bar on the floor, torso nearly parallel to the floor, back flat and hands just outside shoulder width.

1. Brace and pull the bar explosively from the floor to your lower chest.
2. Touch the body briefly with the elbows driven back.
3. Lower the bar back to the floor under control.
4. Reset your back before the next rep.

Form cues

• Each rep starts dead from the floor.
• Keep the torso flat and still.
• Pull fast, lower controlled.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the torso to start each rep.
• Dropping the bar and losing position.

Set up. Set a bar in a rack at about waist height. Lie underneath, grip it a little wider than your shoulders and hold your body straight with your heels on the floor.

1. Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes.
2. Pull your chest up to the bar, driving the elbows back.
3. Lower under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your body in one straight line.
• Bend your knees to make it easier.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top.

Common mistakes

• Letting the hips sag.
• Leading with the chin instead of the chest.

Set up. Kneel on a pad holding the ab wheel on the floor under your shoulders.

1. Brace and roll the wheel forward, extending your body.
2. Go only as far as you can keep the back flat.
3. Pull the wheel back toward your knees using your stomach.

Form cues

• Keep the hips tucked.
• Keep the arms straight.
• Start with short rollouts.

Common mistakes

• Letting the lower back sag at full reach.
• Leading the return with the hips.

Set up. Lie face down on the machine's angled pad with your feet on the platform. Grip the handles with straight arms.

1. Lift the weight off its rest and pull the handles toward your chest.
2. Squeeze your upper back at the top.
3. Lower under control to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your chest on the pad.
• Lead with the elbows.
• Keep your neck relaxed.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the chest off the pad.
• Shrugging toward the ears.

Set up. Set the Smith bar at about knee height. Grip it a little wider than your shoulders, unhook it and hinge forward with soft knees and a flat back.

1. Pull the bar toward your lower ribs.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.
3. Lower to straight arms under control.
4. Rotate the bar back onto the hooks after the set.

Form cues

• Keep your torso angle fixed.
• Brace your stomach.
• Pull with the elbows.

Common mistakes

• Standing up with each rep.
• Rounding the back.