Best Lat Exercises for Beginners

What makes a lat exercise beginner friendly

Not every productive lat exercise is appropriate for beginners. The exercises below were selected against four criteria. Each pick meets all four.

Low technique demand

Beginner exercises should be learnable in one or two sessions. Complex bar paths, hinge mechanics under load and unilateral coordination demands all add unnecessary friction. The exercises below either use a fixed bar path, a supported torso position or a controlled cable load.

Shoulder friendly position

Beginners often have limited shoulder mobility and weak scapular control. The exercises below either avoid extreme shoulder positions entirely or allow easy modifications to reduce shoulder demand. Behind the neck pulldowns and wide grip overhand pull ups are deliberately excluded.

Scalable load

Beginners need to progress load weekly or bi-weekly. Exercises with precise load steps (machines, cable stacks, fixed barbells) are easier to programme than bodyweight exercises where the lifter cannot yet handle their bodyweight. Pulldowns, cable rows and machine rows feature heavily in the list below.

Low spinal demand

Beginners benefit from building lat strength without simultaneously demanding heavy spinal stability work. Most exercises in this list have low or zero spinal loading. Free standing barbell rows and conventional deadlifts are deliberately excluded as beginner lat exercises despite being foundational lifts overall.

Ten beginner friendly lat exercises ranked

The exercises below are ordered from most to least beginner friendly. Pick three to five from the list to build a beginner lat programme. Train each twice per week for the first three months.

1. Lat pulldown machine

The standard entry into back training. Cable resistance, knee pad and seat make the lift forgiving. Full guidance on grip, seat position and rep tempo is in our Lat pulldown machine page. This is the first exercise to learn.

2. Chest supported row machine

The chest pad removes the lower back from the lift. The fixed bar path forces clean form. Our Chest supported row machine guide covers seat height, grip options and pulling cues. This is the second exercise to learn after the pulldown.

3. Seated cable rows

Versatile horizontal pull with constant cable tension. The seated position is stable and the attachment can be swapped to bias different parts of the back. See our Seated cable rows page for full setup and form.

4. Close grip cable rows

The close grip V handle version of the seated cable row. Biases the lats more directly than wider grips. The neutral grip is shoulder friendly. Full guide at our Close grip cable rows page.

5. Single arm dumbbell rows

Bench supported unilateral row. The knee on the bench takes the lower back out of the lift. Heavily loadable and time efficient. Our Single arm dumbbell rows guide covers setup and progression.

6. Chest supported dumbbell rows

Incline bench dumbbell row. The chest pad supports the trunk while the dumbbells allow a longer range than barbell rowing. See our Chest supported dumbbell rows page for full setup.

7. Straight arm pulldowns

Lat isolation with no biceps involvement. Excellent for beginners who want to learn the lat contraction without biceps fatigue limiting sets. Our Straight arm pulldowns page covers the technique.

8. Neutral grip pull ups

The most shoulder friendly pull up variant. Useful for beginners who can do a few bodyweight reps. Use assisted pull up machines or bands if you cannot yet do bodyweight reps. Our Neutral grip pull ups guide covers progression.

9. Kettlebell deadlifts

Beginner friendly hinge exercise that introduces the lat engaged trunk position used in heavier deadlifts. Our Kettlebell deadlifts page covers the kettlebell hinge pattern from the floor.

10. Dumbbell deadlifts

The next step after kettlebell deadlifts. The dumbbells either side of the body teach the deadlift pattern at moderate load. Full progression covered in our Dumbbell deadlifts guide.

A beginner lat workout you can run today

Pick three to four exercises from the list above. Perform the workout twice per week with at least 48 hours between sessions. Build up over 8 to 12 weeks before progressing to more advanced lat work.

Warm up: 5 minutes

Light rowing on a rowing machine, two minutes. Followed by 10 band pull aparts, 10 scapular pulls and 10 arm circles each direction. The warm up should raise the heart rate and prepare the shoulder girdle for the working sets that follow.

Exercise 1: Lat pulldown machine, 3 sets of 10

Pick a weight you can pull with strict form for 10 reps with 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Rest 90 seconds between sets. Focus on shoulder depression at the start of every rep and the one second squeeze at the bottom. The first exercise sets the pattern for the session.

Exercise 2: Chest supported row machine, 3 sets of 10

Same rep scheme. Switch to horizontal pulling. The chest pad supports the trunk so the lat does the work. Pull to the lower ribs. Rest 90 seconds between sets. This second exercise complements the pulldown by training the back through the horizontal plane.

Exercise 3: Single arm dumbbell rows, 3 sets of 10 per side

Bench supported, knee on the bench. Pick a dumbbell you can row strict for 10 reps per side. Lead with the weaker side and match the rep count on the dominant side. Rest 60 seconds between sides and 90 seconds between sets.

Exercise 4 (optional): Straight arm pulldowns, 2 sets of 15

A finisher to drive blood flow to the lats and reinforce the lat contraction at the end of the session. Light weight, strict form, two second hold at the bottom of every rep. This optional fourth exercise is most useful for lifters with three or more weekly training sessions.

Sets, reps and progression for beginners

The biggest mistake beginners make with lat training is too much volume too soon. Productive beginner programming uses moderate volume, frequent sessions and slow weekly progression.

Total weekly volume: 8 to 12 sets

For most beginners 8 to 12 weekly sets of lat focused work is plenty. NSCA Essentials supports lower volumes for beginners because the strength gains come from neural adaptation rather than pure muscle growth. Adding more volume earns diminishing returns.

Rep range: 8 to 12 reps

This is the productive range for beginners. Below 8 reps the technique fails too quickly. Above 12 reps the cardiovascular demand limits the back loading. The 8 to 12 rep range produces strength and hypertrophy together which is what beginners need.

Frequency: 2 to 3 sessions per week

Twice weekly lat training is the minimum for productive progression. Three sessions per week is acceptable provided total volume stays in the 12 set range. Daily lat training is rarely productive for beginners because the cumulative fatigue compromises rep quality.

Load progression

Add weight when you can complete all prescribed reps with strict form and 2 reps in reserve. Increase load by the smallest available step (often 2.5 kg or one machine pin position). Slow progression beats fast progression in the long run.

When to progress beyond beginner exercises

Move to intermediate exercises (free standing barbell rows, weighted pull ups, conventional deadlifts) after 3 to 6 months of consistent training on the beginner list above. By that point the pattern, brace and shoulder control should be developed enough to handle the increased demand.

More on back training

For width focused work as you progress, our Top 10 Lat Exercises for Width guide covers the upper lat focused exercises. Best Lat Exercises for Hypertrophy covers the muscle growth focused picks. And the Best Back Exercises for Balanced Development page covers complete back training across all major muscles.