Top 10 Lat Exercises for Width

What builds lat width

Upper lat width is built by exercises that load the lat at extended shoulder positions. The exercises below were selected against four criteria. Each one meets all four.

Wide grip or overhead arm position

Width focused exercises load the lat with the arms in an abducted or overhead position. Andersen and colleagues (2014) showed wider grips emphasise the upper lats while narrower grips lengthen the lat through a fuller range. For pure width the wide grip vertical pull is the foundation.

Vertical pulling pattern

The vertical pull from overhead is the most direct upper lat exercise. Horizontal pulling biases the mid back more than the lats. Most exercises in this list are vertical pulls. The horizontal pulls included are wide grip variants that emphasise upper lat involvement.

Full lengthened range

The lat does its most productive work at extended shoulder positions. Exercises that allow the arm to extend fully overhead at the top of each rep produce more upper lat hypertrophy than exercises with shortened range. Schoenfeld and colleagues have shown stretched positions drive hypertrophy.

Programmable at heavy load

Width gains come from progressive overload. The exercises below all allow precise load progression through machines, cable stacks, weighted belts or barbells. Bodyweight only progressions are limited because the load cannot easily increase beyond bodyweight without external weight.

Ten width focused lat exercises ranked

The exercises below are ordered from most to least direct for upper lat width. Pick three to five from the list to build a width focused programme. Run them for 12 to 16 weeks before rotating to hypertrophy or balanced development focuses.

1. Pull ups overhand grip

The bodyweight standard for upper lat width. The wide pronated grip biases the upper lats and the bodyweight loading is significant. Full progression covered in our Pull ups overhand grip page. Add weighted pull ups once bodyweight becomes easy.

2. Wide grip lat pulldowns

The machine version of the wide grip pull up. Precise load progression and accessible to all levels. Our Wide Grip Lat Pulldown page covers grip width, seat setup and form. The most consistently programmable width builder.

3. Cable lat pulldowns

The standard pulldown setup. Constant cable tension and adjustable grip. Even at a moderate grip width this exercise emphasises lat width. See our cable lat pulldowns guide for full setup.

4. Lat pulldown machine

The general pulldown machine with multiple grip options. Wide grip variants on this machine are the foundation of most lat width programmes. Full overview at our Lat pulldown machine page.

5. Straight arm pulldowns

The lat isolation exercise. The straight arm position emphasises the lat through its longest range without biceps interference. Excellent as a pre exhaust or finisher. Our Straight arm pulldowns guide covers technique.

6. High row machine

The high pulling angle biases the upper lats and rear delts together. A useful single machine answer for combined width and rear shoulder development. See our High row machine page for setup.

7. Single arm lat pulldowns

Unilateral pulldown with longer range of motion than bilateral. Useful for correcting left to right lat imbalances. Full guide at our Single arm lat pulldowns page.

8. Chin ups underhand grip

The supinated grip pull up. Biases the lower lat more than the overhand version but still contributes to overall lat development. Our Chin ups underhand grip page covers progression. Pair with overhand pull ups for complete lat width work.

9. Wide grip cable rows

The horizontal pull included in this list. The wide pronated grip biases the upper back and rear delts which contribute to the visual width. See our Wide grip cable rows guide for full setup.

10. Barbell bent over rows

The heavy horizontal pull. Wider grip variants bias the upper lats and rear delts more than narrower grips. Our Barbell bent over rows page covers grip variations and pulling cues. Useful for adding heavy posterior chain stimulus alongside width focused vertical pulling.

A lat width focused session

Pick three to four exercises from the list above. Run the workout once per week as a dedicated width session. You can also split it across two sessions per week if you have the recovery capacity.

Warm up: 5 minutes

Light rowing two minutes followed by 10 band pull aparts, 10 dead hangs from the pull up bar (5 seconds each) and 10 scapular pulls. The warm up should activate the lats and shoulders before the working sets.

Exercise 1: Pull ups overhand grip or wide grip lat pulldowns, 4 sets of 6 to 10

The primary width builder. Pick a weight (or bodyweight equivalent) you can pull with strict form for 6 to 10 reps with 1 to 2 reps in reserve. Rest 2 minutes between sets. This exercise sets the upper lat tone for the session.

Exercise 2: High row machine or wide grip cable rows, 4 sets of 8 to 12

The horizontal complement. Train the upper back and rear delts through a wider elbow path than standard rowing. Rest 90 seconds between sets. This second exercise adds width through the back across the horizontal plane.

Exercise 3: Straight arm pulldowns, 3 sets of 12 to 15

The lat finisher. Lighter load, strict form, two second hold at the bottom of every rep. Drives blood flow and reinforces the lat contraction without biceps fatigue. Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Exercise 4 (optional): Single arm lat pulldowns, 2 sets of 12 per side

Unilateral finisher for lifters with measurable left to right lat imbalance. Lead with the weaker side and match the dominant side performance. Two sets per side is enough on top of the previous three exercises.

Width specific programming and timeline

Lat width is built over months not weeks. Consistent volume, progressive overload and patience are what produce visible upper lat development.

Total weekly width volume: 10 to 16 sets

Productive lat width volume sits between 10 and 16 weekly sets of width focused exercises. Combined with general back work the total weekly back volume should sit between 15 and 25 sets. Schoenfeld and colleagues have shown 10 plus weekly sets as productive for muscle growth.

Frequency: 2 to 3 sessions per week

Twice weekly lat width training is the standard. Three weekly sessions are possible for advanced lifters with managed total volume. The lats recover quickly because the spinal loading is low so high frequency is well tolerated.

Rep range: 6 to 12 for compound, 12 to 20 for accessories

Compound exercises (pull ups, pulldowns, rows) work best in the 6 to 12 rep range. Accessory exercises (straight arm pulldowns, single arm work) work better in the 12 to 20 rep range. The combination of heavy and light work produces the most complete lat development.

Load progression

Add reps within the prescribed range first. When you complete all sets at the top of the range with 1 to 2 reps in reserve, add the smallest available weight increment. Linear progression on lat exercises typically continues for 8 to 16 weeks before stalling.

Block periodisation

Run a 12 to 16 week width focused block once per year. After the block rotate to a hypertrophy or balanced development focus for 8 to 12 weeks. Constant rotation between focuses produces better long term results than year round identical training.

More on back training

For beginner friendly progressions, our Best Lat Exercises for Beginners guide covers entry level options. Best Lat Exercises for Hypertrophy covers muscle growth focused picks. And the Best Back Exercises for Balanced Development page covers complete back training.