blasting the lats

[Singleton]

Deads won't do crap for your lats. You should do them anyway, but don't make them a chief lat movement if lats are your focus.

I was gonna say something along those lines.

Deadlift doesn't really work the lats all that much. You'll get some benefit to your lats with them due to the fact that you'll end up flexing your lats. It's more of a glutes/traps/erectors/hamstring/forearms exercise.


I recommend
* close-grip pulldowns,
* medium to close-grip bb rows Yates-style
* Hammer unilateral row machine performed standing up (it's meant to be done sitting)
* Wide grip pulldowns

Don't do all of them. Pick 2. Maybe a 3rd exercise just for flushing (high rep, low weight)

 

[Singleton]

Also one is going to have a hard time empyrically proving deadlifts for lat efficacy, since I don't know a single person who deadlifts but does no form of rowing or pullup/pulldown.

Dorian Yates didn't really do much heavy deadlifting but he had huge lats.

 

[casualbb]

Are there any powerlifters who don't do pulldowns of some kind? Pulldown could be considered a bench assist move (that's kind of a stretch), but does anyone know of anyone who doesn't do them? Then we could check out their physiques.

 

[Singleton]

Not a stretch at all.

Lat pulldowns stimulate the lats but lat pulldowns are not the determining factor in lat size.

Consider: genetics, chins, rows, pullovers, shotputting, baseball.

Checking out the physiques of guys who don't do pulldowns is fine, just keep in mind that it will only provide weak evidence to suppport either argument.