I may have the ultimate lat exercise

[NuclearNed]

I've been lifting for ~4 years, so I'm still learning. This was a revelation to me, but you guys have probably been doing this for years.

The cable machine at my gym has only 204 lbs of plates per side. I can relatively easily do wide grip pulldowns, 4 sets of 10 reps at that weight. I kind of felt like I stopped progressing because I've done that weight range forever. So I pulled out the big brain and tried to think of ways to increase my intensity since the machine doesn't have any more weight. I may have stumbled across one of those secrets that WILL REVOLUTIONIZE WEIGHT LIFTING AS WE KNOW IT.

Well, probably not. But by golly, this seems to fry my lats in ways few other exercises ever have:

Wide grip lat pulldowns on the cable machine with a 5 second hold.

I had to drop the weight down to 144, then I was able to do 4 sets with ~8 reps per set. Luckily, there is a clock with a second hand right by the station, so I was able to time myself. This might be the most agonizing thing I've ever willingly done to myself. By the third set, my entire back was on fire. By the 4th set, I think I was whimpering like a whipped pup.

I think I'm going to apply the "5-second hold" principle to other exercises (particularly biceps) and see if it works there just as well.

Discuss.

 

[brikis98]

I imagine any significant change you make to the way you do an exercise is likely to shock your muscles and prove quite effective. Changing how long each rep takes is one way. It looks like you added a static hold to this exercise but some other ideas to consider are tp do each rep very slowly (taking the same 5-6 seconds, but always moving) or, from the other perspective, very quickly. If you normally took 30 seconds to do 10 reps of 204lbs per side, doing it in 15 seconds (but still with proper form and ROM) would mean you are generating more power, which would again change the workload on your muscles. You could also change rest between sets. For example, if you normally took a 2 min break between sets, try resting only 30 seconds. Or you could try supersets or pyramid sets or any other crazy scheme you can think of. Keep changing it up and you'll keep the exercise interesting and challenging.

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the pull-up. You can do them almost anywhere, they are amazing for your lats, biceps and grip, and there are MANY varieties to keep things interesting - dead hang, kipping, butterfly, weighted, chin-ups, one handed, muscle-ups, clapping and so on.

 

[KoolDrew]

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the pull-up.

 

[TallBill]

Burning yourself out and feeling sore doesn't equal results. The new technique might work, but you'd have to do it for a long time and then report back.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the pull-up.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the weighted pull-up.

Fixed.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the weighted pull-up.

Fixed.

...wouldn't that be the same exercise?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the weighted pull-up.

Fixed.

...wouldn't that be the same exercise?

yeah, that's like saying the ultimate total body exercise is the squat... with more weight.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Burning yourself out and feeling sore doesn't equal results. The new technique might work, but you'd have to do it for a long time and then report back.

That's what I usually shoot for as a short term goal. Obviously checking for greater strength and then visible evidence would be extremely far out goals. But if I can get a proper soreness from an exercise and I feel like I pushed myself a little further than I'd normally go, that's what usually makes me happy.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: TallBill
Burning yourself out and feeling sore doesn't equal results. The new technique might work, but you'd have to do it for a long time and then report back.

That's what I usually shoot for as a short term goal. Obviously checking for greater strength and then visible evidence would be extremely far out goals. But if I can get a proper soreness from an exercise and I feel like I pushed myself a little further than I'd normally go, that's what usually makes me happy.

Right, many people often feel this. However, it is not physiologically true. Soreness/burn usually indicates lactic acid buildup, which is counterproductive to growth and healing. So if you want to recover faster, know your limits - don't push for burn and don't EVER do a burn out.

 

[Deeko]

Actually I've read that DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is NOT caused by lactic acid, contrary to popular belief, as lactic acid actually exits the area pretty quickly. Soreness is also neither a good or a bad sign, it's just a side effect.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Pull-ups = ultimate lat exercise ++++

 

[DomS]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed
I've been lifting for ~4 years, so I'm still learning. This was a revelation to me, but you guys have probably been doing this for years.

The cable machine at my gym has only 204 lbs of plates per side. I can relatively easily do wide grip pulldowns, 4 sets of 10 reps at that weight. I kind of felt like I stopped progressing because I've done that weight range forever. So I pulled out the big brain and tried to think of ways to increase my intensity since the machine doesn't have any more weight. I may have stumbled across one of those secrets that WILL REVOLUTIONIZE WEIGHT LIFTING AS WE KNOW IT.

Well, probably not. But by golly, this seems to fry my lats in ways few other exercises ever have:

Wide grip lat pulldowns on the cable machine with a 5 second hold.

I had to drop the weight down to 144, then I was able to do 4 sets with ~8 reps per set. Luckily, there is a clock with a second hand right by the station, so I was able to time myself. This might be the most agonizing thing I've ever willingly done to myself. By the third set, my entire back was on fire. By the 4th set, I think I was whimpering like a whipped pup.

I think I'm going to apply the "5-second hold" principle to other exercises (particularly biceps) and see if it works there just as well.

Discuss.

DO it with pulldowns and you'll be even better. Hold for 5 seonds at the top.

 

[DomS]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the weighted pull-up.

Fixed.

...wouldn't that be the same exercise?

yeah, that's like saying the ultimate total body exercise is the squat... with more weight.

The ultimate total body exercise is the sqaut. With even more weight than BlahBlahYouToo was implying.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: Deeko
Actually I've read that DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is NOT caused by lactic acid, contrary to popular belief, as lactic acid actually exits the area pretty quickly. Soreness is also neither a good or a bad sign, it's just a side effect.

This should be an interesting read for people interested:
http://www.ampedtraining.com/a...s/muscle-soreness.html

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: Deeko
Actually I've read that DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is NOT caused by lactic acid, contrary to popular belief, as lactic acid actually exits the area pretty quickly. Soreness is also neither a good or a bad sign, it's just a side effect.

This should be an interesting read for people interested:
http://www.ampedtraining.com/a...s/muscle-soreness.html

interesting read, thanks.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: Deeko
Actually I've read that DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is NOT caused by lactic acid, contrary to popular belief, as lactic acid actually exits the area pretty quickly. Soreness is also neither a good or a bad sign, it's just a side effect.

This should be an interesting read for people interested:
http://www.ampedtraining.com/a...s/muscle-soreness.html

Yea that was interesting. I've heard some of those things before (DOMS is largely caused by eccentric movements, it's more related to the connective tissue than the muscle itself, it isn't really a positive or negative indicator of a good workout, etc), but this went into a lot of depth. Thanks.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: DomS
The ultimate total body exercise is the sqaut. With even more weight than BlahBlahYouToo was implying.

I'd go with the Deadlift instead.

 

[dealmaster00]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the weighted pull-up.

Fixed.

...wouldn't that be the same exercise?

I don't think so. Take this (related) example: I do weighted dips and my friend does unweighted dips. I can do more weighted dips than he can but unweighted he bests me. If they were the same exercise then one of us would be better at both.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: dealmaster00

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the weighted pull-up.

Fixed.

...wouldn't that be the same exercise?

I don't think so. Take this (related) example: I do weighted dips and my friend does unweighted dips. I can do more weighted dips than he can but unweighted he bests me. If they were the same exercise then one of us would be better at both.

no... the exercise is the SAME, one with just more weight.

your example is just a difference of strength vs. endurance.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: dealmaster00

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Oh, and for the record, the ultimate lat exercise is still the weighted pull-up.

Fixed.

...wouldn't that be the same exercise?

I don't think so. Take this (related) example: I do weighted dips and my friend does unweighted dips. I can do more weighted dips than he can but unweighted he bests me. If they were the same exercise then one of us would be better at both.

no... the exercise is the SAME, one with just more weight.

your example is just a difference of strength vs. endurance.

Agree. Let's just agree that pull up is the best, regardless of wehther you use bodyweight or bodyweight + extra weights.

 

[ibex333]

I have a better idea. How about... SIMPLE PULLUPS? No need for gyms or machines. Once you can do around 15 pullups, with proper form, slowly, bringing your chin over the bar every time, you can start doing weighted pullups. This is done by putting on a backpack loaded with weights. Anything will do. Bricks, gallons or water, college textbooks, or dumbbell plates... The backpack can be loaded to be quite damn heavy. Sometimes even heavier than the max weight on the machine, provided it's loaded with the right stuff.

But... If even that become too easy(and I cant see that happening), you can increase the resistance further by attaching weights to your legs and waist.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew


This should be an interesting read for people interested:
http://www.ampedtraining.com/a...s/muscle-soreness.html

Good stuff, thanks.