Looking for lat exercises, but all you got is a pair of dumbbells?
No problems! In this article, I’ll list five dumbbell lat exercises for adding thickness and strength to your back.
The dumbbell lat exercises we’ll cover are:
In the end, I’ll show you how you can pick a few of them and put them together into a dumbbell lat workout.
Let’s get into it!
1. Dumbbell Row
The dumbbell row is one of the best dumbbell lat exercises you can do. It is a classic back exercise that targets all the muscles of your upper back, including your latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and rear deltoids.
The most common way to to the single arm dumbbell row is by supporting your upper body by placing a hand on a bench, but you can also do them free-standing, just leaning forward without support. That is usually called a bent-over dumbbell row.
To increase the challenge of this exercise or the other exercises in this article, you can perform the dumbbell row with heavier weights or add more sets and repetitions.
How to Do the Dumbbell Row
- Start by placing a dumbbell on the floor beside a bench or chair. Stand facing the bench or chair and place your left hand and left knee on top of it.
- Keep your back flat and your core engaged to maintain a neutral spine. Reach down with your right hand to pick up the dumbbell.
- Pull the dumbbell up towards your rib cage, keeping your elbow close to your body. Exhale as you lift the weight.
- Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, then slowly lower the dumbbell back down towards the floor. Inhale as you lower the weight.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides and repeat the exercise with your right hand and knee on the bench or chair.
Alternatives & variations:
- Barbell Row
- Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
- Dumbbell Seal Row
- Kettlebell Row
- Renegade Row
2. Dumbbell Deadlift
The deadlift is best performed with a barbell or a trapbar, but in a pinch, dumbbell deadlifts are better than nothing.
The dumbbell deadlift works your traps, lower back, and glutes more than they work your lats, but it will still add size and strength to your back. It also complements the other exercises in this guide very well by incorporating more of your other major muscle groups.
If you have them, a pair of lifting straps can help you hold on to heavier dumbbells so that it is your back, glutes, and legs that are the limiting factors in this exercise and not your grip.
How to Do the Dumbbell Deadlift
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, with a dumbbell in each hand held at arm’s length down in front of your thighs.
- Keep your core engaged and your back straight throughout the exercise.
- Hinge forward at your hips and bend your knees to lower the dumbbells toward the ground.
- Lower the dumbbells until they reach below knee level, or as low as you comfortably can.
- Pause briefly at the bottom of the movement, then exhale and drive through your heels to lift the dumbbells back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, making sure to maintain good form throughout the exercise.
Alternatives & variations:
3. Dumbbell Pullover
The dumbbell pullover is an old-school bodybuilding exercise that was rumoured to “expand your rib cage”. I don’t know about that, but it is still a useful dumbbell exercise for working your pecs as well as your lower lats.
How to Do the Dumbbell Pullover
- Lie down on a bench or stability ball, with your head and neck supported and your feet flat on the ground.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands and extend your arms straight up over your chest, with your palms facing each other.
- Keep your core engaged and your back flat against the bench or ball throughout the exercise.
- Slowly lower the dumbbell back over your head, keeping your arms almost straight, with just a tiny bend in your elbows.
- Lower the dumbbell until you feel a stretch in your chest and lats, then pause briefly at the bottom of the movement.
- Exhale and use your chest and lat muscles to lift the dumbbell back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, making sure to maintain good form throughout the exercise.
Alternatives & variations:
4. Dumbbell Rear Delt Row
The dumbbell rear delt row is a variation of the classic dumbbell row exercise that specifically targets your rear deltoids, which are located at the back of your shoulders, and your middle traps.
This exercise involves rowing the dumbbells while keeping your elbows out to the sides, rather than close to the body as in the traditional dumbbell row. By targeting the rear deltoids, this exercise helps to improve shoulder strength and stability, as well as overall posture and appearance.
It’s important to avoid using momentum or swinging the weights during the exercise, as this can put unnecessary strain on the shoulders and lower back and move work away from your rear delts and lats. Focus on using slow and controlled movements to target the rear deltoids effectively.
How to Do the Dumbbell Rear Delt Row
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing inwards towards your body.
- Hinge forward at your hips so that your torso is roughly parallel to the floor. Keep your back straight and your core engaged throughout the exercise.
- With your elbows pointing outwards to the sides, row the dumbbells up and back towards your shoulders, squeezing your shoulder blades together as you lift.
- Hold the contraction for a moment at the top of the movement, then lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, maintaining good form throughout the exercise.
Alternatives & variations:
5. Reverse Dumbbell Flyes
Finally, the reverse dumbbell fly will hit your posterior deltoid, trapezius, and rotator cuff beautifully, adding a nice finishing touch to this back workout.
The key in this exercise is to lean forward as much as possible (trying to keep your torso parallel to the floor, if possible), and avoid using momentum. You want your upper back muscles to squeeze the weights up in this exercise, not use your hips. For this reason, make sure to start with light weights.
How to Do Reverse Dumbbell Flyes
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with a dumbbell in each hand held at arm’s length down in front of your thighs.
- Hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back straight and your core engaged. Let your arms hang down towards the floor.
- Raise both arms out to the sides, keeping them straight, until they are parallel to the floor. Your palms should be facing down towards the ground.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement, then slowly lower the weights back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, making sure to maintain proper form throughout the exercise.
Alternatives & variations:
Dumbbell Lat Workout
There you have five of the best dumbbell lat and back exercises to choose from!
You don’t need to do all five to get a great dumbbell lat and back workout; pick two or three exercises and train them hard, and that will be enough for good gains in strength and muscle size.
I suggest you go with the dumbbell row and the dumbbell deadlift, and then pick one additional exercise for the finishing touch. In the dumbbell lat workout below, I’ll go with the reverse fly, just because it is a favorite of mine.
Dumbbell Lat & Back Workout
- Dumbbell Row: 3 sets x 8–12 reps
- Dumbbell Deadlift: 3 sets x 8–20 reps
- Reverse Dumbbell Fly: 3 sets x 10–15 reps
You can repeat this workout routine once or twice per week. Make sure to track the weights you use and the number of reps you do in our workout tracker app so that you can try to improve in your next workout.
Read More: Home Back Workout for Muscle Mass and Strength
How Can I Work My Lats with Dumbbells?
Your latissimus dorsi muscles originate from your low back and insert into your upper arm bone. Because muscles shorten when they contract, any movement and exercise that brings your upper arm closer to your lower back will likely work your lats.
For this reason, exercises like lat pulldowns and dumbbell rows are some of the best lat exercises you can do.
Can You Do Lat Pulldowns with Dumbbells?
Contrary to what some say, there is no effective way to do lat pulldowns with dumbbells.
If you were to search for “dumbbell lat pulldowns”, you will find several videos of trainers showing dumbbell shoulder presses, like below.
Because gravity works downward, however, the exercise above will work your shoulders and triceps, not your lats.
The only ways I can think of to do lat pulldowns with dumbbells would be to either hang upside down and “row” your dumbbells (which is probably not a good idea) or to set up a cable and pulley system with your dumbbells as the counterweight.
How Can I Train My Lats at Home?
Your lats are worked with rowing exercises where you pull your upper arm closer to your lower back. Therefore, exercises like dumbbell rows and lat pulldowns are great lat exercises.
While a set of dumbbells is both affordable and easily stored at home, the same can’t be said about a lat pulldown machine.
There is, however, another option:
The pull-up is an excellent lat exercise that works your lats in the direction of most of their muscle fibers, and it requires a minimum of equipment. All you need is somewhere to hang from, which, in most cases, can be solved by getting a simple pull-up bar.
The main problem most people have with pull-ups, though, is that they are so damn heavy.
Many people struggle to do pull-ups when they first start working out, especially if they’re overweight. For women, because they tend to have less upper-body muscle mass relative to men, getting their first pull-up is often a long-term training goal that requires lots of work.
If you’re not too far from being able to do pull-ups on your own, you can do resistance band-assisted pull-ups.
Here is how you do them:
- Throw a resistance band over a pull-up bar, and pull one end through the other.
- Step up on a chair or bench beside the bar and place your foot in the loop.
- Hang from the bar and do pull-ups with assistance from the band.
As you get stronger, you can do more reps or get a band that offers less help until you’re strong enough to do pull-ups on your own.
Pull-ups are one of the best lat exercises you can do at home or in the gym, and coupled with dumbbell rows, they are really all you need for great upper back development and stronger lats.
How to Train Your Back Muscles
Want to learn even more about how to train your back muscles, including the three types of movements you need to do to hit every major back muscle?
Read our guide on back training below:
Looking for a true bodybuilding-style back and biceps workout? Check out our popular workout below:
