Lats and Upper Back

[daman1]

I had back surgery this past January and it's been slow in coming in building up my strength. I am struggling to get my lats and upper back redeveloped. I can't seem to be able to do more than 1-2 pull-ups in any grip position. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[monsoon]

Fat man pullups, rhomboid rows, assisted chins....

 

[Mike_RN]

Slow pulls hard contractions. No heaving and let the Lats & Traps do the work (not arms.

 

[Warrior45]

Slow pull downs with long contractions work great. I crack up when guys work in with me and drop the pin to 1.5x their bodyweight only to heave the weight 8" ROM for a full torso row.

Hammer strength rows are also perfect for situations like yours.

 

[DungeonDweller]

What do you guys think of landmine rows?

 

[JR Ewing]

I've never been very good at pullups - I carry too much weight below the waist.

Don't be afraid to use the pullup machine - probably not a bad idea since you're coming off surgery.

Most of my back work over the years has centered around lots of rows and heavy rack pulls. It's not unusual for me to do at least 10-12 total sets of rows in a back workout - usually at least 4-5 sets of barbell bent rows, 3-4 sets of old school t-bar rows, and several sets of either seated machine low rows or one arm DB rows.

I rarely do more than 3-4 sets of pullups in a workout, and I can barely use much more than body weight for very many proper reps. But back has become my best upper body bodypart over the years.

 

[daman1]

Thank you all. I appreciate the feedback.