Best lats exercises with a barbell

Exercises where lats are a main mover and that need a barbell, EZ bar or trap bar, plus a bench at most. Best muscle growth rating first, with more weight on ratings several sources agree on. The full lats ranking covers every kind of equipment.

  1. 1Meadows row, start positionMeadows rowHorizontal pullBarbellTop tier for the target muscle. Also works rear delts, upper back and biceps.
    Growth
    4.5 2 sources
  2. 2Barbell bent-over row, start positionBarbell bent-over rowHorizontal pullBarbellVery good; among the better picks for the muscle. Hardest part is at short muscle length. Also works upper back, rear delts, biceps and lower back.
    Growth
    3.5 6 sources
  3. 3Deficit Pendlay row, start positionDeficit Pendlay rowHorizontal pullBarbellVery good; among the better picks for the muscle. Also works upper back, rear delts, biceps and lower back.
    Growth
    4.0 1 source
  4. 4Free-standing T-bar row, start positionFree-standing T-bar rowHorizontal pullBarbellSolid; a reasonable default. Also works upper back, rear delts, biceps and lower back.
    Growth
    3.0 1 source
  5. 5Pendlay row, start positionPendlay rowHorizontal pullBarbellSolid; a reasonable default. Also works upper back, rear delts, biceps and lower back.
    Growth
    3.0 1 source
  6. 6Yates row, start positionYates rowHorizontal pullBarbellBelow average; better options exist for every goal. Also works rear delts, upper back and biceps.
    Growth
    2.0 1 source

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