All I currently have access to is a basic bench set.
Besides Barbell rows, what other lat exercises can i do?

All I currently have access to is a basic bench set.
Besides Barbell rows, what other lat exercises can i do?

Barbell Pull-overs. Does your bench decline? I would even consider declining and doing barbell pull-overs.

1 arm dumbell rows are good too if you have DBs.

Deadlifts will hit your lats a little.

Otherwise, you are going to have to build a pullup/chinup bar somewhere.


I would do something like this:
Deadlifts, Barbell rows (or 1-arm db rows), pullovers, shrugs. You will hit most of your back without pull ups. If you can spare under $10 - $15, you can build yourself a pullup bar. Otherwise, look around the house/apartment area to see if there's a structure that could function as one.

Pull ups if you can get a bar.

Deadlifts (major mass builder!).

Modified T-Bar rows (stick 1 end of the barbell into the corner of the room, stand over it with the bar in between your legs. Now get yourself a handle like you would use for seated cable rows and wrap it around the barbell if you can make it stay somehow. Look this exercise up on google or bodybuilding.com for a better description!)

You can do dumbbell rows, but I personally don't care for this exercise. Seems like twice the work for half the overload. That's just my opinion though, could just be that my form sucks. :)

Deadlifts (major mass builder!).
How would deadlifts affect your lats at all?

How would deadlifts affect your lats at all?

They'll affect just about everything, similar to squats working a lot more than just the quads. They may not be as directly "hitting" the lats as say lat pulldowns (my favorite lat movement btw), but they'll add to overall mass and indirectly work just about every muscle.

For lats, I would not recommend deadlifting - as far as on your upper back goes, you will get almost entirely trap development, not lats. Deadlifts are a great compound, but they are not the end all answer to any back question out there.

Watch your traps, if they're too large, and your shoulders and lats too small, you'll get a diamond shape instead of a v-shape for your back. The diamond makes you look a lot less impressive.

That's the trouble with your typical home gym. Very difficult to hit the lats unless you have a pull up bar or pull down addition.

In this case you might have to improvise. Use a rope and tie it in a loop, then throw it over a tree branch that'll hold your weight and do close grip pull ups. Watch your head though! LOL!