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Exercises

Dumbbell lat exercises: rows and pullovers for wider lats

Published October 19, 2026

The best dumbbell lat exercises are the dumbbell pullover, which trains the lats at full stretch, and the one-arm row, which loads them hard with your elbow driving toward your hip. Add an underhand two-arm row or a lawnmower row for a second pulling angle. For lats rather than upper back, keep your elbows close to your body and pull toward your hips, not your chest.

  1. Dumbbell Lat Pullover Lats
  2. One-Arm Dumbbell Row Lats, Upper Back
  3. Dumbbell Lawnmower Row Lats
  4. Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row Lats
  5. Dumbbell Bent-Over Row Upper Back, Lats
  6. Incline Dumbbell Row Upper Back, Lats

The dumbbell exercise for lats at full stretch

Rows all finish with your elbow behind your body, but the lats also work hardest when your arm is overhead and stretched. The pullover is the only dumbbell move that trains that end of the range, so put it in every lat session, first or last.

Lats, loaded at full stretch

Dumbbell Lat Pullover

Lats

The pullover is the only dumbbell exercise that moves your upper arm from overhead down to your side, which is the lats' main job, and it does it with your biceps nearly out of the work. That makes it the closest thing to a pulldown you can do with one dumbbell, and the lat exercise most dumbbell routines leave out.

How to do it

  1. Lie with your upper back across a flat bench and your hips low, feet planted, or flat on the floor if you have no bench.
  2. Cup one end of a dumbbell in both palms and hold it above your face with your arms nearly straight.
  3. Let it travel back behind your head in a wide arc, keeping the elbow angle fixed, until you feel a deep pull under your armpits.
  4. Drag it back over your face by pulling your upper arms toward your hips, and stop when the dumbbell is above your eyes.

Cues

  • Think elbows to hips, not hands to chest
  • Ribs stay tucked
  • Stop above the eyes, not the chest

Common mistakes

  • Pulling the dumbbell all the way to your chest, where the lats have nothing left to do: end each rep with the weight above your face.
  • Flaring the ribcage to get more range: the stretch should come from your shoulders, so brace your abs and lighten the load.

Swap for: One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Incline Dumbbell Row, Dumbbell Lawnmower Row

Build a session with Dumbbell Lat Pullover

One-arm dumbbell rows for lats

One-arm rows let you brace with the free hand, row your heaviest dumbbell and pull in a long arc toward the hip. The standard row is the strength builder; the lawnmower adds a little rotation and a longer path from low across the body.

Lats, elbow-to-hip one-arm row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

Rowing one side at a time with a hand braced lets you use the heaviest dumbbell you own and pull in a long arc toward your hip, the path that loads the lats rather than the upper back. It is the exercise to get strong on, and every plan here has it.

How to do it

  1. Brace your left hand and knee on a bench, or your left hand on a solid chair with your feet staggered, and let your torso drop until it is close to flat.
  2. Hang the dumbbell from your right hand directly under your shoulder and let the shoulder drop toward the floor.
  3. Draw the dumbbell back in an arc toward your right hip, keeping your elbow close to your side and your forearm vertical.
  4. Lower along the same arc until your arm is straight and the lat is stretched. Finish all reps before switching arms.

Cues

  • Row toward the hip, not the armpit
  • Reach long at the bottom
  • Forearm stays vertical

Common mistakes

  • Rowing straight up to your chest with the elbow flared, which moves the work to your upper back: aim the dumbbell at your hip pocket.
  • Cutting the stretch at the bottom to grind out more reps: every rep starts from a long arm.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lawnmower Row, Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row, Incline Dumbbell Row

Build a session with One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats and obliques, staggered-stance rotational row

Dumbbell Lawnmower Row

Lats

Starting low and across your body and finishing with your elbow beside your hip gives the lat a longer path than a standard one-arm row, with your trunk turning slightly into the pull. A wide staggered stance with your free hand braced on your front thigh keeps your hips still, so the rotation comes from your upper back, not a heave from the legs.

How to do it

  1. Stand in a wide staggered stance with your right foot forward and both knees bent, lean your torso forward, and brace your right hand on your right thigh.
  2. Let the dumbbell in your left hand hang low inside your front foot, shoulder turned slightly downward.
  3. Pull the dumbbell up and back toward your left hip, turning your chest square as the elbow passes your side.
  4. Lower back to the floor-side start along the same path and repeat, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Start low and across, finish at the hip
  • Hips still, chest turns
  • Smooth, not yanked

Common mistakes

  • Jerking the dumbbell off the floor like starting a mower: the pull should be steady from the bottom to the top.
  • Turning so far that the lower back twists: the rotation is small and comes from the upper body.

Swap for: One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Build a session with Dumbbell Lawnmower Row

Two-arm dumbbell rows for lats

Rowing both dumbbells at once doubles the work per set but makes your lower back hold the hinge. For lats rather than upper back, keep the elbows close and pull toward the hips; the underhand grip makes that automatic.

Lower lats, underhand two-arm row

Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row

Lats

With your palms turned forward, your elbows stay tight to your sides and the dumbbells travel toward your hips, which is the path the lower fibers of the lats like best. It is the two-arm row to choose when your goal is lat width rather than upper-back thickness.

How to do it

  1. Hold the dumbbells with an underhand grip, palms facing forward, and hinge at the hips until your torso is about 30 degrees above level.
  2. Let your arms hang straight with the dumbbells just in front of your knees.
  3. Pull the dumbbells back toward your hip bones, elbows grazing your sides, and hold for a second.
  4. Lower slowly to straight arms, keeping the hinge, and repeat.

Cues

  • Dumbbells to the hip bones
  • Elbows graze your sides
  • Wrists stay straight

Common mistakes

  • Turning it into a curl by bending the wrists: think about pulling the elbows, with the hands just hooks.
  • Standing taller each rep: hold the same torso angle from first rep to last.

Swap for: Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Dumbbell Pendlay Row

Build a session with Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row

Lats and mid-back, neutral-grip two-arm row

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Upper Back, Lats

Two dumbbells with the palms facing in let you load both lats at once, and keeping the elbows close makes it a lat row rather than an upper-back one. It needs no bench, which is why it anchors the no-bench plan.

How to do it

  1. Pick up the dumbbells with palms turned toward your legs, stand with feet under your hips, and hinge forward until your back is nearly level, knees soft.
  2. Let the dumbbells hang below your shoulders with straight arms.
  3. Row both toward your lower ribs with your elbows close to your body, pausing for a second at the top.
  4. Lower to a full hang without letting your torso rise, then repeat.

Cues

  • Elbows close for lats
  • Chest stays low
  • Pause at the top

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows out wide, which turns it into an upper-back row: brush your sides on the way up.
  • Losing the hinge late in the set: the set is over when you cannot hold your back angle.

Swap for: Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row, Dumbbell Pendlay Row, Renegade Row

Build a session with Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Lats and mid-back, dead-stop row

Dumbbell Pendlay Row

Lats, Upper Back

Every rep starts with the dumbbells resting on the floor, so you cannot borrow momentum from the previous rep. That makes it a strength-focused lat row that suits the heavy plan, and the reset between reps gives your lower back a short break.

How to do it

  1. Set two dumbbells on the floor in front of your feet and hinge down until your torso is roughly level, back flat.
  2. Grip both handles, pull the slack out of your arms, and brace before each rep.
  3. Pull both dumbbells to your lower ribs fast, elbows tucked.
  4. Lower them back to the floor, let them settle completely, reset your back, and pull again.

Cues

  • Full stop on the floor
  • Brace, then pull
  • Elbows tucked

Common mistakes

  • Touch-and-go reps that bounce off the floor: let the dumbbells rest for a moment each time.
  • Pulling with a rounded back because the floor is far away: bend your knees a little more to reach the handles with a flat back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row

Build a session with Dumbbell Pendlay Row

Chest-supported and plank rows

These two take the hinge away in opposite ways: a bench holds your chest so the lats can go to failure, while the plank makes your trunk do the holding. Use the incline row when you have a bench and the renegade row as a lighter finisher when you do not.

Lats and upper back, chest-supported row

Incline Dumbbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

Lying chest-down on an incline bench removes the lower back from the lift, so you can take a two-arm row to failure safely. For lats, set the bench low, keep your elbows in and pull toward your hips; flared elbows shift it to the upper back.

How to do it

  1. Set a bench at a low incline, around 30 degrees, and lie chest-down with your chin just past the top of the pad.
  2. Hang the dumbbells straight below your shoulders with palms in.
  3. Row the dumbbells back toward your hips with your elbows close to the bench.
  4. Lower to a full hang so your shoulder blades spread, then repeat.

Cues

  • Low bench, elbows in
  • Pull toward the hips
  • Chest never leaves the pad

Common mistakes

  • Peeling your chest off the pad to finish: that is the lower back joining. End the set when it happens.
  • Setting the bench steep and pulling to your armpits: that trains upper back more than lats.

Swap for: One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Reverse-Grip Dumbbell Row, Dumbbell Lat Pullover

Build a session with Incline Dumbbell Row

Lats and trunk, plank row

Renegade Row

Lats, Upper Back

Each rep is a one-arm row while your other arm and your abs hold a plank, so it trains the lats and the trunk together. The plank limits the load, so it works best as a lighter lat finisher for 8 to 12 reps a side rather than your main row.

How to do it

  1. Place two hex dumbbells on the floor under your shoulders and take a high plank with a hand on each, feet wide.
  2. Brace so your hips stay level and your body forms a straight line.
  3. Row one dumbbell toward your hip, elbow tight, keeping your hips square to the floor.
  4. Set it down quietly, then row the other side. Count one rep per side.

Cues

  • Wide feet, still hips
  • Elbow to hip pocket
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Twisting the hips up toward the ceiling: widen the feet and use a lighter pair.
  • Letting your lower back sag: if the plank goes, the set ends.

Swap for: One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Dumbbell Lawnmower Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Build a session with Renegade Row

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

One light pair, no bench

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You have a single pair of dumbbells, around 15 to 30 pounds, a chair, and floor space.

A light pair cannot make two-arm rows hard at 10 reps, so these sessions go one arm at a time where the same dumbbell is effectively twice as heavy, and take rows to 0 to 1 reps in reserve for 12 to 20 reps. The pullover is done on the floor and the renegade row finishes the second session as a lat and trunk set. Each session is 11 to 12 sets of lat work.

Lats A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. Hand on a chair. 3 s down. 4 × 12–20 0 1 min
Dumbbell Lat PulloverOn the floor. Stop above the eyes. 4 × 12–20 1 1 min
Reverse-Grip Dumbbell RowPalms forward. To the hips. 3 × 12–20 1 75 s

Open Lats A in the session builder

Lats B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Lawnmower RowPer arm. Staggered stance. 4 × 12–20 0 1 min
Dumbbell Bent-Over RowPause 1 s at the top. 3 × 12–20 1 75 s
Renegade RowPer side. Feet wide. 2 × 8–12 1 1 min

Open Lats B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Lats A and Lats B on two non-consecutive days a week, or add them after a push day if you train full body.
How to progress
Add reps until each set hits the top of the range at the target reps in reserve. When it is easy at 20, slow every lowering to three seconds, then add a one-second pause at the top before you buy heavier dumbbells.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Adjustable dumbbells and a bench

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Incline Bench

Your dumbbells go heavy enough that 8 to 12 reps on a row is hard, and you have an adjustable bench.

Heavy dumbbells make the dead-stop row and the one-arm row worth loading, so the heavy session opens with them at 6 to 10 reps and long rests. The bench adds the chest-supported row and the bench pullover, the two lat exercises you can push to 1 rep in reserve without your lower back limiting you. The pendlay row stays at 2 in reserve because it is the most tiring. Each session is 10 sets of lat work.

Heavy
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Pendlay Row1 warm-up set firstDead stop every rep. 4 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. Knee on the bench. 3 × 6–10 1 2 min
Dumbbell Lat PulloverAcross the bench. Deep stretch. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s

Open Heavy in the session builder

Volume
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Incline Dumbbell Row1 warm-up set firstLow incline. Elbows in. 4 × 10–15 1 90 s
Reverse-Grip Dumbbell RowUnderhand. To the hips. 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Dumbbell Lat PulloverLast set: hold the stretch 2 s. 3 × 12–15 0 75 s

Open Volume in the session builder

How to run it
Do Heavy and Volume once each per week, two or three days apart. If you train back twice a week already, these replace your rows.
How to progress
Double progression: once every set hits the top of its range at the target reps in reserve, go up one dumbbell step and build back up. Drop the incline one notch whenever the incline row starts to feel like upper back.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Lat add-on for a 25-minute slot

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets9 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You already train back with other gear or a full-body plan, and you want one short dumbbell session to bring up lat width.

A short add-on works best with the two exercises that hit the lats most directly and least like your other back work: the pullover for the stretched range and the underhand row for the lower lats, done as a superset to fit the slot. Sets end at 1 rep in reserve with a lawnmower row finisher, 9 sets total.

Lat Add-On
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
A1 Dumbbell Lat PulloverSuperset with the underhand row. 3 × 10–15 1 0 s
A2 Reverse-Grip Dumbbell RowRest after this one. 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Dumbbell Lawnmower RowPer arm. Slow lowering. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
How to run it
Run it once a week on a day your back is not trained otherwise, or after legs. Pair the pullover and the underhand row back to back, rest 90 seconds, repeat.
How to progress
Keep the same weight until every set reaches the top of the range at the target reps in reserve, then move up one step. Keep this block for 6 to 8 weeks and log whether your other rows climb with it.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are the 3 best dumbbell exercises for lats?

The dumbbell pullover, the one-arm row and the underhand (reverse-grip) row. The pullover covers the stretched range overhead, the one-arm row lets you go heavy, and the underhand row brings the elbows in tight so two arms can work the lower lats at once.

Can you build lats with only dumbbells?

Yes. Rows that drive the elbow toward the hip and the pullover cover the lats' full range, and dumbbells let you take those sets close to failure. What dumbbells cannot easily match is a heavy vertical pull, so add pull-ups if you ever get a bar.

Will 20 lb dumbbells build lats?

They can, as long as the sets end 0 to 2 reps short of failure. With 20 pounds that means one-arm rows and pullovers for 12 to 20 reps with slow lowerings. Two-arm rows will feel easy first, so move those to the end of the session.

Are lats the hardest to grow?

Not because of the muscle itself. Lats are hard to feel working, so many people do rows that load their upper back and arms instead. Keep the elbows tight, pull toward the hips, and include a pullover, and the lats get the sets you think they are getting.

Are 3 exercises enough for lats?

Yes. A pullover, a one-arm row and an underhand row cover the full range, and 3 or 4 hard sets of each twice a week puts you at 10 to 20 lat sets, which is where most lifters grow well.

How do you target lats instead of upper back on dumbbell rows?

Keep your elbows close to your torso and pull toward your hips. Flaring the elbows wide and pulling toward the armpits trains the upper back. A lower bench angle on incline rows and an underhand grip on two-arm rows both nudge the work toward the lats.