lat spread and genetics

[GT2]

^^Personally I think rows and chins are superior to deads.

But everyone is entitled to their opinions.

I have to disagree, but maybe your body responds better to rows and chins.

When you do deadlifts, so many muscles are recruited and used at once, much more so than doing chins and rows alone. I only recently have started doing shrugs, but even before, I've had huge traps simply because of all the deadlifting I've done.

What annoys me is, the first question people ask me when they see me is "what do you bench?". It's never "what do you squat/deadlift?", and I pride myself on those two exercises.

[beatango2008]

I have to disagree, but maybe your body responds better to rows and chins.

When you do deadlifts, so many muscles are recruited and used at once, much more so than doing chins and rows alone. I only recently have started doing shrugs, but even before, I've had huge traps simply because of all the deadlifting I've done.

What annoys me is, the first question people ask me when they see me is "what do you bench?". It's never "what do you squat/deadlift?", and I pride myself on those two exercises.

Why because your bench sucks? lol

[GT2]

Why because your bench sucks? lol

Haha it's better than 95% of people in my gym.

My point is, everybody is obsessed with bench for no reason.

[Bossman]

I have to disagree, but maybe your body responds better to rows and chins.

When you do deadlifts, so many muscles are recruited and used at once, much more so than doing chins and rows alone. I only recently have started doing shrugs, but even before, I've had huge traps simply because of all the deadlifting I've done.

What annoys me is, the first question people ask me when they see me is "what do you bench?". It's never "what do you squat/deadlift?", and I pride myself on those two exercises.

There's no doubt deads help. I used to do rack deads, deads from the floor kill my lower back every time. I think they've helped my overall thickness. But my lats were built from chins/pulldowns/rows. I had a decent lat spread at 15, built only from rows.

[Narkissos]

There's no doubt deads help. I used to do rack deads, deads from the floor kill my lower back every time. I think they've helped my overall thickness. But my lats were built from chins/pulldowns/rows. I had a decent lat spread at 15, built only from rows.

Exactly.

The opinion of a competitor, as opposed to a competition hopeful.

I started doing deads a couple years after joining AR.

Prior to doing 'em I had competed for numerous years from the junior level.

My waist was tiny as hell, and my lat spread wide.

When I started to dead, i quickly got my dead to 545 lbs.

I saw increases in erector thickness and ham thickness... yay me... but no huge leaps in back width.

For a training phase I stopped doing overhead pulling movements.

I only did rows... my back got even wider and thicker.



The IFBB pros I worked with coming up as a junior competitor (and again in a professional capacity many years later) don't deadlift... other than SLDLs on leg day. (SLDLs on a 6" platform for increased muscle recruitment)

Theses guys row, chin, and repeat... sometimes thrice per week.

Anyway.. Like I said prior, everyone's entitled to an opinion.

I reached my strength goal with deads and now i only do 'em for maintenance, as the strength garnered from said movement is useful...and transferable to other movements.

My back width though?

Rows and chins/pull-ups...and plenty of 'em.