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Comment by nelsonmandela | Hacker News Reader

Selecting lats requires a bar.

Any workouts for them without equipment?

I see dumbbell rows listed for lats.

If you don't have access to a dumbbell, substitute a heavy bag of some sort with a short handle. Google has some ideas on other alternatives as well, but I'd recommend against using canned food goods (or anything else you don't want to dent/break).

I’ve been using horizontal dumbbell rows for lats for years, they’re not as good as chin-ups but way better than nothing if you don’t have access to a chin-up bar.

I use the largest container of liquid clothes detergent at the store with a handle and fill it with water. I haven't weighed it, but you're in really good shape if you can curl it. Great for dumbbell rows and shrugs, though too unwieldy for much else.

Back is generally pretty hard to impossible to train without equipment. You could do rows with a backpack / other household objects or elastic bands with a contraption that anchors behind a door so you can do pull downs.

You can try to find a nice fat reinforced pipe in the parking deck near you ;), or get one of those pull up bars that attach above the door frame.

If you're looking for a good workout setup for home with minimal equipment, try the TRX suspension training system. You can anchor it behind a door and do a full body workout using body weight. It fits in a small bag so it's mobile and allows you to anchor it at a bar in the nearest park and do outdoor exercises.

> Back is generally pretty hard to impossible to train without equipment.

Lats are hard to train without equipment, but you may need to expand your definition of the back to include the rest of the back. Easy to train without equipment. Most people can't hold a superman very long.

Do you have a sturdy table you could do a lateral row on? Maybe even just get a wood plank or bar and put it between two things?

If you have access to a playground with monkey bars, pullups is the obvious least equipment choice.

You usually need some kind of equipment. Might I recommend a trx knockoff? Cheap, and you can do inverted rows.

Get gymnastic rings instead of TRX.

Cheaper and way more versatile. Anything you can do on the TRX you can do on rings, and way more.

Only potential benefit of the TRX is that it might be more gentle on the hands due to the rubber handles. But after a few weeks of gripping and exercising on the rings, you'll be fine.

Yup, definitely go for wooden rings if you can. They are much nicer to use than plastic rings or the TRX handles. Plastic rings get all sweaty and slippery and the handles only really have one holding position.

Pullup and dip have a new style of hybrid rings in their new kickstarter which I am interested to try. They have both a rounded ring side and a flatter handle side. You can see them on the campaign images - doesn't look like they sell them separately yet. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pullupanddip/freesixd-w...

Yes, wooden rings are better. Rogue fitness has high quality ones.

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