Bodybuilding veteran Lee Priest always sported a huge back throughout his career. On Dec. 7, 2025, he detailed how to achieve a lat pump during back training.
Lee Priest defied logic to become one of the greatest bodybuilders of the 1990s. Despite lacking stature, he capitalized on his strengths, from granite hardness to cartoonish proportions. Throughout his tenure, he managed to defeat dominant champions, including former eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman.
Back training presents unique challenges. It’s made of a complex of muscles, all of which require work. The lats make up a large portion of the area, prompting Priest to explain exactly how to target them to spur muscle growth.
Lee Priest Gives Advice for a Lat Pump During Back Training
In the video, Priest shared that it’s best to shrug the lats first before pulling for a contraction. He notices that with many lifters, they pull with the arms without contracting the lats.
“You feel your pump. You feel a pump. How can you not tell if you’re not getting a pump? Well, it’s just basic.
If you’re doing a pulldown, you’d be grabbing the weight, and then what I like to do is you shrug your lat first so it’s locked in, and then you pull through. A lot of people pull with the arms, and the back doesn’t even contract.”
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He also warned against excessive body momentum and heavier weight, as those can also detract from the quality of each contraction.
“Do a little shrug, lock your lat in, and pull it down. But even then, I’d have to see how you’re doing it. Maybe you’re using too much arm, maybe you’re swinging back like this, you just want to do a nice controlled movement.
You can lean back a little bit if you’re going heavy, but don’t swing the weight, but really focus more on actually feeling your back contracting it.”
In addition to pulling the elbows back, he said to use your hands as hooks for the best results.
“It’s like if you do biceps, you can see your biceps, you can see chest, but because you can’t really see your back, you pretty much got to go by feel. A lot of people go too heavy and just use their arms and don’t really feel their backs. So just really focus on pulling your elbows back and squeezing the back and using the hands as hooks.”
“If you’re doing a seated row, squeeze your back in and pull your elbows back like you’re squeezing your shoulder blades together,” he said.
He stressed that by lightening the weight, it’s easier to squeeze and feel the lats throughout the movement.
“Don’t just swing it back and forth. A lot of guys, you can do this… but my back is not even moving. I’m just using my arms, but if you really squeeze it and squeeze it, you’ll feel your back.
Maybe lighten the weight a bit and really focus on squeezing your lat and pulling through rather than just pulling with the arms,” he explained.
This wasn’t the first time Priest offered key back training advice. When it comes to training the area, he prefers the row, partial deadlift, and t-bar row. He believes these options can all help grow a massive back, but said a variety of exercises can get the job done.
Priest’s back was never a weakness throughout his career. Since lifters cannot typically see their back during training, he said that feeling the lats is key to lasting progress.
RELATED: Bodybuilding Veteran Lee Priest Reveals His Top 2 Back Exercises for Muscle Thickness
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