Wesley Vissers aims to deliver his best performance yet at his next bodybuilding contest. In a recent video (November 1, 2026), he broke down five key exercises that helped him build his lower lats for a wider back ahead of the 2027 Arnold Classic.
After Chris Bumstead retired with six Classic Physique Olympia titles, many assumed Vissers could be the next dominant champion. However, he hasn’t been able to nail down the crown just yet. He’s remained active in the IFBB Pro League circuit, picking up back-to-back victories at the 2026 Arnold Classic Ohio and Detroit Pro. Vissers narrowly took silver behind Mike Sommerfeld when they battled overseas at the Arnold UK.
This season, he came close to the sport’s ultimate title. He brought up his legs in Las Vegas, and that helped him earn a fourth-place finish at the 2026 Olympia. Now, with the Arnold Classic back in his crosshairs, Vissers aims to become a two-time champion and understands that his back shots have to be stronger to make that happen.
Wesley Vissers’ Lower Lat-Building Routine in 2026
Find his exercises from the video below:
- Lower Lat High Row Machine — 2 sets x 10-15 reps
- 55° Back Row — 2 sets x 10-12 reps
- Seated Row — 2 sets x 10-15 reps
- Underhand Pulldown — 2 sets x 10-15 reps
- Cable Pullover — 2 sets x 12-15 reps
Lower Lat High Row Machine
In the video, Vissers explained his movement pattern with the high row machine. He stressed that the elbows should steer toward the hips by adjusting the shoulder of the working arm.
“It has chest support to ensure you can use one arm at a time, put yourself into the pad, and really get your elbow close to the hip to really target the lower lats. As you see me doing these movements, you can see my elbows going close to my hips by shifting the shoulder of the working arm down, allowing the elbow to go close to the hip and really contract that lower lat.”
55° Back Row
According to Vissers, the 55-degree row covers his bases and taxes the back as one complete area:
“Why do I do a row now? Because the back works as a unit. You can’t really truly isolate the lats from the traps for back thickness.”
“We started with a width movement, and now it’s time to fill in that width with some thickness in between, and this one is truly special because it truly mimics the perfect rowing sensation when you stretch out the traps, the middle back, and upper back. When you go up, retracting the shoulder blades, ensuring a full contraction,” explained Wesley Vissers.
Seated Row
Next, he named the seated row, emphasizing that past bodybuilding legends also used the movement to great effect:
“This allows you to engage the lats during the stretch, as opposed to the upright position version where you’re really in a limited range of motion. You’re not really stretching much of the back, in my opinion. This is a more natural way, the way Arnold Schwarzenegger used to do them; Ronnie Coleman did them. What do they all have in common? A wide and a thick back.”
Underhand Pulldown
He recommended body momentum to maximize progress with underhand pulldowns.
“As you can see, full stretch all the way to the top. You can use some 10 percent body language if you want to get it down, just make sure you’re honest to yourself and experienced enough to warrant that bodybuilding language.”
Cable Pullover
Lastly, he finished with cable pullovers, elaborating on why the stretch portion of the rep is crucial to widening the back over time.
“Here, the stretch is the most important aspect. Because this stretches out the back to literally widen the back but don’t neglect the contraction. The contraction here truly emphasizes that lower lat tie-in.”
“When you contract, you want to feel the lat attachment, the tie-in to the hips, because then you know you’re working the entire lat from bottom to top to create the back width but also the lower lat hanging meat development.”
Vissers believes a structured lower-lat-focused workout routine can help take his physique to the next level, especially when it comes to his rear poses. From strong contractions and optimal rep ranges to sheer intensity, he isn’t taking his eye off another gold trophy at the Arnold.
