Arnold’s lats are my favorite pair out of any bodybuilder, and with good reason. What set his lats off from other bodybuilders was not only the width, which is much more common to have wide lats, but the length from the connection to the arms down his back. The connected almost all the way down his back so any twisting of his back would almost be guaranteed to move his lats with him. This made his twisting torso double bi pose impressive to me.
How does one build not width nor thickness, but length of lats?
This more than likely has to do with the insertion point of the lats, which is specific to each individual. His lats went down that far because of his genetics. You cannot change this about yourself; it’s like your abs. Some lifters’ abs are “uneven” and do not line up symmetrically. This is genetic.
Same thing with the insertion point of your biceps. on many, there is a gap between your elbow and the biceps muscle. Can’t change that either.
I am not so sure about that. Lats my lats have grown both out and longer, much longer. the first started off really short, but have stretched a lot further down. Bicep heads, on the other hand, I have noticed do not really get longer, maybe just a smidgen just because of their sheer increase in size.
I dont think most people are going to know how “long” their lats are until they are reasonably well developed and you can actually flex them and see them clearly.
According to the books arnold has written and the general advice he gives, you should be hitting the back twice a week with wide-grip pullups and barbell rows. Each for 4 sets of 8-12 repitions, unless you can’t do weighted pullups in that range, then he typically advices doing as many as you can until you reach a certain quota… whether it be 30, 50 reps, whatever.
You add weight once you are proficient at reaching that quota, and you stretch the back muscles vigorously and frequently from many different angles between sets.
And oh yeah, eat your way up to 250lbs of sheer bodyweight haha
This is of course isn’t what most trainers today would advise, but if you bought one of his books with that question in mind… that is the answer you would get.
Honestly I think it’s a pretty good way to go about things.