What is the best way to work out the latissimus dorsi?

The 'lats' are a great muscle to work on and should be highly considered when planning a workout regiment. The exercise that I recommend for the lats if the seated row. It's the most gentle on your shoulder girdle but doesn't give you as good a workout on your lats. The most common exercise would be the Lat Pull Down or the Palm Out pullup. I prefer the pull up but both are pretty tough of the shoulder joints.

Once you get a few pull ups under your belt, YouTube the Kipping Pull Up. It will blast your lats and you will never do any other lat exercise again. It looks dorky but it's killer!