Another thing I want some advice on, my back is really strong and dense but I don't have a lot of lat with even tho I can do some pretty heavy weighted pullups and pulldowns. I'm wondering if I would benifit from replacing rack pulls and rows with more direct lat work for a while. What's some good exercises for with other then pullups and pulldowns
The lats have allways been the hardest muscle group for me to target and reluctant to grow. Don't know if I can really say I have strong lateral pull though, but it's not weak and definitely not as weak as the muscle size balance would make it out to be.
One thing that works a bit is to just increase the volume for lat targeting excersizes. For me horizontal pulls like rows never quite hit the lats, but mostly upper back and rear delts. Mostly the vertical pulls target the lats for me, so it's like you're saying.
You said you have access to multiple gyms. So check if they have some different machines for lat workout and try them all. I've found some really good machines for lat work in some gyms. Just have to try them all out. Some don't fit for me at all and ends up being a bicep workout, but some isolates the lat really well.
A few good excersizes for lats for me that comes to mind are:
Lat pulldown with cable machine with close neutral grip.
One handed lat pulldown with cable machine. You can really let the arm strecth out high with knuckles towards face and pull/squeese it really low, so that your fist is at the level of your nipple, while rotating so that palm is towards face. Easier to hold shoulder tucked back too, than with two handed pulls (for me at least)
Then there's this possibly a bit odd looking pull down where you stand and not sit in the cable pull down machine. Works best with close neutral grip handle imo. Again nice strecth if you lean forward in the starting point and great squeese in the end point will be available with this.
Maybe there's something worth a try.
Edit: I just realised you said other than pulldowns, but I don't think there are much of else, than vertical pulls and horizontal pulls, that you use lats for. I mean even on a bodymechanical standpoint. There's pullovers, especially lat pushdown with cable machine, but by my experience it targets the very high point of lat, right in the armpit. So you're pretty much left with different kinds of pulldowns.