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What are the Lat muscles?
The Lat muscles are positioned on your back and are the large “wing” like (shaded in yellow on the diagram) muscles that travel down either side of your back. Their full name is Latissimus Dorsi and they are one of the biggest muscles in our upper body. They join into our upper arms and reach all the way down our backs to our pelvis.
What do we use them for?
Any pulling movement that brings an object towards our bodies. Ranging from the simple task of pulling open a door to a back specific exercise like the bent over row or the classic chin up exercise. With our arms in an upright position above our heads the Lat muscles aid in pulling them down against resistance in front of us or to our sides. A lot of the movements created by the Lat muscles are assisted by the Biceps (shaded in red in the diagram) (click here for biceps stretch) and that is because usually when we pull something in towards us the elbow joint bends and it is the biceps that do this movement.
Is stretching them important?
Quite simply; yes it is. As they are the largest muscle in our upper bodies they have some affect on our posture and on our metabolic rate. The more we can stretch the muscle the longer and larger it can be which is good for increasing our metabolism and by making the muscle longer it will have less of an effect on the bones and joints which means less pulling the skeleton out of line.
What causes tight Lat muscles?
It is not as easy to state what causes tight Lat muscles as it is with some other muscles however exercising them without stretching will lead to tightening of the Lats and bad posture. A poor posture will have an effect on how tight the Lat muscles are just as the Lat muscles will affect poor posture (a very vicious circle – Beeble). Having our arms down by our side could actually be a cause of tightening muscles which sounds strange but if you think about it that is when the muscle is in one of its shortest positions. However I do not expect people to start walking around with their arms in the air trying to naturally lengthen their Lats. It’s just not feasible and as having our arms down by our sides is the natural position I am sure that the body has been able to adapt to cope with this over the few years we have been on this planet.
What can you do?
Stretch (naturally) and have an active lifestyle. Sitting at a desk all day is not going to help things but at the very least having a daily stretching routine would be very beneficial to all you muscles.
The Doorway stretch (Fig. 1)
As you can tell from the name you will need a doorway or a suitably sturdy post, a good grip and yourself.
Standing facing the doorway and to the left side, lean forwards so that you are bending at the waist. You can move your feet around to get the best position, I find that having my left leg forwards and right leg back slightly puts me in the best position. Now reach out in front of you and take hold of the doorway with your left hand. Your arm should be completely straight and your upper body should be slightly more than 90 degrees to your body.
Keep a good hold and by using your legs pull your body away from the door almost as though you are trying to pull the door frame down. So don’t let go and please use a strong door frame. If you have tight muscles you should feel a pull all the way down your left side. Make sure the pull is at your side and not up in the shoulder joint or lower back. If it is at either extremity there is a chance that you could be doing yourself an injury so just ease it off a little by not pulling so hard and return the stretch feeling to the side of your back. If you are not that tight then you may not feel anything. This is no bad thing as you are potentially more supple than some. To increase the stretch you will need to twist your hips so that your right hip comes slightly forwards and your left hip will move further away from the door. The result should be a slight curve added to your spine and extra distance added between your left shoulder and your left hip, hence an increase in the stretch feeling. Hold the stretch for at least 20 seconds and then repeat the whole stretch for your right arm by reversing all the instructions above.
The Standing stretch (Fig. 2)
I don’t believe that this is as effective however it does have the benefit of only needing yourself and being far simpler to achieve. It is also a stretch that I use to stretch my spine (click here to see that stretch). Those of you with tight Lats will find this one will work very well, those of you with not such tight Lats may find that this one is not as effective.
Stand as tall as you can with your left arm vertically above your head. Lean over to your right keeping your hips completely still and just using your spine to bend. To help you with balance it would make sense to stand with your feet shoulder width apart (Many apologies to all who have just fallen over – Beeble). Again you should feel this stretch down your side. If you feel it in your lower back or shoulder joint then just come up slightly so that the stretch is in your side where the Lat muscle is situated. If you do not feel the stretch you can strengthen it by leaning slightly forward and trying to lengthen the distance between left hip and left shoulder. Try and keep your arm as close to your head at all times. Hold this stretch for at least 20 seconds and then repeat on the other side.
How much to stretch?
To measure if you are stretching the right amount use the PRE (Perceived Rate of Exertion) Scale.1 is you can’t feel it at all and 10 is painful, therefore we need you to be taking it to a 6 or 7 so that it is a strong pull but not painful. Make sure that you hold the stretch in one position and don’t bounce up and down to increase the stretch on the muscle. This can cause an injury to your muscle.
Stretching your muscle "cold" (before you have warmed them up) can result in injury. My advice is to take it slowly and never just presume you can jump to the same point you could stretch to the time before. Always move slowly and in a controlled manner. Remember to breathe as holding your breath won’t allow your muscles to truly relax.
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