The latissimus dorsi is the biggest muscle in the back, and the most underused, especially among us ladies. Hypermobility of the shoulders is the main reason we can’t connect back there. The lats look like wings. Use that image of a broad, wide back and as we lengthen and breathe. See the picture above!

Activation

We use the lats in chest expansion, but more often than not, the original arm springs are too heavy. The arms take over, shoulders joints may come forward, and the lats get to stay lost and weak. I start with lighter springs to start the lat search party. Visualize the lats as you work. They engage in order to open up the chest and thus achieve a true chest expansion. With the chest now open, that cue, pull your shoulder blades down your back, activates the lats as well as giving the shoulder blades stability on the ribs. The gluts and hamstrings are a big part as well. When we get into a rocking swan, the whole back body will be activated, but one step at a time. As a teacher, I find the lats are missing more from the movement. When we start to move big, the big muscles move us.

Video

The video this week below is all about how to prepare for your best extension, whether it is swan, rocking, cobra, or updog. I am specifically talking about when the arms are placed by the shoulder line progressing down to your sides. As the arms go from shoulder line to overhead, the dynamic of the lats change, but that is begging me to be a whole other blog post. So we will specifically focus on arm placement, shoulder line and below. The exercises in the video are a progressive chest expansion against gravity. A lot of time, we lift our upper spine only to compress the low back. If we look at the connections of the lats with the bones, not only does it span a majority of the back, but it has attachments to T7-L5 (see my spine post), ribs, and into the fascia of the low back. Can you see how this assists as a lever for big extension movement in the back? It’s connection with the fascia of the low back (thoracolumbar fascia) also serves as a point of connection to other muscles including the psoas, transverse abdominis, and obliques that connect into the same fascia. So as we activate the lats in extension, we can imagine the connection through this fascia of the abdominals working in length, and with 3 dimensions of the body and core coming into play. So although the lats are engaging, we are also fascially connected to the abs’ eccentric (lengthening) contraction

These exercises have proven their worth not only with me, but in my clientele practice. I see big improvements with extension by having these exercises to serve as a base to bigger movements. Try it and let me know what you find! Be sure to study the visual of the lat before you try. The image will help serve as a map to find these long lost muscles. Happy exploring!