Do you know how you can lengthen the back muscles and improve the overhead body movement? Well, you need to stretch latissimus dorsi back muscles (lat stretches) before or after workout almost every day, this will help you protect and stabilize the spine of your body while providing strengths for the back.
Exercise is beneficial and convenient for our body, but due to our constant and busy daily schedule, we do not get enough time to exercise and have the healthy and flexible body that you desire.
If you find yourself it is difficult to stick to the exercises, you can follow How to Motivate Yourself for Workout, where we create a creative plan To make the exercise easy to follow every day, you need to dedicate at least one or two days per week where you will exercise, and focus on lats stretches.
Our shoulders and arms are involved in a lot of activities and this can stiffen and weaken them over time, thus needing to stretch more and strengthen them to promote good posture. In this article I will help you enlighten you on the ways in which you can stretch your lats and strengthen your shoulders and arms.
Plan Before Starting Lats Stretches
There are many latissimus dorsi stretches to choose from, and you need to choose at least two that you feel comfortable with, and will work out regularly, so your muscles don’t start to tension or get any potential injury.
As your flexibility increases, you can add more different stretches, frequency, intensity, and duration as well, which will continue as you prepare for your workout.
The basic latissimus dorsi stretch should start with standing vertically with one hand raised and aligned upward to be straight with your back. Then gradually bend over to the other side until you feel a slight to modest level of stretch on the side of the shoulder and the upper back opposite the raised hand.
You should hold this position for five seconds and then return to the starting position. Repeat the same process more than ten times on the other side.
Lat Stretches Exercises
Foam Rolling Lats
While doing this exercise, you will need a foam roller to help relieve the soreness. In addition, it will also increase your range of motion and help correct misalignments.
While doing the foam roller stretches, you should be careful to identify all the sensitive areas of both arms as you switch between them. Also, you should put less pressure on the lats.
Here is what you need to do:
- Lie on your right side with the roller under you
- Make sure to keep your right leg straight while bending your left knee, and place your left foot on the floor for support as you roll.
- Roll your body back and forth by slowly moving the foam from under the armpit towards the side of middle back, then return direction, pressing with the left foot on the ground to roll your torso.
- Make sure to roll the entire side mentioned, for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Switch and repeat to the other side.
Latissimus Dorsi Ball Stretch
To practice this, you will need a large ball or use a chair. While doing the stretching exercises, it will enable you to lengthen the lats, thus improving the overhead movement.
Here is what you need to do:
- You can start the exercise using the tabletop position.
- Place your right forearm on the ball, the direction of the palm of your hand being perpendicular to the ceiling.
- Use the other hand to press on the ground for support and stability.
- Begin Lean your body slightly forward, thus rolling the ball with the right arm, always engaging your core muscles as the stretch continues.
- Return your forward body to its previous position.
- Switch to the other side and repeat the same process steps for a few minutes.
Squat Lat Stretches
According to therapists, they claim that stretching the lats muscles while breathing deeply will help you relax, especially if you are in a squatting position.
Here is what you need to do:
- You need to find a stand-up static object, like a pole or similar, that you can holds on.
- Hold the object at level waist height.
- Squat down, keeping your feet shoulder width apart, and face down looking at your feet.
- Once you squat, you should ensure that your back is relaxed by squatting as low as possible.
- While squatting and holding your hands to the object, make sure your arms are straight and at the level of your head.
- You can inhale through your nose and occasionally exhale through your mouth.
- Repeat the same several times to allow your body to relax.
Lat Band Stretch
You will do this exercise with the help of a resistance band, ensuring that the latissimus dorsi of the back are stretched.
Here is what you need to do:
- You should tie a resistance band around a stationary or standing object one meter above your head. Make sure it hangs down at chin level.
- Grasp the belt with your right hand and Lean your torso slightly forward, keeping aligned your arm, head and back while leaning in one line. You can put your left foot in front of your right foot for extra support.
- Begin by pulling the band a few steps back to the point where you feel the tension of the band.
- When you want to experience an extra stretches, walk back and let the band pull your arm.
Active Floor Lat Stretch
It is a popular stretch that you can get that will strengthen your shoulder and arms. You can always increase the stretch by rounding your lower back. It helps deepen your stretch and also rotate your ribs and chest toward the ceiling.
Here is what you need to do:
- While in a kneeling position, send your hips back and lean your upper body forward with your right forearm planted on the floor.
- Make sure your body weight is supported on your right arm. Then start extending your left arm to a full stretch, by extending your fingers as far as possible.
- Hold this position for a few seconds.
- You can now return to the original position.
- You need to repeat the process for about 10 minutes on opposite side.
Lat Eagle Pose
You can engage in eagle pose either while standing or sitting. It is a yoga pose that helps increase flexibility and range of motion in your upper back and shoulders.
Here is what you need to do:
- Sit on the shin leg, while your torso is standing straight.
- Extend both hands straight forward in front of you and parallel to the floor.
- Place your arms crosswise in the front of your upper body so that your right arm is over your left arm.
- You can tuck the right elbow into the crook of your left elbow, and then you will be able to raise both forearms, to be vertical, facing you.
- Connect both palms to be facing each other and squeeze each other as much as possible while breathing deeply. You should be sure to focus on releasing the tension in your back and shoulders.
- Then reverse and release your arms and repeat the same process again for the side of the other hand.
During the exercise, you should pay great attention to the lats muscles because they are the largest muscles in the back. You need to build your muscles to generate a stronger body and to strengthen its movements. In addition, you need to make sure that all the other core muscles in the body are stronger.
Benefits Of Having Strong Stretch Lats
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Helps Maintain Strength Shoulders, Arms and Upper Back
Your shoulders are one of the most used parts of the body, both when you perform daily activities and when participating in athletes. For example, shoulders are more involved in movements like holding weights and many more, which calls for shoulder duty to be much stronger.
The lats will help support all the movements you make with your shoulders. Your lats will mainly facilitate all the movements that go around the shoulder joints and the muscles associated with them.
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Improve Exercise Performance And Support Sports Activities
The lats muscles will ensure that you are able to maintain the correct body posture and prevent all the back pain that it can cause. For example, when twisting or bending your torso, you will need the help of the lats to continue such activities.
All the upper and middle back muscles work together with the lats to give your body a more effective motion, which is what the body needs to perform during exercise, thus facilitating and efficient movements.
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Maintains Stability Through The Core
The lateral and lower back muscles are part of the core structure, which means they must be strong and flexible to support your body. If your posture is poor, it will be associated with headaches and other respiratory problems.
And when you have a good posture, you will have excellent stability, and enough balance that will help you prevent falls during any activity.
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Flexion Enhancement
While standing up straight, you need your body muscles, which will support your upright and extended posture as well. It will involve lateral flexion and extension of the lumbar spine, which will eventually help lengthen or contract the back muscles.
It will also facilitate movement up and down.
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Ensures A Balanced Body
The back muscles are essential in the body because they carry a lot of weight and help the body to have a balanced posture. For example, your back muscles will work in conjunction with your front muscles to help balance the body.
However, it will be beneficial to have adequate balance of the back and front muscles, rather than having imbalances that may cause injuries while performing the activity.
Conclusion
Latissimus Dorsi plays an essential role in the body, as referenced above. When you build your lats, it will enhance the different upper body movements, which will need coordination and aligned, especially on athletes or daily routine activities. You need to decide which stretches you feel comfortable with and practice them every day.
If you haven’t exercised yet for the lats, you need to start paying more attention to this muscle and begin strengthening your shoulder muscles and back muscles by performing the Best Lat exercises for Men or the Best Back exercises for Women.
However, you have to be extra careful while exercising to prevent muscle damage, start with a simple exercise and gradually progress up to the level of expertise.