Find Your Lats... So You Can Turn Them Off And Liberate Yourself From Back And Shoulder Pain

Your latissimus dorsii (latissimus= "on the side," dorsii = "on the back") are the big muscles on the sides of your back that give the taper between your shoulders and your waist. They're kind of like the glutes of the upper body, a big, fatigue-tolerant prime mover that's involved in nearly everything you do, from pull-ups and push-ups to throwing, kicking or even jumping! 

All of which is great, but lats are also the cause of a lot of pain and discomfort. That's because we spend way too much time doing nothing physically. Then you head to the gym, do some pulldowns (that's your lats), benches (guess what? Lats) and a few planks (there they are again!) and head home The postural muscles that are supposed to be holding your arms and upper back in place aren't really getting a look-in, but your lats are getting a big wake-up call. So when your body needs something to stabilise your arms and upper back, it calls on your lats because it knows how.

The problem is your lats have several jobs to do, and having them doing those jobs all the time isn't especially good for you. Lats:

• Pull your shoulders down
• Pull your arms down
• Internally rotate your arms
• Flex your thoracic spine

So when you're using them as a postural muscle, that's what you're going to end up with. Much low back pain comes from chronically over activated lats curving the spine out of shape, throwing the load on the lumbar spine in a bad position. A lot of neck pain is coming from the same place: with the T-spine locked down by the lats, the C-spine has nowhere to go and has to work on a tilted base to boot.

The solution is to learn to use the postural muscles of the upper back, the epispinals, rhomboids and the rotator cuff and traps, to do their job of maintaining spine shape and controlling shoulder and arm posture. But in order for them to be able to do it, the lats need to relax. Which means you need to know how to find them, so you can turn them off!

How To Find Your Lats: Part 1

Reach under your arm. When your fingers are touching the base of your shoulder blade, your lat is in the palm of your hand. So now you know where it is, but you can't turn it off with your hands. You need to be able to find your lats neurologically. 

READ What Your Broomstick Can Do For Your Workouts

How To Find Your Lats: Part 2

Stand tall and move your right arm away from your body. Internally rotate, and then reach down, without moving your shoulder or bending at the waist. The muscle that's doing that is your lat. Do the same on the other side, and repeat a couple of times to learn how to do it without external cues.

How Can You Fix Problem Lats?

Fixing problem lats takes some time, but there are things you can start doing straight away to begin moving in the right direction.

1: Switch Them Off

As counter-intuitive as it might seem, one of the most effective ways to relax your lats is to know where they are, so you can feel when they fire and turn them off by consciously relaxing them. Practice "turning them on" a couple of times a day, then turning them off, feeling them relax. To make this even more effective, combine it with the stretches we'll look at below.

2: Stretch Them Out

Your lats are a big, strong muscle that respond extremely well to weight or strength training. As such they're an ideal candidate for a stretching regime aimed at increasing their resting length and range of motion. We'll start by increasing their range of motion, teaching them to feel longer. You're not actually changing the length of any muscle fibbers here, just helping your nervous system to feel safe letting your lats extend.

The Stretches

Wall stretch: Stand facing a wall and put your hands behind your head. Rest your elbows on the wall and lean in, trying to move your elbows further back. At the same time, lift your shoulder blades and the points of your shoulders and extend your chest. This stretches your triceps but it's also a lat stretch.

Box stretch: You can do these with a box, a bench or even a bed. Kneel high, with your thighs vertical, and put your hands in front of your face, palms in, with about six inches between them. Rest your elbow on the bench or box and find your lats neurologically, so you know where you're feeling the stretch. Your body might try to get out of the stretch by allowing your low back or shoulders to move around if you let it, so the way too deal with that is to not try to go too far, too fast. Instead, move into the stretch slowly. This isn't about reaching some goal,it's about learning to feel your lats and allow them to be longer, so take it slowly. To increase the stretch, move your hips back toward your feet. Even a small movement here will stretch out your lats significantly and guide you into thoracic extension simultaneously. To improve the effects, try stop and start stretching. Move slightly into the stretch, turn on your lats for a few seconds without moving, so they're activated in the new, longer position, then consciously relax them and fire up your thoracic extensors. Can't find them? Don't worry: think about making your elbows come off the bench while trying to make your chest touch it. Do the same thing a couple more times, going slightly deeper each time.

READ 7 Stretching Exercises You Should Perform

One-arm lat stretch: In gyms, people do these on the uprights of a Smith machine or squat rack. At home you can use a door handle if yours are sturdy, or you can use a lamppost if you want your neighbours to thing you're suffering from the delusion that you're Desperate Dan. If none of those options appeal use the door jamb. Stand at arm's length from the anchor point you've chosen and take hold of it with a neutral (palm in) grip. Now hinge at the hips, trying to keep your hips level and your core engaged as you move forwards. You'll feel the pull under your arm.When you reach the point where your lat feels like it's being nicely stretched, try the stop-start technique described above. Consciously engage your lat, then relax it, and try to push your arm as though you're pressing your anchor point away from you. Relax, stretch a little further and repeat.

If you think I've hit the nail on the head, or you have a bone to pick, get in touch via the comments section below!