A man minus his shirt has become the standard image to communicate male sex appeal. As such, broad shoulders that taper into a smaller waist creating a V-shape have become the fitness goal of many men. There is one component of this shape, however, that many men overlook – the back.
Training your back is an essential element in developing a V-shape and enhancing your overall fitness.
Latissimus Dorsi
The back is often overlooked because, you’re not viewing it in the mirror. Chances are, you’re not walking around shirtless most of the time, so you are not getting much public feedback either. The largest muscle of your back and upper body is the latissimus dorsi (Lats). It is a broad, fan shaped muscle that starts out wide at the level of the shoulders and ends medially at the level of the pelvis. Your lats are the muscle that draws your shoulders down and back and enables you to bring your arms closer to your body.
Training your lats will result in that sought after V-shape. It will also help you lose weight and improve the appearance of your abdominal muscles.
Training Benefits
Working your large muscles, such as the lats helps to raise your metabolism. You will burn more calories (and fat) even in while your body is in a resting state. Combined with a healthy, low fat diet you can achieve greater weight loss.
Developing your lats will also make your abdominal exercise more effective. When your large muscles are strong your smaller muscles (such as the abdominals) also benefit. Strong lats promotes increased core strength and allow you to target and work the smaller abdominal muscles more efficiently. This is why we have moved from ab exercises to core training.
Large muscles also develop faster, so you will see results much sooner than when you train smaller muscles. Strong lats also improve your posture which makes your waist look smaller. You will look and feel better even if you have not yet attained that six pack.
Performance Benefits
Larger, wider and stronger Lats can also help you:
- Throw harder
- Punch harder
- Pull harder
- Swim faster
- Climb faster
The two keys to developing your lats is exercise and diet. Exercise breaks the muscle down and your diet builds them back up. To build larger or stronger muscles, you must eat enough calories and enough quality protein.
A wider back is a larger back. To build large muscles you should do 3 sets of an exercise with rep goals of 10 -12. The best exercises for a wide back are:
- Wide Grip Pull Ups
- Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs
- Wide Grip Bent Over Rows
- Wide Grip Seated Rows
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**Please consult your physician, registered dietitian, or certified fitness professional before starting or changing your diet or exercise program.**
