Athena Vale
The latissimus dorsi muscles are activated any time you extend your shoulder joint. To feel your lats, you can try twisting from pronation to supination, which turns on more of the muscle fibres in your lats. You can also try a lat pulldown, either from a kneeling position or sitting in a lat pulldown station. To prep your lats before a workout, you can try some simple drills, such as focusing on a slow, even tempo, squeezing your lats and shoulder blades together, and keeping your arms as straight as possible.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Warm-up exercise | 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps per side |
| Workout exercise | 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps per side with 30 seconds rest |
| Shoulder joint extension | Activates lat muscles |
| Tempo | Slow and even |
| Shoulder blades | Squeeze together |
| Arms | Keep straight |
| Hands | Closer together on the band to increase tension and difficulty |
| Lat pulldown | Sit in a lat pulldown station, grab the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width, tighten your core, keep your torso upright, pull the bar down towards your chest, bend at the elbows and squeeze your shoulder blades |
| Lat pulldown (kneeling) | Start in a tall kneeling position in front of the machine, squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create full-body tension, reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip, then pull it down toward your chest, bending at the elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades |
| Shoulders | Flat to the wall, retracted and depressed |
| Back | Keep flat to the wall |
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What You'll Learn
Lat pulldowns from a kneeling position
Performing the lat pulldown from a kneeling position adds an extra postural challenge to the movement, as you'll be forced to be more active than when you sit on a bench for the standard variation of the exercise.
To begin, start in a tall kneeling position in front of the machine. Squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create full-body tension. Reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip, then pull it down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades.
It's important to focus on squeezing your abs and glutes before starting your set, and then keep those muscles engaged throughout the exercise. This will help to ensure that you're activating your lat muscles effectively.
Additionally, you can twist from pronation to supination to turn on more of the muscle fibres in your lats. Once you pull the handle into your side, squeeze your lats as hard as you can for some extra tension. Slowly lower the weight back and twist your hand back to pronation as you release the cable.
Remember to keep a slow, even tempo throughout the exercise. If you don't feel a burn in your delts and lats, you may be moving too fast or your hands may be too far apart. Adjust your hand placement to increase tension and difficulty as needed.
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Twisting from pronation to supination
Your latissimus dorsi activates any time you extend your shoulder joint. To feel your lats, focus on a slow, even tempo, squeezing your lats and shoulder blades together, and keeping your arms as straight as possible. If you don't feel a burning sensation in your delts and lats, you're moving too fast.
You can also try the lat pulldown. Sit in a lat pulldown station and grab the bar above with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width. Tighten your core and keep your torso upright. Pull the bar down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades. You can also perform the lat pulldown from a kneeling position, which will add an extra postural challenge to the movement.
Another tip to keep in mind is to ensure your shoulders are flat to the wall, essentially retracted and depressed so that they aren't touching the wall at an angle. If they are, you'll usually wind up rolling your shoulders forward, which means you'll be working your anterior shoulder and upper traps more than your lats.
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Shoulder positioning
To activate your lat muscles, you need to extend your shoulder joint.
To ensure your shoulders are in the correct position to activate your lat muscles, they should be flat to the wall, essentially retracted and depressed so that they aren't touching the wall at an angle. If your shoulders are at an angle, you'll usually wind up rolling them forward, which means you'll be working your anterior shoulder and upper traps more than your lats.
When you press back into the wall, make sure you aren't arching your back or flaring your ribs out. This is common with lat-based drills, as they pull the spine into extension when contracted.
To activate your lats, you can also try twisting from pronation to supination. This turns on more of the muscle fibres in your lats. Once you've pulled the handle into your side, squeeze your lats as hard as you can for some extra tension.
You can also try a lat pulldown. Sit in a lat pulldown station and grab the bar above with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width. Tighten your core and keep your torso upright. Pull the bar down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades.
If you want to add an extra postural challenge, try performing the lat pulldown from a kneeling position. Start in a tall kneeling position in front of the machine. Squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create full-body tension. Reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip, then pull it down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades.
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Warm-up exercises
One simple drill is to focus on a slow, even tempo, squeezing your lats and shoulder blades together, and keeping your arms as straight as possible. If you don't feel a burning sensation in your delts and lats, you're probably moving too fast.
You can also try a twisting exercise, turning from pronation to supination to turn on more of the muscle fibres in your lats. Pull a handle into your side and squeeze your lats as hard as you can, then slowly lower the weight and twist your hand back to pronation as you release the cable.
Another exercise is to sit in a lat pulldown station and grab the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width. Tighten your core, keep your torso upright, and pull the bar down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades.
If you want to add an extra challenge, try performing the lat pulldown from a kneeling position. Start in a tall kneeling position in front of the machine, then squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create full-body tension. Reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip, then pull it down toward your chest as described above.
Finally, make sure your shoulders are flat to the wall when doing lat-based drills. This will help ensure that the work is going to your lats, rather than your anterior shoulder and upper traps.
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Deadlift activation
Ensure your shoulders are flat to the wall, retracted and depressed so they aren't touching the wall at an angle. This will help prevent you from rolling your shoulders forward, which can result in more work for your anterior shoulder and upper traps than your lats.
When pressing back into the wall, be mindful not to arch your back or flare your ribs out. This is a common issue with lat-based drills, as they tend to pull the spine into extension when contracted.
You can also try the lat pulldown exercise, which can be done from a kneeling position to add an extra postural challenge. Start by focusing on squeezing your abs and glutes, then keep those muscles engaged as you reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip. Pull the bar down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Another variation of the lat pulldown is to sit in a lat pulldown station and grab the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width. Tighten your core, keep your torso upright, and pull the bar down toward your chest, again bending at the elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades.
Additionally, you can incorporate twisting movements into your routine. For example, twist from pronation to supination to activate more muscle fibres in your lats. After pulling the handle into your side, squeeze your lats as hard as you can for extra tension, then slowly lower the weight and twist your hand back to pronation as you release the cable.
Remember to focus on a slow, even tempo during your warm-up drills. If you don't feel a burning sensation in your delts and lats, you may be moving too fast or your hands may be too far apart on the band. Adjust your speed or hand placement to increase tension and difficulty.
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Frequently asked questions
The latissimus dorsi activates anytime you extend your shoulder joint. To feel your lats, try twisting from pronation to supination, which turns on more of the muscle fibres in your lats.
You should feel a burning sensation in your delts and lats. If you don't, you may be moving too fast or your hands may be too far apart on the band.
Try the lat pulldown, either from a kneeling position or sitting on a bench. Focus on squeezing your abs and glutes before you start your set, then keep those muscles engaged throughout.
Start in a tall kneeling position in front of the machine. Squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create full-body tension. Reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip, then pull it down toward your chest, bending at your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades.
When doing lat-based drills, people often arch their back off the wall or flare their ribs out, which pulls the spine into extension when contracted. Make sure your shoulders are flat to the wall, retracted and depressed so they aren't touching the wall at an angle.
