Today, I wanted to go through the Upper Lats Stretching, with a little tweak on Lats Stretching and a way of incorporating the lats stretching into your day-to-day life.
When it comes to lats, they play an important role when it comes to the shoulder and when it comes to the back. They also play a role when causing shoulder and back injuries, helping overcome a shoulder injury or back injury.
Sometimes you will end up having to stretch out the lats, and a lot of times, the stretching that people would end up focusing on is stretching for the lats that focus on the origin, which is towards the back of the pelvis area.
I like to focus more on the insertion, where the lats end up connecting up into the shoulder. I end up going through 3 different exercises, which tend to be progressive. So Level 1 ends up being where I start people off. Level 2 is where I progress people to. And then Level 3 is the more advanced or, the stronger stretch.
Level 1 – Lats Stretch
When it comes to Level 1, what I will get people to do is sit nice and ideally.
They are sitting on their sit bones and have an ideal posture. I am going to get them to cross their arms, and I am going to get them to side bend.
Regarding side bending, I am looking at the movement in the thoracic spine and the mid-back as opposed to the low back.
Make sure to tighten the abdominal area, be nice and upright and in good alignment, cross the arms and bend to the side. I am looking at getting a light stretch in the lats area.
What About Reps and Sets?
Now when it comes to reps and sets and length of hold, I get people to hold for 5 to 10 seconds. If they have no stress or strain on the back, they can progress to 20 seconds. I get them to do two repetitions, and they can progress to 3 repetitions and just one set.
Level 2 – Lats Stretch
If they don’t get much benefit from Level 1, I progress them on to Level 2, which is arms overhead, grabbing the elbows, and then side bending.
I am focusing on the side bending happening in the thoracic spine, and I am trying to open things up in this thoracic spine area and looking at getting more of a stretch in the upper part of the lats as opposed to the lower part of the lats.
Level 3 – Lats Stretch
The Level 3 that I will end up progressing people to is getting them to bring their arms overhead, and I will get them to rotate.
Suppose I am working on that right side later. I will get them to rotate clockwise through the trunk bringing the arms overhead with thoracic rotation.
Bringing the arms overhead, focusing on that movement happening in the thoracic spine, and then bending and trying to open up through here and feel that stretch more in the upper part of the lats. And looking at that one set with two repetitions, you can progress to three. Starting with a 5 to 10 seconds hold and then progressing to a 20-second hold.
So give those a go. Those stretches I end up doing, especially if I feel tension or tightness in my back. I find those help relieve things. Also, if you are looking at getting a different stretch for your lats, give those three stretches a go. Find out the level that ends up working best for you.
Take care and bye-bye.
Rick Kaselj, MS