“V” IS FOR VERY-MUSCULAR
Wish you could fill out your shirt better, have a more commanding appearance and walk with greater confidence? Men who want that “massive”, inverted-pyramid, V-shaped look know the key is to build well-defined latissimus dorsi muscles. Your lats, the large, flat, triangular-shaped dorso-lateral muscles on your back are responsible for extension and adduction.
With all the talk about getting the body you want, showing the world you’ve paid your dues at the gym and commanding a powerful physique, it’s no wonder men’s attitude toward exercising these muscles is often focused on how our improvements will make us look and feel. Lats after all as bodybuilder expert Sean Nalewanyj has said, are the most exalted bodyparts in comic book heros. Men have a desire to be “super” in the eyes of others. And yes, that is a good God-given desire.
What you do with that inner longing depends on weather you passively adopt the egotistical self-serving attitudes that saturate popular culture or shape your potential through a stronger understanding of the Christian faith. God wants you to be a strong man so that you can physically demonstrate His power to others. God’s “tender mercies” can be abstract if they haven’t been experienced by others. However, through a passionate embrace you can physically transmits compassion, gentleness, mercy, hope and other spiritual qualities. Strength training and building larger lats improves your ability to demonstrate to others the nature of God that is built within you.
HOW TO GET LARGER LATS
There are a number of exercises that will train your lats: chin up, pull up, bent over row, pull down, pull over, dumbbell row, dead lift and t-bar row. Working your lats should be a regular part of your strength-training schedule. To see gains you’ll want to regularly diversify your workout, increase reps, increase weight and exhaust the muscles. To fuel growth even further you may find it helpful to have a training partner that can motivate you and help on those final sets when you are really pushing your limits.
Consult with a personal trainer or fitness professional for the proper way to perform lat exercises. To get you started we asked personal trainer and nutrition consultant Alex Lopiccolo to demonstrate WIDE GRIP PULL-UPS.
PRE STRETCH BEFORE EXERCISE
Stand next to a pole, vertical bar or squat rack and hold onto it with one arm at shoulder height and lean back. Keep knees slightly bent and push your hips back. Than switch arms to get an equal stretch for the lats. Hold for 30 seconds each.
BASIC TECHNIQUE
- Start by hanging from a bar with an over hand grip wider than shoulder width.
- Keep your knees bent to help from not swaying back and forth.
- Pull yourself up until your chin touches the bar.
- Slowly lower yourself until you have a slight bend in the elbow and repeat.
POINTERS
- Pretend your not holding onto the bar, that will help you focus on pulling your elbows down which will make you pull with your lats instead of your biceps.
- Don’t start the exercise from the very bottom. Start with a slight bend in the elbow.
ADVANCED
Add hanging leg raises after the movement to further stretch your lats and hit the lower abs.
VISUAL BENEFITS
Larger lats will make your waist appear smaller and give you that v taper.
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid doing them behind the head because they put to much wear and tear on your shoulder.
HOW HUGE IS YOUR HUG?
JONATHAN EVANS Full-Back For the Buffalo Bills Speaker and co-author of GET IN THE GAME. www.aenterprises.org
To work out my lats, I stick to the basics. Some of my favorites are one-armed dumbbell rows, lat pulldowns (wide grip), and pull-ups. I normally do 4 sets of 10. Sometimes people think the more difficult the exercise is the better it works. However, I have found that key is making sure you do the exercises correctly and sticking to a routine. The pros have been doing these for years and they work. My wife is one of the most important people in my life. We met while in school at Baylor University and since that time God has continued to bless our relationship. She is the love of my life and my best friend. I am a pretty playful guy and one of my favorite things to do is to run up to Kanika and surprise her with the biggest bear hug I can muster, most times lifting her off the ground and ending with a big spin. It just feels good to be able to express my love for her in this way.
As a professional athlete, I am required to workout and live a healthy lifestyle. This is not easy and often I simply don’t feel like it. However, I know that in order to get the results I want, I have to be dedicated, persistent and determined. As Kanika’s husband and head of my home, the same is true of my spiritual life. God has taught me through my commitment to my physical body that I must transfer and multiply that same dedication, persistence and determination into my relationship with Him. One of my greatest joys is knowing that the protection and security my physical presence provides my wife is a only a symbol of the Spiritual protection I am able to give her because of the routine workouts I have with our Heavenly Father.
ERIK AKUTAGAWA Performance Coach www.competitivespirit.com
I'm a pretty basic person. So my favorite lat/back exercise is the basic pull up. However, the manner in which I execute my pull up may be a bit different than the norm…
I have 2 kids, a 6 year old son and a 3 year old daughter. They like to visit our neighborhood park, which is just down the street. So while we're there, I do my pull ups on the monkey bar apparatus – with some help from my kids. First, I load up my son, who weighs about 50 pounds, and do as many pull ups as I can. Then I let him go and grab my daughter, who is about 30 pounds, and do more pull ups. Upon failure, I let go of her and then do as many strict pull ups as possible. When I can't do anymore, I do explosive kipping pullups to complete failure. I change up grips (overhand, underhand, parallel grip, narrow, wide) as necessary to continue getting more reps.
Strong lats and a strong back are vital. In running my martial arts practice www.victorykarate.com , my back musculature gives all of my strikes back-up mass and enables me to withstand the heavy hits and falls (the lats provide the link between the arms and the hips and base structure). When sitting in a chair for hours taking coaching a strong back maintains my good posture, which opens up my lungs so that I can consistently give my body and brain a full amount of oxygen. At home, I'm able to squeeze my wife and help relieve her back tightness and fatigue, or just hold her to help her feel secure (not to mention, move heavy stuff around); I'm able to withstand my son's tackles and wrestling; and I'm better able to hold my little girl and get my kisses.
Have an example to share? Click on the CONTACT US button and tell us how your larger lats help you to give huge hugs.
