The latissimus dorsi muscles, or the lats, lie on either side of your spine in the middle of your back. They pass under the armpit and attach at the front of the upper arm bone. The muscles help move the shoulder blades and shoulders, and by...
The latissimus dorsi muscles run along the sides of your back and give your upper body a V-shape. Weight training exercises strengthen your lats by contracting your back muscles against resistance. You can work toward personal fitness goals by...
The word "lats" is an abbreviation for the large back muscle group known in long hand as the latissimus dorsi. This V-shaped band of muscle opposes the chest muscles, which are known as the pectoralis major and minor. Working the lats can help...
Effective latissimus dorsi, or lat, exercises help you add both size and shape to your back muscles. This creates a wide, strong and well-defined back, helping you create an impressive physique. Train with both free-weight and machine movements to...
The latissimus dorsi, or lats, are the muscles found on the side of the rib cage. Building your lats will give your upper body a "V" shape and make your waist look smaller. This is a trick used by many bodybuilders and fitness models.
As part of your body's core, your back muscles work in conjunction with the muscles in your pelvis, hips and abdomen to stabilize and balance your body. Your core muscles also give you the strength to perform daily activities and achieve athletic...
The best workout with weights for losing weight includes exercises that most major muscle groups in your body. High-repetition weightlifting with light resistance may provide the most weight loss benefits, by stimulating an aerobic affect that...
Muscular fitness is one part of your overall regimen, consisting of both strength and endurance. While muscular strength is based on the amount of weight that can be lifted in one repetition, endurance is the amount of repetitions that can be...
A big upper body is common among body builders and many athletes. A wide back and large arm, chest and shoulder muscles are a source of power and strength. In order to build a big upper body, you must build the muscles that constitute that part of...
Fat rolls are not the easiest problems to deal with, no matter where they appear on the body. If you recently noticed an accumulation of these on your back, there are exercises you can do to get rid of them. You need to remember, however, that...
Strengthening the shoulders, back and underarm with exercises that target these areas will give you a tighter appearance. Since you can't spot reduce but you can spot firm you will need to lose overall body fat to drop excess fat in these areas,...
Performing the lat-pulldown exercise with weights requires a pulldown weight machine, which has a cable attached to an adjustable stack of weights through a pulley system, or a machine that has a lever attached to bars on which you can load...
The cable crunch is an abdominal training exercise that is performed using weighted resistance from the lat machine or cable machine. Bodybuilding.com notes that the cable crunch is an isolation exercise, meaning it isolates the abdominals. The...
Genetics and bone structure determine your body's shape. You can't change wide hip bones, a narrow collarbone or short legs. You can reduce your body fat through dietary modifications and aerobic exercise, increase your lean muscle mass through...
When you lift weights, it's easy to focus more on what you can see. If you only focus more on the muscles in the front of your body, like your chest, you develop muscular strength imbalances. You need to make sure that you also work your body's...
The back and lat muscles are crucial to the bodybuilder, for the stronger they are, the easier other workouts can be. Most weightlifters also want their bodies to take on the ideal V shape, which requires developed lats, or latissimus dorsi...
Your lat muscles can be found in the middle of your back and, according to Shape Fit, are responsible for helping you extend, rotate and pull your arms in toward your body. The lats are engaged during activities that require your arms to pull,...
Weight machines give you the ability to work your muscles from seated, standing and lying positions. A lat pulldown machine has an adjustable seat, padded thigh support and overhead pulley and cable system that attaches to a weight stack. The lat...
The lats, or latissimus dorsi, are located in the middle or your back and run along your sides. The lats are involved in arm extension, rotation and adduction. Using your body weight, free weights and a chin-up bar you can perform lat exercises at...
A Marcy weight bench is an adjustable weight bench just like any other, with three minor exceptions. The Marcy weight bench comes with a preacher curl pad, a leg developer attachment and some models have a lat bar. You can perform all the...
Pullups are body-weight exercises that directly target the lats, formally called the latissimus dorsi. Your lats are located from the middle of your back, near your spine, and spread outward underneath your armpits. Rigorous weight training of...
Free weights, including barbells, kettlebells and dumbbells, are versatile and effective tools for developing all of your muscles, including your latissimus dorsi. Your latissimus dorsi, or lats for short, are the large fan-shaped muscles which...
Bodybuilders showcase their well-developed back muscles during competition, especially the large V-shaped latissimus dorsi. Other back muscles include the trapezius at the top, the rhomboids in the middle and the erector spinae that run down the...
Lat pulldowns are muscle-building exercises that help to strengthen a number of major muscle groups in the shoulders, arms and back. This exercise must be performed with control to be effective and target stabilizer muscles in the back that can...
The pull-up is a compound exercise that uses your body weight to work several large muscles of the upper body. Incorporating pull-ups into your workout routine can help you to strengthen your upper body and effectively build endurance in the...
If you want the broad back, narrow waist look--you need to build big lats. The lats are the biggest muscle group in the back and cover a large area, primarily in the mid to lower back region. The lats are activated most when performing pulling...
The lateral pulldown, traditionally performed with a weight machine at the gym, works the latissimus dorsi muscles of your upper back along with your rhomboids, shoulders, biceps and flexors. Resistance bands are a lightweight, inexpensive and...
You probably hated chin-ups and pull-ups in gym class and the idea of doing them again just for toned lats is likely unappealing at best. Luckily, there are plenty of other exercises for the lats that can be done with free weights such as...
The latissimus dorsi muscle system, also known as lats, runs from the sides of your chest wall into the upper back and play an important role in maintaining proper posture. Keeping this muscle system stretched and strengthened can be accomplished...
Negative pull-ups are a tough body weight exercise that will strengthen lats, rhomboids, abs, and hip flexors. Perform this exercise at a cable rack with a set of handles fed through the lowest pull-up grips. Learn how to perform it in this...
The 2 pushup 2 pull-up combo is a great chest and back exercise that is physically demanding. Can't perform the pull up with your own body weight? Perform lat pull downs in replacement. Learn how to perform this exercise in this training video...
Negative pull-ups are a tough body weight exercise that will strengthen lats, rhomboids, abs, and hip flexors. Perform this exercise at a cable rack with a set of handles fed through the lowest pull-up grips. Learn how to perform it in this...
Get six-pack abs by performing a weight pullover exercise on a Swiss ball, which will engage the lats and core muscles and lead to a strong, healthy back. Avoid swinging the weights during a weight pullover and maintain a neutral spine with tips...
The 2 pushup 2 pull-up combo is a great chest and back exercise that is physically demanding. Can't perform the pull up with your own body weight? Perform lat pull downs in replacement. Learn how to perform this exercise in this training video...
