A better lat stretch for the overhead squat

Stretching your lats will have a dramatic effect on your overhead lifts.  Here is a illustration of the lat muscle (latissimus dorsi), courtesy of the ground-breaking anatomist – Thomas Myers, author of “Anatomy Trains”.

The lats span from the sides of the hips, up the side of the ribcage, attaching to the shoulder blade as well as attaching to the arm.

(Gluts and quadriceps are also pictured showing the functional connection the lats have in movement – in this case we are just discussing lat)

Stretching your tight lats is very likely to help you ‘PR’ your workout since they can restrict your ability to raise your arm overhead.

Tight lats can also pull the hips forward into an anterior pelvic tilt, making you more likely to overextend your back in movements like the overhead squat.

Lat is part of the ‘Core-Four’ lower body stretches and can be done from “Mission Control” on the floor (see photo below).

A Quick Way to ‘PR’
The most effective way to stretch lats is with the band stretch pictured. A common mistake athletes make is to pull on the band – instead of setting up the stretch where the band is pulling the arm forward.

Keeping the upward pull and arm fixed lean back with the hips for the stretch.

A second mistake athletes make is to only stretch lat in one direction, note the two main positions in the ‘stretch of the week’ – the first is a forward lunge, the second a side lunge (position 2 is in-between).

Using the ‘stretch assessment’ explore the feel of the stretch – around the shoulder blade and down to the hip.

– Kevin J. Kula, “The Flexibility Coach”, Creator of FlexibilityRx™

Tags: best lat stretch, lat stretch, latissimus dorsi, overhead mobility, shoulder flexion, squatrx, tight lats