The lat spread is a bodybuilding pose that highlights the width of your latissimus dorsi muscles. These massive V-shaped muscles support and stabilize your spine while also strengthening your shoulders and back.
This muscle is essential for a variety of tasks including building upper-body strength, improving range of motion, and preventing injury. Learn how to lat spread correctly to maximize your results.
The Front Lat Spread
The front lat spread is one of the most basic poses that bodybuilders practice in preparation for competitions. It is a very popular pose and can make or break a contestant’s performance. The lats are a big muscle group that originates from the lower three or four ribs, the lower six thoracic vertebrae, and the iliac crest (the top border of the pelvis). They insert on the humerus (upper-arm bone) just below the shoulder joint.
The lats are a powerful and incredibly important set of muscles, so it is no wonder that they are so popular with bodybuilders. The size of your lats can make a huge difference to your physique, and it is something that you need to work on as much as possible.
You can achieve the perfect front lat spread by following a few simple steps. First, you should stand with your feet about a foot wider than shoulder-width apart. Then, point your toes out slightly and bend your knees a little. This will help you create a ballerina-like pose.
After completing this, you need to place your hands at the side level with your belly button. You should also hook your thumbs behind your waist. This will help you open your laterals in this pose, and it will show the full extent of your lats.
Performing the front lat spread can be difficult, but it is an essential part of your training. You should perform this pose a few times a week to ensure you can get it right.
The Rear Lat Spread
The rear lat spread, also known as the Zyzz pose, is a bodybuilding pose that shows off the width and thickness of a competitor’s latissimus dorsi muscles. It’s one of the most popular and fundamental poses that athletes in physique competitions must perform.
The latissimus dorsi is a muscle group that runs down the sides of the back, and it originates from the lower three or four ribs, lower six thoracic vertebrae, and iliac crest (the top border of the pelvis). It inserts on the humerus (upper-arm bone) just below the shoulder joint.
When performing the rear lat spread, a bodybuilder is required to flex their lats in front of the audience and judges. This can be a bit challenging for many people, especially new bodybuilders.
Fortunately, you can improve your ability to lat spread by utilizing an effective training routine. According to Catanzano, who coaches posing as well as bodybuilding for physique competitors, there are three steps you can take to learn how to lat spread:
Step 1. Start by adjusting your stance so that your feet are more than shoulder-width apart, with one foot in front of the other. Then, turn your hips so that your rear foot is a stride ahead of the front one, and rest the other foot on the floor.
Once you’re in this position, pull your shoulders forward and widen them out. This creates a more dramatic lat spread and allows you to show off your lats in the most impressive way possible.
Next, engage your abs to bring your upper back down. This helps keep your shoulder blades from squeezing together. This movement also widens and thickens your middle back, which is an important part of a rear lat spread.
The Side Lat Spread
The latissimus dorsi (lats) muscles are the V-shaped slabs of muscle that extend from the side of your torso to your lower back. They are responsible for supporting various movements of your shoulders and also help to support good posture. The best way to showcase your lats is to adopt the right workout exercises to target them.
The lat spread is a bodybuilding pose that highlights the width of your latissimus dorsi muscle and helps judges see that you’ve developed this essential muscle group. This is a great pose for bodybuilders and figure competitors, but it can be difficult to master.
To get the most out of this bodybuilding pose, you’ll need to be able to press your shoulder blades together in order to keep the lat muscles compacted. Then, you’ll want to push your elbows out in front of your torso as you maintain your fists at your sides. This widens your shoulders and reveals your latissimus dorsi muscles to the audience, which is a great way to show off your back.
You can even try the same pose as a front lat spread but with your back facing away from the audience. This will allow you to show off your latissimus dorsi from the rear, while also conveying shoulder width and the taper of your waist.
The Back Lat Spread
The back lat spread is one of the most popular and basic poses in bodybuilding competitions. However, many new bodybuilders are unsure of how to do the back lat spread correctly.
To achieve the perfect back lat spread, you need to train your lats properly and master the pose yourself. This can be tricky, so it’s best to enlist the help of a trainer.
This is a great way to add some muscle to your upper body and showcase your physique. It can also help you rank high in competitions and impress your audience.
The lats are an essential part of any sculpted physique. They make your waist look smaller and your shoulders look wider, which gives the impression of a lean and powerful upper body.
In addition, they create a cobra-hood effect when spread, which gives the illusion of a more muscular back. They can be used to create the V-taper that characterizes modern physique stars, so if you’re trying to build a lean and powerful back for a bodybuilding show, you should focus on training your lats correctly.
While there are a variety of exercises that can be done to target your lats, the best ones are those that isolate the muscles and don’t use momentum. These include the reverse-incline pulldown, which uses a bench to take your lower back out of the movement and target the lats in near isolation.