If you were to listen to social media and comb through the hashtags, the most important days of the week are Chest Day, Leg Day, and maybe even Arm Day. And while those parts of the body may make for great flex moments for Instagram pictures, and may make you look amazing in your clothes, those particular parts of the body overshadow perhaps the most important set of muscles a person can have. The Lateral Muscles (latissimus dorsi).
As the largest muscles of the body, the lateral muscles span across the back and connect to the spine, upper arms, ribs, scapula, and pelvis. Given these muscles impacts so many other parts of the body, it’s a wonder people don’t pay more attention to them when they workout. Especially, those individuals striving to achieve their dream fitness goals.
Keep reading and find out why your lateral muscles are the key to you becoming faster and stronger.
Better Form for Squats
Everyone wants to hit the squat rack, but not everyone has the power to squat effectively and efficiently. Strong lateral muscles help you to better stabilize under the weight of the bar, and help to protect your spine as you squat.
The more you can squat, the stronger your glutes become. And stronger glutes equates to more explosive power and speed.
Better Form for Deadlifts
Once again, lateral muscles can play a big supporting role in strengthening your legs. The stronger your lats are, the more weight you can support as you do deadlifts with a proper form (i.e. no rounded backs).
If you’re able to do more reps and lift more weights while deadlifting, you are building your quads, inner thighs, and glutes. Like with squats, properly training this group of leg muscles leads to you not only being stronger, but quicker as well.
To Get that Bigger Chest
If you’re really trying to get a chest like The Hulk or Dwayne Johnson, you’ve got to focus more on your lats. Bench pressing heavy weight requires power from your legs. And in order for power from your legs to be transferred into your chest and arms to lift the heavy weights, you need a strong set of lateral muscles.
Point, blank, period.
Stronger Core
Yes it’s true, you’ll build most of your abs in the kitchen. However, for the work you do have to spend doing planks, sets with the ab rollers, and crunches, you again need strong lateral muscles. So it’s important you do lateral workouts.
By the way, a strong core helps you to run more efficiently and with more lasting endurance.
Preventing Injury
Perhaps the strongest argument for you to pay closer attention to your lateral muscles is that strengthening those muscles will help you to prevent injury. A weak set of lats will lead to improper form when pressing, squatting, and lifting. And you can’t work on your dream body sidelined because of broken bones or bruised muscles.
Lateral Muscles Are the Key to Becoming Stronger and Faster
As you work to become a fitter and healthier you, don’t do yourself a disservice and forget about your lateral muscles. If you need assistance developing those essential muscles, make sure you contact us about our premier Las Vegas athletic club and sign up with a highly qualified personal trainer.
