● Maintain spine stability. ‘When you think of your spine, think of lats,’ says Stone. Not only do your lats provide support and strength to your shoulders and back, but they also tighten and strengthen the tiny muscles around your spine, explains Stone. Working those muscles around your spine helps to prevent injury and reduce chronic back pain, she adds.
● Prevent injury. ‘If your lats aren’t strong, we compensate in movement that leads to pain or injury in your neck, shoulders, your back, and your hips,’ says Stone. Training your lats especially targets your shoulder and arm movements which keeps your body tall, strong, and prepped for activity, reducing your risk of muscle overuse and injury.
● Boost overall strength. It’s proven that upper-body strength can play a big role in reaching your fitness goals, and your lats should not be neglected. Research shows that training your upper body improves endurance and helps prevent fatigue during cardio activities. (Did you catch that runners?) Strengthening and stretching your lats is a key part of building upper-body strength, says Stone.