Ok how do you work your lats?

Question seems obvious but I couldn't really write it in its entirety.

How do you work your lots with no equipment at all including a pull up bar or sturdy door frame?

I just need to know just in case I gotta go on a trip and pack light.

 

I'm not sure why lats are so important to you, but you could get those water-fillable dumbells that store flat. If you develop good finger strength you can do pull ups on a door sill without a bar. Oh yeah, there's also yoga. Seriously, if you do the right type, it can be a great body toning workout.

 

Lat should be important. Always have been always will be for upper body strength:

1) They're a prime mover of the humerus (the bone in your upper arm on which your bicep sits)

2) They are responsible for a full range of movements... many of them used heavily in martial arts -

That may not make any sense to those who aren't heavy into training or into anatomy. Long short of it is... almost anything you do with your arm has to involve your lat muscles.

On top of which... tight lats and deconditioned lats lead to problems:

Ignore training and strengthening your lats at your own risk.

 

Ok, I see your point. Lats are important. I just giggle at the thought of seeing a guy walk around with skinny arms and legs with a huge back. btw, I don't neglect my lats, infact they're sore right now from yesterday's workout.

 

Too right. It seems so obvious it almost makes one a bit shy to ask. But... if you stop to think about it... I'd say about 99% of people don't really understand the function of the lat. Most peoples understanding of it comes down to it being one of the muscles that when worked gives you that V shape spread so sought after by body builders.

But... if you look at my post directly above... there's a lot more to it than just a nice V shape. Much of it directly applicable to martial arts of any kind.

Many of the drills that I have put up recently in the MAP Members Workout Thread cover the lat quite well. Many of them are heavily lat dependent. Here's a few for you to check out:

1) IGNITE SC - overhead thrusters
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bag4nYUXZIQ"]YouTube- IGNITE SC - overhead thrusters drill[/ame]

This works the lat as the arm is drawn down towards the body from the top range of overhead movement. The band provides the resistance that the lat has to work against. Working against resistance = getting stronger. As I come down you will actually see my lats flex - that is the muscle working to pull the humerus down out of the top position.

Equipment wise this is only a band. A few ounces at most and not very much space in a travel bag. You do this one anywhere including a hotel room. You can attach it the top of a door by putting a knot in the band and close the door so the knot is on the opposite side from you. Many of the better quality bands that have handles on them will come with a small bit of webbing for just that purpose that you slot on the other side of the door and then close the door. Best to always pull in the direction that is against the way the door opens. Perfect for a bathroom door in a hotel room.

 

Pitfighter - for more lat workout you can try the following:

IGNITE SC - around the world
http://ignite-strength.blogspot.com/

I mention how much the lat is recruited in this vid. It's massive. The heavier you go the more the recruitment. You may not have a paver in your hotel room while out on business travel... but you can use several phone books tied together with a belt. That'd be good grip strength workout as well. You could also use your carry-on size luggage filled with whatever you have to do this drill as well... the awkward shape makes it challenging. Toss the phone books from your hotel room into the luggage and you have more weight as well.

 

@ Pitfighter - for more lat workout you can try the following:

IGNITE SC - around the world
http://ignite-strength.blogspot.com/

I mention how much the lat is recruited in this vid. It's massive. The heavier you go the more the recruitment. You may not have a paver in your hotel room while out on business travel... but you can use several phone books tied together with a belt. That'd be good grip strength workout as well. You could also use your carry-on size luggage filled with whatever you have to do this drill as well... the awkward shape makes it challenging. Toss the phone books from your hotel room into the luggage and you have more weight as well.

Get a one gallon jug of water from the grocery. Instant weight to move around. Take a shower towel and fill it with every heavy object you can find. Grip the bundle and work the around the worlds. Good stuff.

 

I find a good tip when doing lat pulldowns is to keep your elbows forward, don't let them come behind your back. This way you should feel a strong and wide contraction. Use a comfortable weight that allows you to really focus on pulling that weight down with your lats.

 

I find a good tip when posting is to read the thread first and then post. Then you won't look like a douche who can't read.

 

Gee, thanks.

 

Go out for a jog around the area, then find a tree with a sturby limb low enough to grab onto. Do pull-ups there. I have a door pull-up bar attachment now but for the longest time that's what I used to do.

 

Pulling motions are the hardest things to improvise without equipment IMHO.
I've put them at the end of my current routine so I can leave them off if I'm in a location that can't accomodate them (and add more reps to the other stuff). Hams are similar. Pretty hard to target specifically.

Your local kiddies playground is your friend. Usually plenty of places to hang onto and pull yourself about.
How about handstand press ups? Plenty of lat recruitment to stabilise the shoulder I'd imagine.

 

I find putting your hands above your head slightly when doing push ups gives a nice bit of lat burn
Or putting them very far past your head with your feet against a wall in an obscure plank does the trick.

(Note just things I’ve tried and I'm too unsure and unqualified to judge the mechanical soundness of these ideas)

Using the suitcase your taking could work as a kind of DB row.
Aside from that taking resistance bands could be a good idea.

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEjdBuLw4Uw"]YouTube- TFW Body Crawl Series[/ame]

The second exercise mainly but I guess both of them.

 

Pullups are best, imo. I have a door gym as well. The kind that hooks onto the opposite side of your door frame and rests against the door frame on your side. $50 at Walmart and I expect to get years out of it. I love to do pullups close grip palms facing each other (supinated?) and visualize clinching my opponent. So I squeeze the elbows together as well. I like to think my clinch is pretty tight... Not sure if my training partners like it... lol

 

pullups. Lots of pullups. Also, pullups on a piece of rope. They rock so much of this world it's incredible, especially on grease the groove.

 

If no equipment is an issue an easy fix is to simply buy a few bungee cords from the local hardware store. Tie a big knot in one end, open the door to your room, place the knotted end over the door and close it tightly. Then, from a kneeling position, do lat pulls all you want. OR, place them UNDER the door and do seated rows... both of which should work your lats well enough no matter where you are for a rather insignificant expense.

 

I started reading this and and got so worked up that I just went to the door of my classroom (I'm a teacher) looked out in the hall to make sure nobody was around (well it's after school, and I'm just here grading... and reading this forum). I propped open the door and found that I can get a really good grip on the molding with one hand on each side (one inside, the other outside, palms facing each other. Bingo, I whipped out a couple of sets of 8. Not much to brag about. Gotta work on that finger strength I guess,. But I am 55 and had a fever all last week. So much for excuses. The point is that like Kuma said, there's plenty of stuff to grab ahold of in almost any environment, if you want to do it! Find a tree, a pipe, a doorframe, whatever and go for it!

 

That is really a good tip i wonder if it will work with those rubber stretch bands i have

 

there is only 1 way to find out.