Lats
The large, fan-shaped back muscles that pull the arms down and toward the body in every rowing and pulling action.
Overview
The lats — short for latissimus dorsi — are the large, fan-shaped muscles of the mid and lower back that sweep from the spine and pelvis up to the upper arm. They give the back its V-shaped taper.
Their main action is pulling the arms down and back toward the body, the movement behind rowing, pull-ups, swimming strokes and climbing. They are among the largest muscles of the upper back.
Good to know
- The main "pulling" muscle of the upper body
- Power rowing, climbing and swimming strokes
- Among the largest muscles by surface area
Where it’s used
Sports this relates to:
Swimming
A full-body, low-impact endurance sport suitable for almost every age and ability.
Rowing
A rhythmic, full-body endurance sport on the water or on an indoor machine.
Rock Climbing
A rope-based climbing sport that pairs full-body strength with focus and careful technique, indoors or on rock.
Calisthenics
Bodyweight strength training — push-ups, pull-ups, dips and progressions you can do almost anywhere.
Exercises that work the lats
Pull-up
A vertical pulling exercise where you hang from a bar and pull your chin above it.
Chin-up
A pulling exercise similar to a pull-up but with palms facing you, involving the biceps more.
Inverted row
A horizontal pulling exercise where you pull your chest to a fixed bar while lying back beneath it.
Bent-over row
A pulling exercise where you hinge forward and row a weight toward your torso.
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Training methods
- Strength TrainingStrength training uses resistance — bodyweight, bands or weights — to challenge your muscles so they gradually adapt and get stronger over time.
- Hypertrophy TrainingHypertrophy training is resistance work structured to encourage muscle growth, typically using moderate repetitions and a steady, controlled tempo.
- Progressive OverloadProgressive overload is the principle of gradually increasing the demand you place on your body so it keeps adapting and improving over time.
- PlyometricsPlyometrics are jumping and bounding drills that train muscles to produce force quickly, developing power and springiness through explosive movement.
- Circuit TrainingCircuit training moves you through a series of stations back to back with little rest, blending strength and cardio into one time-efficient session.
Training plans
- Beginner Full-Body WeekA general example of a simple full-body week that spreads a push, a pull, a lower-body movement and some core evenly across three unhurried sessions.
- Beginner Strength WeekA general example week for someone learning the basic strength movements, built around a few short, technique-focused sessions with plenty of rest.
- Learn-to-Swim ProgressionA gentle example progression from getting comfortable in the water toward swimming short, continuous distances, built around relaxed, regular pool visits.
- Three-Day Split ExampleA general example of a simple three-day training split that divides the week into a few focused sessions with rest built in between.
Training guides
- How to start strength trainingStarting strength training means gradually introducing resistance movements and learning good form before doing anything more demanding.
- How to warm upA short, gentle warm-up gradually raises your body temperature and prepares your muscles and joints for the activity ahead.
Movement patterns
- PullDrawing a load or your own body toward the torso — horizontal rows and vertical pull-ups — building the lats, mid-back and biceps and balancing the push.
- GlideGlide is continuous, low-resistance locomotion in which the body holds a streamlined shape so that momentum generated by a preceding propulsive action carries it smoothly across a surface or through a medium.
- StrikeA ballistic, whole-body hitting action that channels ground-generated force through a proximal-to-distal kinetic chain to deliver momentum to a target via the hand, an implement or a body part at the moment of contact.
- ThrowPropelling an object by releasing it from the hand, driven by a proximal-to-distal kinetic-chain sequence that summates speed from the legs through the trunk and arm to the release point.
- AccelerationThe athletic pattern of building speed from a standing or slow start by driving large horizontal forces into the ground to project the body forward.
Recovery
Sports science
- Motor controlHow the brain and nervous system organise the muscles to produce coordinated, controlled movement.
- BiomechanicsThe study of how the body produces and controls movement — the mechanics behind every technique in sport.
- ProprioceptionThe body’s internal sense of where its parts are and how they are moving — the awareness behind balance and coordinated movement.
- SupercompensationA widely taught model of how the body, after a bout of training and enough recovery, can rebuild to a slightly higher level than before.
- SpecificityThe idea that the body adapts specifically to the kind of training it is given — you tend to get good at what you actually practise.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Muscle group
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-07-06
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