Suns out guns out, today was one of those days ladies and gents. Wearing my muscletricks gym warrior vest i made a rare shopping trip with the wife, During this glorious day i witnessed a young man all of about 150 lbs. of skin and bone swaggering towards me with his arms flared out by his sides. His arms were so wide that he appeared to be trying to make an attempt to cover the entire aisle of the sports shop and shoulder bump me as he walked by.
I have been around bodybuilding most of my life in one form or another so i feel i am qualified to make a diagnosis here, I quickly made the diagnosis that he was suffering from a severe case of ILS, otherwise known as Imaginary Lat Syndrome.
ILS sympomts.
Some symptoms of ILS include young men usually, jeans or joggers hanging round the crack of their ass who are either excessively thin or excessively heavy with neither having been a result of being fit in any shape or form. These idividuals will tend to walk around with the impression that their lats are so big that they have to flare out the arms like their carrying two large TVs under each arm!
Occationally you will witness a herd of these ILS suffers who appear to be under the impression that they could share a stage with Mr. Olympia at the drop of a hat and with maybe six months or less serious training. You will generally see infected herds at your local health clubs ( the posh ones usually.)
Latissimus dorsi.png
Lattissimus means broadest and Dorsum means back or when put together the broadest muscle of the back. This is the imaginary wingspan of ILS victims. This particular muscle has many functions ranging from extension, adduction, and horizontal abduction.
It also aids in the lateral flexion and extension of the spine (aka side bending). This is a powerful pulling muscle which is usually thought of as one of the primary movers in the acts of doing pull ups, chin ups, and some form of a horizontal row. A strong powerful lat would be a great cure for ILS!
The Cure For ILS Or Lat-itis…
To cure ILS you’ve got to develop some REAL lat strength and not just imagine it. Unlike the young man i literally bumped into today in the aisle you’ve actually got to get to work and improve that ILS by going to a gym and working hard without pausing for a selfie ( this is very important) Engaging the lats in a productive way means you’ve got to attempt to reach muscular failure or as near as you can anyway without stopping to #boompowroar on instagram.
As previously noted here above the lats whether on a ILS sufferor or a real gym rat are great for primarily aiding in the act of horizontal pulling, extension, adduction, and lateral flexion and extension. Developing a strong back means you need to know how to engage this particular muscle when performing related lifts that are designed to help develop it and other major back muscles mind muscle connection , feel the muscle engage flex and relax!
Deadlifting is a the numero uno for pulling engaging the big dorsi, this exercise will make you a god damn HULK of a man! Improving your deads will also guarentee to improve your bench and shoulder press.
Setting your spine in a strong neutral position, you grip the bar with or without lifting straps, tighten the lats, and then extend your body straightening out the hips and knees imagine pushing away the floor through the heels.
By performing this predominately compound lift you tend to stimulate the central nervous system in a bigger way by hitting many major muscle groups at one time. BAck to being a HULK of a man, master this exercise with a good weight and i will allow an odd roar of power as you rise from the floor with the bar bending.
ILS can be a seriously dibilatating illness and one we can all prevent if we walk over to the next young man we see in the gym and brake his phone in two whilst tying his hands to the deadlift bar previously set to more weight than the ILS sufferer has attempted to lift …..ever!