Shaped by Faith Lat Pull Down

Kim Jagoe the Director of "A Simple Path", a reverse soup kitchen and Director of "Adrienne's House" demonstrates a lat pull down.

The lat pull down exercise with a stretch band  is great for targeting the back and arms.

It’s also a wonderful exercise to tone under the arms.

Stand or sit and hold a band in both hands above your head. Hands are a bit wider than shoulder-width.

• Sit up or Stand up straight and keep the Core engaged, belly scooped.
• Keeping  the body stable, contract the lat muscles. Think about pulling in your rib      cage and then elongate your torso. Think in and up!

The latissimus dorsi muscles (lats) are surface muscles on either side of the back. The lats, as they are known in exercise, are primarily shoulder moving muscles even though they appear on the back. They move the arm from the shoulder in three ways: They open the shoulder and take the arm backward - extension. They take the arm closer to the body - adduction. They rotate the arm inwardly - medial rotation.

Inhale to prepare and engage your muscles and exhale as you pull the stretch band down toward your chest.

Return to starting position above head and repeat for 1-3 sets of 10-16 reps.

You control the tension in this exercise. If you need more intensity, hold the hands closer together or use a heavier  band.

You can also add more challenge to your balance by standing on one leg as you do the lat pull down .

Another way to incorporate more muscles, especially in the lower body, is to do a squat as you pull the band down.

Just remember to listen to your own body and continue to be mindful of how your body is feeling and moving.

Here is an encouraging Scripture for all of us to meditate on while we work on our lats!

Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

For more Shaped by Faith simple exercises that you can do anytime, anywhere check out www.shapedbyfaith.com

Watch the video demonstration here!