Job description:Your trapezius enables you to shrug your shoulders. This
muscle is also involved when you lift your arm, such as when hailing a cab.
The training payoff:A toned trapezius adds shape to your shoulders and
upper back. Strengthening this muscle may also alleviate the neck and shoul-
der pain you may get if you sit at a desk all day or if your phone is a permanent
appendage to your ear.
Special tips:Give your trapezius extra attention if you often carry a knapsack
or heavy bag over your shoulder.
Our favorite exercises:Shrug or shoulder roll with a barbell, two dumbbells,
or — if your neck is extremely weak and tight — no weight at all
Latissimus dorsi ................................................................................
Given name:Latissimus dorsi
Street name:Lats (Note:Don’t make the mistake of saying “laterals,” as some
less-informed, bookwormish exercisers do.)
Whereabouts:Feel the widest part of your back just behind your armpit —
you’ve just found your latissimus dorsi,your largest back muscle. This muscle
runs the entire length of your back, from below your shoulders down to your
lower back (refer to Figure 12-4).
Job description:Your lats enable you to pull, like when you open a door
against the wind or drag your Great Dane into the vet’s office.
The training payoff:Well-toned lats make your hips and waist appear smaller
by adding shape and width to your upper body. If you play sports — especially
a racquet sport, golf, or hockey — strengthening your lats will enable you to
power the ball or puck quite a bit further. Runners, walkers, and cyclists also
should focus on their lats to help counteract that tendency toward rounded
shoulders, which are the result of weak rhomboids (see the following section)
and other muscles of the upper and middle back, as well as the result of tight
delts (discussed in the “Deltoids” section) and pecs (see the “Chest (the
Pectorals)” section).
Special tips:When you do lat exercises, think of your arms simply as a link
between your back and the bar or dumbbell. Focus on working your lats, not
your arms.
Our favorite exercises:Lat pull-down machine, dumbbell row, dumbbell
pullover, T-bar row, seated cable row, chin-up, and pull-up
Chapter 12: Your Muscles: Love ’Em or Lose ’Em 177