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Lat Prayer Exercise

This is an excerpt from Bodybuilding Anatomy by Michael Israetel,Jared Feather & Christle Guevarra.

EXECUTION

1. Set the cable height of the cable machine at around the same height as your clavicles when you’re standing. Grip whatever cable attachment you’re using.
2. Back up a bit, and lean your upper body forward at the hips so that your arms are fully outstretched at the top. The cable handle should be a bit above your shoulders, and your lats should be fully stretched.
3. Pull the bar down in an arcing motion toward your feet. As the cable nears your face, lift your chest a bit to make sure the cable doesn’t hit you.
4. Gently touch your thighs or go just outside of them with the cable attachment. Then slowly return to the starting position (the full stretch).

MUSCLES INVOLVED

Primary: Latissimus dorsi, teres major, posterior deltoid

Secondary: Pectoralis major, pectoralis minor

EXERCISE NOTES

Because each rep takes so long to perform, you can really benefit from controlling the eccentric phase. As you enter the last third of the eccentric phase, consider leaning your chest down a bit. This will put more of a loaded stretch on the back muscles and rear delts at the top before you reverse directions. At the bottom third, when you lift your chest up, only lift your chest enough to just barely clear the cable from hitting your face. Lifting the chest more than this will degrade the force curve of this exercise. It will also limit you more at the peak contraction than is ideal for growth by robbing you of more stimulus at the loaded stretch.

TIMING CONSIDERATIONS

You can perform this exercise first in a session, but it also works great after a compound vertical pull move.

SAFETY

Rapid reversal is a bad idea, because there is a lot of load to transduce through muscles when they are at their most outstretched positions and when the glenohumeral joint is at its end range. Always be gentle in the reversal from eccentric to concentric on this exercise. If you can’t obtain a full stretch because of shoulder discomfort, try a different grip width or cable attachment. If that doesn’t work, stop at the highest range of motion where your shoulders still feel comfortable.

VARIATIONS

A neutral close grip is the best grip to hit the lats in most cases, but you can always try another grip that’s comfortable for you. There are really no wrong answers with this exercise—just slight emphasis shifts between the many muscles involved.

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