FOCUSED STRENGTH: LATISSIMUS DORSI

Contraction of the latissimus dorsi muscle of an artistic gymnast on still rings. By Martin Rulsch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62726207

WORKOUTS TO IMPROVE POSTURE & REDUCE CORE FATIGUE  Mentally I like to picture myself running and walking tall, striding forward with pumping arms and erect posture.  Mallory Creveling, in an article for SHAPE.com explains how the strength of a large core muscle, the latissimus dorsi, one on each side of the trunk, connected to the spine, makes this image of good form possible.
 
“The Muscle You’re Neglecting That Could Seriously Improve Your Run” references an expert who explains how ‘lat’ strength can help to keep fatigue at bay during long runs. She offers advice on how to build strength in this muscle with 3 resistance band and one bodyweight exercise that do not require gym machine use.  The moves are described but not demonstrated by images or video in the article itself; there is a link to a video with stretches and exercises.
 
Julia Malacoff, also for SHAPE.com, explains in an article [“Here’s How to Strengthen and Stretch Your Lats (And Why You Should)] describing latissimus dorsi muscle exercises for beginners, why they tend to be weak and under-utilized in people who sit and work on computers at desks.  “Most people’s lats are neglected” she explains. Her expert says that slouching at a desk with poor posture, will “disengage your core as well as your back muscles”.  According to Malacoff’s article, strong latissimus dorsi muscles are needed to maintain an upright posture.
 
Moves to build this muscle, the largest in the upper body, can be found in other online write-ups on the topic, but many require the use of large-sized fitness equipment, weights, and benches. 
 
If you can figure out how to perform the exercises offered by Creveling’s expert from the written descriptions, this workout is one to file way or use right now.  You’re not likely to easily find this rare, bodyweight-with-resistance band, physical therapist recommended routine elsewhere. However, a workout from nbcnews.com, which lists the latissimus dorsi as one of the major muscles that it targets, “5 Exercises That Will Strength Your Back and Reduce Pain” might be easier to follow and equally as effective.
 
[A routine that’s even more basic is posted on homegym-exercises.com, but that site does not reference its source.]
 
Another reason to put this routine in a safe place for later use is that the exercises help to increase the strength needed to eventually accomplish pull-ups and chin-ups.   I’ve been looking for exactly this kind of base level training since I first tried/failed a pull-up in the park equipment near my home.  Progression instructions for mastering a pull-up, an iconic power move, usually require access to pull-up/chin-up bars that will support full body weight, which mostly are located in gyms or outdoor parks.   
 
If you notice significant core fatigue at the end of long runs or walks, throughout which you are striving to maintain an erect posture, consider adding lats exercises to pump-up your efforts.
 
RUN & WALK HAPPY!
 
https://www.shape.com/fitness/cardio/strengthening-lat-muscles-improve-running
 
https://www.shape.com/fitness/videos/best-lats-workout-exercises-stretches
 
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/5-exercises-will-strengthen-your-back-reduce-pain-ncna849911
 
https://draxe.com/fitness/latissimus-dorsi-exercises/
 
https://www.curejoy.com/content/best-exercises-for-your-lats-latissimus-dorsi/
 
https://www.healthline.com/health/latissimus-dorsi-pain#prevention (stretches)
 
https://www.verywellfit.com/great-mid-back-lats-exercises-1231482 (few images)
 
https://homegym-exercises.com/bodyweight_lat_latsissimus_workouts_without_weights.html