02-08-2025
How to eliminate shoulder pain and increase your mobility and flexibility with the lat smash exercise
There are certain exercises that you see people do in the gym every day. Then there are the exercises which are rarely seen, but are still quite popular. Finally, there are those which you will never see anyone do, like the subject of this article: the lat (latissimus dorsi) smash.
The primary reason for this seems to be that the lat smash is not considered a 'body-building" muscles, nor is it an explosive exercise which would crank up the heart rate for cardio. It is a maintenance exercise for one of the most active muscle groups in the body. They ensure that you are more flexible, agile, and do not suffer from shoulder pain.
I had never seen or heard of the lat smash until it popped up on my social media feed as a recommended exercise for treating shoulder pain. And just the way it's done is extremely interesting. While it can be done using a foam roller as well, doing this with a barbell on the smith machine is what makes it more effective. It's also a unilateral exercise: meaning that it has to be done on one side first, and then the other.
Get the bar higher up on the smith machine, just a little under armpit height, because that's where the bar has to be wedged as you stand perpendicular to the bar. 'When you're at this point you want to add a little pressure down so (the bar) goes straight up into your armpit and then lean back slightly," says a YouTube video by MVMT Performance & Rehabilitation titled, Barbell Lat Smash | Improve Lat Mobility & Relieve Tension.
To help increase the pressure, you can pick up some weights and move the weight-bearing arm back and forth so you find the tenderness insertion of the lat, which is where the tightness is settled.
'This self-myofascial release technique targets the latissimus dorsi, helping to reduce tightness, improve range of motion, and enhance shoulder and back flexibility. Ideal for athletes, lifters, and anyone experiencing tight or overworked lats," the video description adds.
But the most vocal advocate of the lat smash over the past year or so has been mobility trainer Scott James Bailey, who runs TWS Training, which has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram. He posted the exercise once as part of a two-exercise series on his most effective shoulder pain exercises. The overwhelming popularity of the video led to him to create one specifically for the lat smash.
'While it looks crazy and is absolutely ruthless, it is one of the best shoulder pain relieving exercises you can do," says Bailey, who studied Kinesiology and was dealing with a severe shoulder impingement when he found out about the lat smash.
A shoulder pinch can be caused by tightness in the lats, the teres major and minor, and the infraspinatus muscle which is on the back side of the shoulder blade and a key element of rotator cuffs. A tightness means a reduced range of motion which in turn affects the force output of the muscle. In short, tight muscles lead to reduced strength while exercising.
Bailey talks about the things to watch out for while performing the lat smash. 'The armpit is full of sensitive nerves, so lean back as much as possible and grind on the muscle, not the nerves. It should feel intense, but never sharp or numbing. The kettlebell is optional, but I like using around 12kg for extra pressure. Please note: Heavier doesn't mean better here," he writes in the caption of the video which has been shared more than 40,000 times just on Instagram. He suggests doing this for either 'Two minutes straight or two-three sets of 10-15 controlled swings."
A post shared by Scott James Bailey (@twstraining)
The exercise might not work for all kinds of shoulder trouble, but a lot of it starts with a simple restriction of movement due to the crowded shoulder joint which can get worse over time. Adding this is a rehabilitative move even when you're feeling fit is key to reaping long-term benefits. A great test would be to try overhead and pulling moves to see how the body feels when these muscles are activated, especially the lats.
If the barbell feels too harsh, then try experimenting with a foam roller. This one's easier, and can train the body to know what kind of impulse it's looking for when attempting the barbell version of the exercise. Move the arm from down to up as shown in the video below to go deeper into the release while the muscle is also moving.
If just a little rocking of the lats over a bar or a foam roller can increase the flexibility of a muscle group that is so active in every lift, then doing these is fully worth it.
Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.
