STEROID Q & A - Injecting Into Lats

Q: How about shooting your lats for back width? I see guys who compete at the pro level and I could swear they'd just start flying away they are so wide and have such amazing lats. Surely they must shoot their lats on a regular basis, right?

A: Good hard training never hurt anyone either! Truth is, the lats are a problem. There are enough places that are easier to hit than the lats and will be more beneficial. Plus, nobody really has proven that you are making better gains by site injecting. It may or may not be valid. It appears to be, but then growth is something that happens with AS use and it's hard to quantify why it happened and where it happened first or more profoundly. It's like the "chicken vs. the egg" theory... which came first? We have absolutely no damn idea! But can the latissimus dorsi be shot? Yes sir - as can any muscle or place on your body - but it's an awkward place and because there is so much sinew and tendon attachment, it's not the most ideal place.

It's also one of the most awkward to shoot yourself. What you may be seeing up on the stage is a lot of Synthol use in the lat area, too. This, of course, has nothing to do with training. Back to the logistics... The risk you run of injecting the lats is that you will invariably come in around the under arm area and at a weird angle. Because there is a lot of bacteria on the skin's surface in that area, and a lot of sweat glands, you run the risk of infecting the area or injuring yourself. Our conclusion: Why?