How to feel your lats working

Posted by: Ron

Hold each rep of your lat exercises for at least a count of 6

When you have a body part that’s less responsive than the others, it will take a few more than a couple of workouts to build the mind-muscle pathways. My first suggestion is to keep at it consistently for at least 2 months. Specialize on the lats and work them at least two times a week. This means work for the other muscle groups will need to be cut back. Simply increasing work for the lats and keeping everything the way it was for other body parts will defeat the purpose.

Let me get back to the actual tip. Now that you’re giving your lats special attention, up the ante by holding the contraction for at least a count of 6 and visualize your lats getting a pump. As if you were doing a concentration curl and squeezing your biceps. Take that feeling, focus and concentration to your lats.

Make sure you pull with your lats rather than your biceps and avoid yanking the weight and using momentum. Speed is very important, keep the tempo even, take as many as 3 – 4 seconds to contract your lats. This eliminates using weights that are too heavy and increases the involvement of your lats. Take roughly 2 – 3 seconds to lower the weight, still focusing on your lats. Keep in mind, once you’ve mastered your lats, you’ll be able to use them at any tempo. Right now you’re working on creating a deep connection with them so leave your ego at the door.

Here’s a quick recap:

Drop the weight to something you can do slowly (try half of what you normally use – regardless of exercise)
Concentrate on using your lats to do the majority of the work
Take between 2 – 4 seconds to pull the weight to full contraction
Hold and squeeze your lats with maximum contraction for at least a count of 6 seconds
Slowly release the weight, taking about 2 – 3 seconds for the negative part of the rep

Remember, this phase is temporary. Give it a few months (minimum of 2) and re-evaluate the connection you have with your lats.

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