Using lats during the bench

[norsy]

Been reading about bench press a bit and a lot of the articles mention that proper usage of lats can help quite a bit with the bench. That rather than just stabilizing, it can be used as a coiled spring to literally launch the bar off the chest on the way up. But I can't seem to get the lats into play at all. Is it because I may have weak lats or maybe a weak sense of what the lats are upto? I'm stuck at my bench right now (even after deloads) and would like any such extra help if its possible.

 

[brikis98]

Without seeing a video of you bench pressing, it is hard to see what you are doing wrong. Here are a few common things you can do to involve your lats more in the bench press:

1. Tuck your elbows more towards your body. One of the most common mistakes I see is keeping the elbows too high so that your arms end up nearly perpendicular to the torso. This is not only unhealthy for the shoulder joint, but also makes it tough to use the lats. Therefore, keep the elbows closer to the body, though not too close that you end up doing a tricep extension.

2. Proper setup. You need to squeeze your shoulder blades together, arch your back, keep your ass on the bench, and have your feet flat on the floor. You need to keep your upper back tight; if anything is lose and wobbly, you won't be able to properly engage the lats.

3. Strengthen your lats. If they are weak, you won't be able to use them much. Balance every set of bench press you do with a set of rowing or pull-ups. This will also have the added benefit of preventing muscle imbalances and protecting you from shoulder injuries.

Finally, a simple exercise you can do to engage your lats: lie down on a bench and get into the proper setup position as in #2. Unrack the bare bar and slowly lower it to your chest and pause there. Now, instead of driving back up with your arms as normal, just flare your lats out to the side. If your lats are well developed, this alone should lift the bar a couple of inches (if not, see #3). Once you get a feel for this, try to incorporate this into the full bench press motion. The idea is that the weight stretches the lats (like compressing a spring) as you lower it down and you can then use this stretch reflex to start the drive back up by having the lats recoil and driving with the arms/chest simultaneously.

 

[BlackTigers]

I bench with the power-lifting bench style (this man is god), with my feet behind me.

I don't like having my feet flat, but either way works.

If you look at how he sets himself up, he digs himself into the bench. Literally, it's hard to explain. When I get set, every muscle in my body (chain goes to floor) is set and tight, nothing is loose. Shoulders tucked back, neck is tucked into chest, back is arched with the ass down, legs aren't wobbling.

Imagine flexing your armpits on the press. I know it's weird...but if you can imagine squeezing your armpits, you'll feel the lat engagement more.

 

[norsy]

Thanks for the replies guys. Not sure I understand how to flare my lats but then again I hardly can 'feel' my lats let alone move them. Maybe because of how underdeveloped they are (though when I put my hand under my arm pits I can feel a nice bulge over there but probably that's not enough). Hopefully my increased emphasis on rows and pull ups will help me fix that.

 

[Deeko]

-Have proper setup. Arch your back, while keeping your head, shoulders, and ass on the bench. It can take some practice to not only properly get into the arch, but to hold it throughout the bench.

-Bring your elbows down & in, and squeeze your shoulder blades. As you're holding the bar, act like you're trying to bend the bar inwards.

Do all this properly and you'll engage your lats in the bench. You might not necessarily feel it as you're benching, but it happens. I've had sore lats after a day fo benching more than once.