Tip A Quick Fix For Better Lats Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip A Quick Fix For Better Lats Get your pull-ups to hit your lats instead of stressing out your joints Try this by Tom Morrison July 14, 2019August 18, 2019 Tags Training The Problem Lifters often can't engage their lats while doing pull-ups. As a result, they may experience elbow pain, tendonitis, and neck pain. To top it off, they'll assume that the pull-up doesn't add size to the back – because in their case, with their form – it won't. What could be causing this problem? Well, the obvious answer is that the wrong muscles are getting used and the tension is getting placed on the shoulders and arms instead of the back. The not-so-obvious thing is, when pulling ourselves up, we rely heavily on our grip being at its strongest towards the index and middle fingers, but never really think about how that will impact our shoulder position. The Solution A great coaching cue is to tell people to lift up their index fingers as they perform a set of pull-ups. Not only does this put the shoulders into a better position, it'll also make it infinitely harder for someone to power through with their biceps, which in turn will make them better at pull-ups and give them stronger, bigger lats. Most people that experience shoulder/arm/neck issues struggle to match their normal max set of pull-ups with the index fingers lifted, so this is a great way to check if you've been using the correct muscles. If you're only one or two reps off that's fine, but if you find your reps are cut in half or you really struggle to do one, then there's room for improvement! Regardless of your level, I'd recommend always throwing it into your warm-ups for lat/upper body pulling days because it's just a great activation tool. By putting focus on the right muscles, hopefully you'll avoid running into any issues with your pull-ups in the long run. Longevity is the key to consistency. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Westside for Fat Bastards Here's how to lose fat while staying super strong. Fat Loss Training, Powerlifting & Strength, Training John Gaglione May 1 Training Build Your Chest Without Bench Presses Everyone wants a muscular chest. So why are they doing heavy barbell bench presses? There's a better way. Bodybuilding, Chest, Training Eric Weinbrenner January 28 Training A Tried and True Bodybuilding Program Template Want to design your own kick-ass training programs? All you need is the perfect template based on 20 years of trial and error. Bodybuilding, Training Clay Hyght, DC December 17 Training Tip Crappy Genetics Deadlift Like This Suck at deadlifting? If it's a leverage or arm-length issue, here's a tip that'll help you yank big numbers off the floor anyway. Deadlift, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training Paul Carter December 7