Lats involvement in the Bench Press

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
21

The lats are involved in pulling, both in the sagital plane-rowing movements and frontal plane-overhead downward movements. The lats also assist in shoulder stability and control of the humerus. Bench pressing is a pushing movement. Therefore, in my opinion, I can not see where the lats contribute to bench pressing since it would go against the anatomical function of the lats. But, you can use your upper/mid-traps and rhomboids to aid in bench pressing. The technique is as follows:

  1. Lay on the bench with a loaded bar above
    the chest.
  2. Prior to letting the bar descend, depress
    the scapulae down toward the feet and
    slightly back against the bench. This
    will prevent neck strain and possible
    impingement of the greater tubercle of
    the humerus and the acromium of the
    scapula.
  3. Lower the weight in the path of motion
    you are naturally accustomed to doing.
    As you lower start retracting (pinching)
    the scapula together just until they kiss.
  4. Now here’s the trick, as you exhale
    forcefully “open” the scapulae
    (protraction)and press in the same
    path of motion you naturally take for the
    ascend.
22

Thanks for your reply, We have the same problems with how the lats can possibly help in a bench then… Cool, atleast im not the only one.

23

Do you know how to do a “lat spread”? (You need to have some lats to do this in the first place). I mean the “hands-on-hips, facing away from the viewer” lat spread. Okay, good. Take an unloaded bar and get into position on the bench (an unloaded bar should help make this obvious, which you seem to require). Okay, lower the bar to your chest, and into the “pause” position. (Remember, we are talking about a powerlifting-style bench, not the kind where you you bounce it off your ribcage). Okay, anyway, you’re in the pause position. Now do the lat spread and pay close attention. WHAT HAPPENS?

24

Heres my 2 cents: Powerlifters typically utilize the technique where the elbows are drawn tight into the torso this is the movement that involves the lats, the benefit of strong lats helps mostly when using this technique. I have no scientific evidence to support this, but I believe strong lats helps take the stress off the pecs and tris during the descending phase of the mov’t thus keeping the pecs and tris less fatiqued allowing you to explode and rapidly fire the motor units controlling the pecs and tris. Thats just my theory. Sometime experience is better than science, if it works for guys like Louie Simmons(who looks like one cock diesel mofo from the pictures Ive seen) and countless others there must be some truth to it.

25

Hey Chris,
The name provides a certain mystique, I guess nothing special, I’m just a family man and it stands for (T)he (MO)ore (FA)mily. I’m no scientist by any stretch of the imagination, but (and I hate this reply)the answer depends. If it means you would expend less concentration or energy on keeping the blades retracted then it could help. Something like that may just be from the weight on them too. But we are also talking about the lats which do have more of an impact. The other “it depends” is how much of an arch do you have? And how much do the shoulders rotate? I don’t know how scientific it is but Pavel talks about irradiation, (strong tensing of distant muscles to strengthen the working muscle, and that may be a factor too? If you like the science behind the training, you would probably like the book by Zatsiorsky.
Peace, Tmofa