Can't Feel Lats During Pull Ups? Here's The Fix

Can't Feel Lats During Pull Ups? Here's The Fix

You can't feel your lats during pull ups because you initiate the movement with your arms instead of your back. The fix is to master the scapular pull-up, pulling your shoulder blades down and back before your arms bend by even one inch. This simple change forces the lats to fire first, establishing the correct movement pattern. This method works for anyone who feels pull-ups mostly in their biceps and forearms, regardless of their current strength level. It retrains the neuromuscular connection required for a powerful, back-dominant pull. Here's why this works.

Why Your Biceps and Shoulders Take Over

The pull-up is a complex movement. Your biceps and shoulders are smaller muscle groups that are often neurologically easier to fire for most people. Your lats, or latissimus dorsi, are massive muscles, but many people lack the mind-muscle connection to engage them on command. When you hang from a bar and just think "pull up", your brain defaults to the path of least resistance. This path is almost always bending the elbows first, which immediately engages the biceps as the primary movers. The lats are left behind, acting as secondary muscles instead of the main engine.

The most common mistake we see is a jerky or explosive start from a dead hang. This uses momentum and arm strength, completely bypassing the crucial initial lat contraction. Another frequent error is focusing only on getting your chin over the bar at all costs. This often leads to shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears, which engages the upper traps and shoulders, not the lats. The goal is not just to get up, but to get up using the correct muscles to drive long-term strength and growth.

Think of the pull-up in two distinct phases. Phase one should be 100% back activation. This is the scapular depression and retraction. It moves your body up 2-4 inches without any arm bend. Phase two is the powerful arm pull, where the now-activated lats and biceps work together to bring your chin over the bar. If you consistently skip phase one, you are missing 50% of the correct muscular activation sequence. Your lats never get the signal to be the prime mover for the exercise. Here's exactly how to do it.

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The 3-Step Method to Finally Feel Your Lats

To learn this correctly, you must temporarily stop trying to do full, unassisted pull-ups. Instead, you will master the individual components of the movement. This may feel like a step backward, but it is the fastest and most effective way to build the foundation for proper form. This focused practice builds the connection that makes your lats work automatically.

Step 1. Master the Scapular Pull-Up

Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms fully extended in a dead hang. Your shoulders will be relaxed and slightly elevated towards your ears. Without bending your elbows at all, focus on pulling your shoulder blades down and together. Imagine trying to tuck them into your back pockets. Your entire torso will rise a few inches. Hold this contracted position for 2 full seconds, feeling the tension build in your mid and upper back. Then, slowly lower back to the starting dead hang position. This drill isolates the very first part of the pull-up and is the single most important exercise for building lat awareness. A common error is allowing even a slight bend in the elbows, which immediately shifts tension to the arms. Another is rushing the movement and using a slight 'kip' or swing. This is about slow, deliberate control. This movement directly targets the lower traps and rhomboids, which are crucial for initiating scapular depression and retraction-the foundational movement for the lats to take over. Once you can comfortably perform 3 sets of 10 reps, increase the difficulty by holding the peak contraction for 3-5 seconds instead of 2. This increased time under tension will forge a much stronger neural connection to your back muscles, making the activation feel almost second nature.

Step 2. Dominate the Slow Negative

Use a box, bench, or jump to get your chin over the pull-up bar. You are starting at the top of the movement. Hold this top position for a second, squeezing your back muscles. Then, begin to lower yourself as slowly as you possibly can. The goal is a controlled descent that takes at least 3 to 5 seconds. Fight gravity the entire way down until your arms are fully extended. Focus on the feeling of your lats stretching under load. This eccentric phase is a powerful tool for building both strength and mind-muscle connection. Your muscles can handle approximately 1.75 times more weight eccentrically than concentrically (lifting). By focusing on the negative, you are overloading the lats in a way that's impossible with regular pull-ups, forcing them to adapt and grow stronger. To maximize tension, imagine you are pulling the bar apart as you lower yourself. Keep your chest proud and your core tight to prevent your body from swinging. The goal is to make the descent feel like an active 'pulling' against gravity, not a controlled fall. Perform 3 sets of 4-6 slow negatives.

Step 3. Pre-Activate with Banded Pulldowns

Before your pull-up session, perform a simple activation drill. Loop a light resistance band over the pull-up bar. Grab the band with both hands with your arms straight out in front of you. Keeping your arms perfectly straight, pull the band down towards your hips, squeezing your lats hard at the bottom of the movement. This exercise mimics the function of the lats without involving the biceps at all. Do 2 sets of 15-20 reps to get blood flowing to the area and "wake up" the muscles you intend to use. This makes them easier to feel during the main exercise.

Mastering the Form: 5 Cues for a Perfect, Lat-Dominant Pull-Up

Once the scapular pull feels automatic, you can integrate that initial movement into a full pull-up. These five specific form cues will help you maintain lat tension throughout the entire repetition, turning an arm-dominant movement into a powerful back-builder. Focus on one or two cues per session until they all become second nature.

1. "Break the Bar." As you set up your grip, imagine you are trying to bend the pull-up bar in half by twisting your hands outward. This external rotation cue forces you to engage your rotator cuff and, more importantly, your lats. It creates tension across your upper back and helps keep your shoulders in a safe, stable position before the pull even begins. This simple mental trick can instantly increase lat activation.
2. "Drive Elbows Down and Back." This is the most critical cue. Instead of thinking 'pull my chin over the bar,' think 'drive my elbows down towards my hips.' This shifts the focus from your hands and biceps to your lats, which are responsible for shoulder adduction and extension-the primary movements in a pull-up. Visualizing your elbows moving in an arc towards your back pockets is a game-changer for feeling your lats work.
3. "Keep Your Chest Up." As you pull, lead with your chest. Try to touch the bar with your upper chest. This promotes thoracic extension and naturally helps retract and depress your shoulder blades, keeping the lats engaged and preventing your shoulders from rounding forward. A rounded-forward posture immediately disengages the lats and shifts the load to your shoulders and arms.
4. "Engage Your Core." A tight core prevents energy leaks. Before you pull, squeeze your glutes and brace your abs as if you're about to take a punch. This creates a rigid, stable torso, allowing all the force generated by your back to be transferred directly into pulling your body up. It also stops you from swinging, which is a common way to cheat and avoid using your lats.
5. "Look Forward, Not Up." Cranking your neck to look up at the bar can throw off your spinal alignment and encourage shrugging. Keep a neutral spine by looking straight ahead. This helps maintain the 'chest up' position and ensures your body moves as a single, efficient unit, powered by your back.

Keeping track of these different exercises, sets, and reps can be tedious with a notebook. You need to see if your scapular pull-up reps are increasing or if your negative time is getting longer. The Mofilo app helps you log these specific accessory lifts and automatically calculates your training volume. This shows you if your back is truly getting stronger, providing objective data beyond just the "feel" of the muscle working.

What to Expect in the First 4 Weeks

Progress is not instant, but it is predictable if you are consistent. In the first 1-2 weeks of performing these drills, you will start to feel a distinct connection to your lats. It might just be for a few reps at first, but the sensation will be unmistakable. Your regular pull-up numbers will likely decrease during this period. This is a positive sign that you are prioritizing form over ego.

By week 4, the scapular pull-up should feel natural and automatic. It will become the ingrained start to every pull-up attempt. You should be able to feel your lats engage on most, if not all, reps of your negatives and any assisted pull-ups you perform. At this point, you can begin to reintroduce full pull-ups into your routine, starting each one with the scapular pull motion you have perfected. Your strength will quickly surpass its previous levels because you are now using larger, more powerful muscles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I only feel my arms during pull ups?

You feel your arms because they are initiating the movement. When you hang and immediately bend your elbows, your biceps and forearms do the initial work to overcome inertia. To fix this, you must learn to start the pull by depressing your shoulder blades first, which engages the lats before the arms take over.

Should I use a wider or narrower grip to feel my lats?

A grip that is slightly wider than shoulder-width is generally best for lat activation. An extremely wide grip can limit your range of motion and place unnecessary stress on the shoulder joints. A very narrow, chin-up grip will naturally emphasize the biceps more. Start with a standard overhand grip just outside your shoulders and adjust from there.

Can I build a big back without feeling my lats?

It is very difficult. While your back muscles are working to some degree even if you do not feel them, a strong mind-muscle connection allows for better muscle fiber recruitment. This leads to more effective training, better stimulus for growth, and a reduced risk of injury from compensating muscles. Focusing on the "feel" is crucial for long-term progress.

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