Rowing FOR your BENCH PRESS and not your LATS. (I made this video a few months ago to demonstrate something to a client but figured I'd upload it in order to showcase that same thing to IG). During the bench Press you are actively trying to DEPRESS and RETRACT your scapula and shoulders. Many well founded powerlifters, including myself, stress horizontal rowing to increase your bench press strength and your stability. But how should you be pulling in order to get the most out of these movements? SEE THE VIDEO: .
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In it, I demonstrate shrugging my shoulders using my traps to feel the maximum range of the OPPOSITE of what I want you to do. Finding this range helps to cue and feel what you do next. Which is ANTI SHRUG, or, actively push your shoulders down your body using your lats and your chest. This mimics your positioning, tightness, and the feeling you need on the bench Press. THEN you pull the bar to your midsection. And you'll notice that you'll likely be touching in a similar spot as to where you touch on the bench Press! You'll also notice you'll need to use much less weight than what is normal to get the same effect. THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD BE ADDING IN LAT HYPERTROPHY WORK IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A STRONGER BENCH. .
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The shrug, and the anti shrug, may not need to be done every time you set up, but if you try this next time and remember how it FEELS the next time you bench Press I think your numbers, your shoulders, and your lats will thank you.