KevoTrains
New Member
I posted this on my Facebook so I figured I would share it here.
At long Lats....
Train your fucking back enough said.
Quite seriously though your back is argumentatively one of the hardest muscle groups to feel Contracting. Let alone developing a mind muscle connection with worth bragging about. Some bodybuilders go years without developing this, some never feel it period.
It took me 2 years of working out before I started to truly develop that mind muscle connection. The move that really did it for me was dumbell pullovers w/ a neuteral close grip. Actually it was not a dumbell they were 500ml milk bags full of water tied up and wrapped up in a sheet totalling about 25lbs. (if you know, you know)
The stretch at the bottom of that movement is where I first felt it. I could feel my Lats being stretched and torn. That moment right there was a game changer for my ability to effectively target my Lats when training.
So at this moment I was able to feel them tear yet Contracting them was still a challenge. I decided to use pullovers and super set them with straight arm pulldowns. You get the stretch and tear sparking some mind muscle connection from the pullovers. Then you gain the ability to feel them contract with the straight arm pulldowns. Since they are sore from the pullovers it makes it easier to feel them contract with the pulldowns.
I implemented this superset every back workout for a decent amount of time. I practiced contracting my Lats when I wasn't training. I eventually learned how to contract my lats closer to the insertions at the bottom, closer to the top and as a whole.
If you can not feel your muscles when training how do you know you are even effectively targeting them. Your probably not, up until that point I know I wasn't. I see guys all the time use biceps instead of their lats for rows. It's a very easy misconception when first starting off. Yet they wonder why their fucking back won't grow. Hmmmm
Which leads me to my next move I implemented to develop a better Mind Muscle Connection.
Since I now gained some ability to feel my lats working with the pullovers and pulldowns. I tried targeting them through a whole movement with rows.
Dumbell rows, this is where leading with your elbows is important. This will make sure you are pulling with your lats not your biceps. The weight should end up at your hip not your chest. Leading with your elbow the whole way. This will allow you to isolate your lats through the movement effectively.
Now I could feel my Lats engaging through an entire movement. My mind muscle connection was improving with every workout. My Lats started to get wide and push my arms out. They stuck out farther off my ribcage then my pecs did, exactly how it should be. I could feel them in every day movements and could contract them while not training.
I trained my fucking ass off for 2 years. I was fucking killing myself for 2 fucking years and my back really didn't start to really grow until I developed that mind muscle connection.
Once the mind muscle connection was on point I no longer had to lead with my elbows. When leading with your elbows you can only move so much weight you will never hit the numbers you need to for progressive overload.
At this point I was probably 3 years in I started pulling with my hands again yet I was still effectively engaging my my Lats through the movement.
Leading with your elbows is like training wheels on a bike. Like walking before running. It needs to be done but once you can take it to the next step do it.
So now you are able to pull a decent amount of weight, yet still hit Hypertrophy. This is where the real mass and thickness comes in. My lats started to get thick and add some serious mass to my back. They pushed my arms out wide off of my torso. It hurt to have my arms directly along side my torso. I got compliments like crazy on my back. They gained the serious density and hardness my other muscles had. At this point I could feel my lats through every exercise. You now have the ability to effectively target them during a workout. The ability to truly train them to a full capacity. Your mind muscle connection is now worth bragging about for this muscle.
As a bodybuilder it is a journey about learning yourself. You have to do this for every single muscle group. A lot of them do not take this long to develop. Yet until you can truly contract each muscle what are you really training? Half the time I see people working out they are running through exercises and it's more cardio then anything. (I'm not saying that's a bad thing). If you really want to put on size though you gotta learn to feel that shit. You have to learn to effectively target the muscles you want to grow.
Make sure you target them evenly though and for your sake train your fucking back!
The lats are just one amazing muscle In your back. Learning to contract and engage them all effectively is a whole different journey. One I am still learning, it is a lifelong journey though one I am committed to.
This right here is why I tell kids not to jump on juice until you have MINIMUM 5 years in the trenches. Until you have learned to truly maximize the size of each muscle group by effectively targeting them your wasting your time. You will not get what you are looking for and cause detrimental and sometimes irreversible damage to your body.
Train Hard - Train Often
-KevoTrains
At long Lats....
Train your fucking back enough said.
Quite seriously though your back is argumentatively one of the hardest muscle groups to feel Contracting. Let alone developing a mind muscle connection with worth bragging about. Some bodybuilders go years without developing this, some never feel it period.
It took me 2 years of working out before I started to truly develop that mind muscle connection. The move that really did it for me was dumbell pullovers w/ a neuteral close grip. Actually it was not a dumbell they were 500ml milk bags full of water tied up and wrapped up in a sheet totalling about 25lbs. (if you know, you know)
The stretch at the bottom of that movement is where I first felt it. I could feel my Lats being stretched and torn. That moment right there was a game changer for my ability to effectively target my Lats when training.
So at this moment I was able to feel them tear yet Contracting them was still a challenge. I decided to use pullovers and super set them with straight arm pulldowns. You get the stretch and tear sparking some mind muscle connection from the pullovers. Then you gain the ability to feel them contract with the straight arm pulldowns. Since they are sore from the pullovers it makes it easier to feel them contract with the pulldowns.
I implemented this superset every back workout for a decent amount of time. I practiced contracting my Lats when I wasn't training. I eventually learned how to contract my lats closer to the insertions at the bottom, closer to the top and as a whole.
If you can not feel your muscles when training how do you know you are even effectively targeting them. Your probably not, up until that point I know I wasn't. I see guys all the time use biceps instead of their lats for rows. It's a very easy misconception when first starting off. Yet they wonder why their fucking back won't grow. Hmmmm
Which leads me to my next move I implemented to develop a better Mind Muscle Connection.
Since I now gained some ability to feel my lats working with the pullovers and pulldowns. I tried targeting them through a whole movement with rows.
Dumbell rows, this is where leading with your elbows is important. This will make sure you are pulling with your lats not your biceps. The weight should end up at your hip not your chest. Leading with your elbow the whole way. This will allow you to isolate your lats through the movement effectively.
Now I could feel my Lats engaging through an entire movement. My mind muscle connection was improving with every workout. My Lats started to get wide and push my arms out. They stuck out farther off my ribcage then my pecs did, exactly how it should be. I could feel them in every day movements and could contract them while not training.
I trained my fucking ass off for 2 years. I was fucking killing myself for 2 fucking years and my back really didn't start to really grow until I developed that mind muscle connection.
Once the mind muscle connection was on point I no longer had to lead with my elbows. When leading with your elbows you can only move so much weight you will never hit the numbers you need to for progressive overload.
At this point I was probably 3 years in I started pulling with my hands again yet I was still effectively engaging my my Lats through the movement.
Leading with your elbows is like training wheels on a bike. Like walking before running. It needs to be done but once you can take it to the next step do it.
So now you are able to pull a decent amount of weight, yet still hit Hypertrophy. This is where the real mass and thickness comes in. My lats started to get thick and add some serious mass to my back. They pushed my arms out wide off of my torso. It hurt to have my arms directly along side my torso. I got compliments like crazy on my back. They gained the serious density and hardness my other muscles had. At this point I could feel my lats through every exercise. You now have the ability to effectively target them during a workout. The ability to truly train them to a full capacity. Your mind muscle connection is now worth bragging about for this muscle.
As a bodybuilder it is a journey about learning yourself. You have to do this for every single muscle group. A lot of them do not take this long to develop. Yet until you can truly contract each muscle what are you really training? Half the time I see people working out they are running through exercises and it's more cardio then anything. (I'm not saying that's a bad thing). If you really want to put on size though you gotta learn to feel that shit. You have to learn to effectively target the muscles you want to grow.
Make sure you target them evenly though and for your sake train your fucking back!
The lats are just one amazing muscle In your back. Learning to contract and engage them all effectively is a whole different journey. One I am still learning, it is a lifelong journey though one I am committed to.
This right here is why I tell kids not to jump on juice until you have MINIMUM 5 years in the trenches. Until you have learned to truly maximize the size of each muscle group by effectively targeting them your wasting your time. You will not get what you are looking for and cause detrimental and sometimes irreversible damage to your body.
Train Hard - Train Often
-KevoTrains
