Connecting the barbell to your lats is important in deadlifts. The lats help you brace the lift, creating full‑body tension and giving a small biomechanical edge by helping tilt the shoulder blades backward. Engaging the lats also keeps the bar from drifting away from your body, which makes the lift harder and can raise the risk of back injury. Explaining how to fire up the lats can feel like a tough puzzle, but a couple of cues usually do the job.
I’ve found two things that help. First, the “squeeze the oranges in your armpits” cue works most of the time. If that still isn’t clicking, try this drill: wrap a resistance band around the bar and anchor the other end to a fixed point that won’t move—like a power rack, or around your own arm. The goal is to resist the band’s pull to engage the lats and keep the bar close throughout the set. With this drill, you’ll quickly learn where your lats are and feel them working.
