What Are the Muscles of the Back?
The musculature of the back ban best be seen on a well developed back on someone who is in very good condition.
This can be very impressive and when you have a smaller waist, it will look deceivingly bigger.
Something which I've noticed over the years, having trained in several gyms is that most weight trainers and even body builders over look back training and don't give it half as much attention as they really sure.
Combined, the muscles of the back are your biggest upper body part.
The most visible parts of the back which are most easily seen in the mirror, are the lats and traps.
But the lats and your traps, are just two types of muscles of your back which you need to give attention to when working out.
The thick muscles either side of the spine, at the bottom are called the erectors.
The group of muscles which stabilize the spine are called the iliocostalis and longissimus.
They also serve to arch the spine and move it from side to side and some allow the rotation motion.
To develop this muscle group, hyper extensions are commonly used.
The lumborum muscle helps form the rear of your abdominal wall and is situated either side of the erectors.
If one side of the lumborum acts alone, it bends the spine to the side and when both sides are used, the spine is extended.
Again, extensions are great for working this muscle group together with side bends.
The lats or latissimus dorsi is the muscle that you are probably most familiar with - this is often referred to as an 'upside down Xmas tree' and it connects your lower vertebrae to your upper arm muscle and your pelvis.
The lats serve to extend and rotate the humerus (upper arm).
Most back exercises will indirectly stress your lats, but in particular you should use the following to give your lats the most direct workout - the pull-down, the machine or dumbbell pullover, the chin and rows.
The muscles around the shoulder blades are the rotator cuffs and the rhomboids.
These connect some of the upper vertebrae to the scapula (base of the spine) and serve to retract and rotate it.
To target this muscle group, use exercises like the lat pull down or chin.
Last on the list, and one muscle which I love to train is the trapezius.
Your traps are the large muscle which is visible between your head and neck.
It connects the skull to the upper vertebrae and does a heap of work to keep your head rotating, elevated and retracting and moving backwards! My recommended exercises are the front shrug with a straight bar, rear shrugs with a straight bar and upright rows with dumbbells.
This can be very impressive and when you have a smaller waist, it will look deceivingly bigger.
Something which I've noticed over the years, having trained in several gyms is that most weight trainers and even body builders over look back training and don't give it half as much attention as they really sure.
Combined, the muscles of the back are your biggest upper body part.
The most visible parts of the back which are most easily seen in the mirror, are the lats and traps.
But the lats and your traps, are just two types of muscles of your back which you need to give attention to when working out.
The thick muscles either side of the spine, at the bottom are called the erectors.
The group of muscles which stabilize the spine are called the iliocostalis and longissimus.
They also serve to arch the spine and move it from side to side and some allow the rotation motion.
To develop this muscle group, hyper extensions are commonly used.
The lumborum muscle helps form the rear of your abdominal wall and is situated either side of the erectors.
If one side of the lumborum acts alone, it bends the spine to the side and when both sides are used, the spine is extended.
Again, extensions are great for working this muscle group together with side bends.
The lats or latissimus dorsi is the muscle that you are probably most familiar with - this is often referred to as an 'upside down Xmas tree' and it connects your lower vertebrae to your upper arm muscle and your pelvis.
The lats serve to extend and rotate the humerus (upper arm).
Most back exercises will indirectly stress your lats, but in particular you should use the following to give your lats the most direct workout - the pull-down, the machine or dumbbell pullover, the chin and rows.
The muscles around the shoulder blades are the rotator cuffs and the rhomboids.
These connect some of the upper vertebrae to the scapula (base of the spine) and serve to retract and rotate it.
To target this muscle group, use exercises like the lat pull down or chin.
Last on the list, and one muscle which I love to train is the trapezius.
Your traps are the large muscle which is visible between your head and neck.
It connects the skull to the upper vertebrae and does a heap of work to keep your head rotating, elevated and retracting and moving backwards! My recommended exercises are the front shrug with a straight bar, rear shrugs with a straight bar and upright rows with dumbbells.