Having a strong wide back gives you an overpowering look, the back is one area that the majority of bodybuilders love working out, simply because it makes you feel strong. A strong back will improve your natural posture and also decrease the chances of back pain as you get older, however correct technique is very important when training the back as you don’t want to cause any unnecessary injury to your spine.
The Back Consists of Eight Primary Muscles
1. The Trapezius – The trapezius muscles are situated at the top of the back, connecting from the shoulders & neck into the collarbone. The trapezius muscles allow for lifting of the arms and shoulders.
2. The Rhomboids – The rhomboids are situated at the spinal column near the next and shoulder blades, they are responsible for moving the shoulders inwards and up.
3. Teres Major – The teres major muscles are situated behind the shoulder joint and allow the arms to move back and down.
4. The Infraspinatus – The infraspinatus connects the arms to the shoulder blades and allows for rotation of your arms.
5. The latissimus Dorsi (Lats) – The lats are situated in the middle of your back an connection your spine and the arms. The lat muscles are responsible for giving you correct posture, a weak set of lat muscles will put strain on your back. Having a strong set of lat muscles gives you that all important wide ‘V’ shape, which makes you look huge.
6. The Spinal Erectors – The spinal erectors are situated in your lower back and support the spine, allow your back to stay straight, when you perform the deadlift exercise this works the spinal erectors the most.
7. Gluteus Maximus – The gluteus maximus muscles are situated under the spinal erectors and back of your hips, they control hip and thigh movements.
8. The Abductors – The abductors are the front part of the gluteal muscles situated on your hips, they enable movement of the leg out to the side.
Now that you have a breakdown of the back muscles you can checkout the relevant exercises below. (Please note, the exercise difficulty rating I use applies to the muscle in question, not the overall difficulty in comparison to every possible exercise for every muscle in the body).
Upper Back Exercises
Exercises coming soon!
Middle Back Exercises
Wide Grip Pull Ups
Muscles Targeted: Lateral Muscles, Trapezius & Shoulders secondary
Exercise Difficulty: 10/10
Lat Pulldowns
Muscles Targeted: Lateral Muscles
Exercise Difficulty: 8/10
T Bar Rows
Muscles Targeted: Lateral Muscles
Exercise Difficulty: 7.5/10
Barbell Bent Over Rows
Muscles Targeted: Lateral Muscles
Exercise Difficulty: 7/10
Chest Supported Rows
Muscles Targeted: Lateral Muscles
Exercise Difficulty: 6.5/10
One Arm Dumbbell Rows
Muscles Targeted: Lateral Muscles
Exercise Difficulty: 6/10
Lower Back Exercises
Barbell Deadlift
Muscles Targeted: Spinal Erectors & the majority of other body muscles
Exercise Difficulty: 10/10
Sumo Style Deadlift
Muscles Targeted: Spinal Erectors & Inner thighs
Exercise Difficulty: 9/10
When I want to surprise my lats and hit them from a different angle, I do some dumbbell pullovers. Go heavy and you’ll feel the burn the next day. The best trap exercise there is, is the deadlift. I also like the upright row, the military press and, dare I say it, shrugs. The one isolation exercise that I enjoy. Maybe it’s because, you can go so heavy, with the shrug. Also, power cleans, hang and cleans, and high pulls work extremely good for the traps.