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beautiful back by Adrian Tan
Walk into any gym and you’ll notice a lot of beginners as well as experienced gym rats performing tons of bench presses, chest flyes, shoulder presses and bicep curls. I won’t blame them because these are the muscles that are clearly visible in the mirror and the pump that they experience further fuels their attention towards working these muscles more frequently.
No doubt training these muscles hard are essential to making them grow, but what happens to the muscles at your rear? Muscles like the lattisimus dorsi, rhomboids, lower back, hamstrings, etc? One word, NEGLECTED! As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” But unfortunately this can’t be applied to developing and sculpting the body, both aesthetically as well as functionally.
The anatomy of the musculature around the back is a beautiful piece of art. When a back is fully developed, you’ll notice deep contours of muscles flowing in symmetrical curvatures. From the neck all the way down to the spinal erectors or the lower back. Possessing a thick and well-developed back not only enhances a physique’s aesthetic look, but also prevents any form of injury to the lower back that a lot of people encounter during their lives.
A strong back keeps a person’s posture strong, upright and arched. The droopy shoulder syndrome which is the cause for lower back pains will be eliminated, thus improving a person’s well being over the long run. So how do we go about training the back effectively as well as safely?
Well think of the back as a quadrant. Starting from the trapezius (muscles below the neck), lattisimus dorsi (the wings at the side of your back), the rhomboids (the fan shaped muscles in the middle if the back) and the two supporting pillars, your lower back (which showcases the Christmas tree effect).
Here are the best back exercises that have benefited me over the past decade. Providing me with the width, thickness as well as the intricate details in the entire back, so let’s get busy!
RECOMMENDED BACK EXERCISES:
Exercises that target the Trapezius
• Shoulder shrugs with either a barbell or dumb bell.
Exercises that target the Lattisimus Dorsi
• Wide and narrow pull ups
• Wide and narrow grip machine pull downs
Exercises that target the Rhomboids
• Bent over barbell and dumb bell rows*
• Seated cable rows with wide or narrow grip T bar rows
• Seated machine rows
*Caution should be observed during this exercise. Do not tilt over
horizontally as this places undue strain on the lower back. Keep your
torso bent over at 45 degrees. This allows you to lift heavier but at the same time prevents your lower back from injury.
Exercises that target the lower back
• Deadlifts**
• Hyperextentions
**Choose the bent leg version and remember to keep your back flat and
arched. Also as you’re pulling the barbell off the floor, keep the bar
as close to your shins as possible. This will improve your lift in terms of execution and increase in weight.
Simply pick one or two exercise for each of the specific muscle groups and perform 1-2 warm up sets with a light weight and 3 “working” sets. Try to increase the weight during the working sets.
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Training the back may not be easy as there are many muscles involved. You’ll notice that when you train your back hard, you will be panting slightly as your body’s uptake of oxygen increases. But nevertheless, push through that pain barrier and watch your physique change over the next few weeks!
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