Back muscles: don't forget to train them!

Despite the overflow of information available online (and not only), there are still some who train their back muscles with little attention. Because?

Because they are not seen.

There are other muscle districts that garner greater favors during training sessions (especially if you are a boy): the chest above all, then the biceps - and arms in general - and the abs still have their charm.

That's right: they are the muscles that you can see when, between one series and another, you look at yourself in the mirror.

Yet a harmonious, functional and performing body also passes through the balance of the muscle groups.

Two muscle layers

The back of the trunk is covered with two layers of muscle bands - one deep, and one more superficial. These two categories have different structure and function.

The deep muscles of the back

are the spinal erectors, muscle bundles that reach the lower back (the loins) from the cervical. Among the various muscles are included in this denomination the multifidus, the ileocostal and the very long.

Their job is to extend, keep erect and stabilize the spine.

They are "invisible" muscle bands except in the lumbar area, where the erectors can appear in the form of two very evident cords if you gave it in with the deadlifts.

The superficial muscles of the back

Bodybuilders love them because they can be trained directly… and they give a lot of aesthetic satisfaction. I'm

• il backbone, the largest muscle in the body. It has numerous functions - some of which are related to shoulder movements - and is involved in all climbing movements.
• il small and large rhomboid, in the center of the back, are involved in the pulling, rowing and climbing movements.
• il trapeze, whose function is mainly linked to the movements of the scapula
• il lumbar square, which extends and tilts the spine. Its real function, however, is to be subject to lower back contractures.

How do you train your back?

The back trains like all other muscle areas, while keeping in mind a subtle dichotomy:

some muscles that make it up are in fact extremely strong (like the lats), and can go through a lot of work before being exhausted (and growing, if hypertrophy is your goal). Other micro-districts, such as the lumbar ones, require caution, as it is - especially at the beginning - very easy to overload them.

For example, you can not think of uploading without limit the Buenos dias (one of the classic exercises for the spinal erectors): famous is the accident that hit Bruce Lee by performing this exercise with excessive weight.

Back exercises (in short)

We can divide the exercises for the back into

• climbing exercises: traction, pull down, lat machine
• pull: pulley, oarsman (in its thousand variations) and body row
• specific exercises for spinal erectors (typically recommended for fixing that latent back pain): four-legged impulses, hyperextensions

In general, the muscular districts that make up the back are also trained performing multi-joint exercises (squat, deadlift), given that for the correct execution of the movements it is necessary to control and stabilize the back muscles. From this point of view, it approaches an isometric work.

One last tip

Always make sure to keep in your workouts the 1: 1 ratio between pulling and pushing movements. Especially if you are a disciple of the flat bench three times a week, try to balance it with an even number of sets of back exercises. Oarsman (with barbell or dumbbells) e pull up they are in any case the best choice.

This is not strictly necessary at the individual training level, but at the level of macro-programming Yup.

For the rest ... oarsman, tractions and lat machines are your friends. Use them, and don't make the mistake of only looking at your back muscles when they are contracted!