My Secret to Getting a Whack Back

I first began weightlifting because it was required to do Track & Field at my high school. We would alternate every other day between Upper Body and Lower Body days. Upper Body mainly consisted of chest and shoulder workouts, and Lower Body days were spent doing squats and deadlifts. I got much stronger doing these lifts daily, and I became much more confident in myself due to the muscle I was putting on. However, over time I began to develop a hunch when I walked. I had been working out my chest and shoulders so much that my back wasn't able to carry myself around! Working out your back is incredibly important for your long-term health, but it can be difficult to know where to start. This blog post will detail my thought process for training my back. 

Anatomy of the Back

The back can be an incredibly complex muscle group to look at, and to be honest, it IS an incredibly complex muscle group to look at. However, the back is an amazing muscle group for two reasons: it heals incredibly fast, and when you work out one muscle of the back, you usually work them all out to some extent. What this means is, you can do whatever workouts you want, and you'll see results. But knowing what muscles comprise the back made my workouts much more efficient!

While the anatomy of the back can look daunting, it has some pretty "famous" muscles: the lats, the traps, and rhomboids. Their technical names are the "trapezius", the "rhomboids" and the "latissimus dorsi". The traps are generally categorized as a shoulder workout but makes up the majority of the back. The lats and the rhomboids usually work simultaneously but there are ways to work them out independently of one another. When I work out my back, 20% of the workout is me doing the movement -- the other 80% is me thinking about the movement. 

Rhomboid (Upper Back) Workouts

Close your eyes, and lift your arms directly out, as if you were making a T shape with your body. Now, bend your elbows 90 degrees. Lastly, roll your shoulders back. This should be your "end position" on any workout you're trying to target your upper back. I like to imagine during these workouts that I'm trying to touch my shoulder blades together. Here are a couple workouts I use to work my upper back:

The T-Bar Row. I like this workout because it's very easy to set up. There is usually a machine at a gym very similar to the one in the picture. After I finish each rep, I like to drop my arms as low as I can, while maintaining a straight back. This ensures that you get a great stretch in the rhomboid -- after all, we are trying to break down the muscle!

Face Pulls. For this workout, you'll need to set up a cable machine with the setting set just a bit taller than you, and then lean back to maintain balance. It's very difficult to achieve a deep stretch at the end of each face pull rep, but doing these slowly will help you truly feel your rhomboids and help achieve a "mind-muscle connection".

Lat (Lower Back) Workouts

With upper back workouts, I like to keep my arms in an elevated position relative to my torso. With lower back workouts, however, I tend to have an "end position" where my arms are much closer to my sides. When I work out my lats, I like to imagine myself driving my elbows into my sides after each rep. To effectively target the lats, I do these workouts:

The Lat Pulldown. This can usually be found at the end of a cable machine! It's very important when doing the lat pulldown that you roll your shoulders back. This will allow you to more effectively drive your elbows down and into your body. 

Lat Pushdowns. On a cable machine, I put the setting at the highest level, and typically use a rope attachment. I like to step about 2 meters away from the cable machine and bend my torso down about 45 degrees while maintaining a straight back with my shoulders rolled back. Then, I simply pull the rope from above my head down to my sides. I always ensure my elbows are locked in place, and that only my shoulders are doing any movement; otherwise, you'll work your triceps!

Traps Workouts

You can work out your traps by simply shrugging your shoulders! While you could just shrug your shoulders all day and get similar results, I usually just get it done in the gym. Here are a couple workouts I do to effectively train my traps:

Shrugs. It really is as simple as that. I just grab a barbell, or dumbbells, and shrug away. I tend to use as much weight as I can and do it until I can't anymore. Because all you're doing is elevating your shoulders, it is a great way to isolate the traps.

Upright Row. This is very similar to a shrug, but with considerably less weight. To do it, I grab a barbell or EZ bar and simply pull the weight until my arms are perpendicular to my torso. This does a great job at targeting not only the traps, but the deltoids too (a muscle in the shoulder).

To Summarize...

Whenever you pull something, you work out your back. It's an incredibly important muscle group to work out and has definitely helped me with my posture and my mind-muscle connection. During my back workouts, I will always hit at least one of the upper back and one of the lower back workouts, but often times I do all 4 shown. Although the trapezius is a large muscle in the back, I tend to group it in with my shoulder workouts but will still hit it at least once a week. This approach ensures that I target the full spectrum of my back muscles, from my upper traps to my lower lats, which helps in maintaining a strong physique! 

Disclaimers

These workouts are only what I have had success with, and I am not recommending it to anyone. I am by no means a licensed personal trainer and am only sharing what I've learned over the past five years. Credit to the images used can be found below:

Back diagram:

Jones, Oliver. (2020, October 29). The Superficial Back Muscles. Teach Me Anatomy. The Superficial Back Muscles - Attachments - Actions - TeachMeAnatomy

T bar Row, Face pulls, Lat pulldown, Shrugs, Upright row movements:

Strength Level. Strength Level - Weightlifting Calculator (Bench/Squat/Deadlift)

Lat pushdown movement:

What is a Lat Pushdown? (A complete guide for bodybuilders). Gymenix. What is a Lat Pushdown? (A complete guide for bodybuilders) (gymenix.com)