Back muscles

Back Building 101: A Guide for Growing Back Muscles

Let’s start off by explaining the anatomy of the back. It’s not very complicated and not much to it. Once you understand how the back works along with the back muscles, you will find it easier to visualize your back workouts.

The Back Muscles

The Lats:

The largest muscle of your back is by far the lats. The latissimus dorsi starts all the way up at the upper end of the humerus, and runs all the way down to the pelvic girdle. The lats function is to pull the arm down towards the pelvis.

The Traps:

Another powerful muscle of the back is the trapezius. The traps run all the way down the upper section of the spinal cord and attaches at the middle of your back. The traps have a couple main functions including scapular adduction (bringing the shoulder blades together), scapular depression (pulling the shoulder blades down), and scapular elevation (shrugging).

Smaller Muscles:

There are also some smaller muscles that aid in the movement of the back such as the teres major and the rhomboids. The teres major is found at the outside edge of the shoulder blade and attaches all the way up at the humerus. The main role of the teres major is to bring the arm towards your back.

The rhomboids are found on the spinal column and they attach to the middle of the shoulder blade. The rhomboids are used to bring the shoulder blades together.

There are also a whole bunch of little muscles in the back, which run along your spine. There is the erector spinae, which includes the longissimus, spinalis, and the iliocostalis. The erector spinae is a group of muscles that are in and support the spine as well as extend the spine. The erector spinae muscles are actually attached to the vertebrae, pelvis, and also to the ribs.

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Matt Weik

Matt Weik, BS, CPT, CSCS, CSN, is the Owner and Head Keyboard Banger of Weik Fitness. He is a well-respected, prolific writer with a global following and a self-proclaimed fitness and supplement nerd. Matt’s content has been featured on thousands of websites, 100+ magazines, and he has authored over a dozen published books.