BackBack training is probably the most important component of upper body development, considering this area accounts for the most muscle mass in the upper body. While the chest or arms may be the areas people generally tend to pay more attention to, development in the posterior part of your body will give you a fuller look and will ensure that the impressiveness of your physique does not disappear when you turn around. Training this region is all about pulling movements: lat pulldowns, chinups, rows- all of these basic exercises involve some type of pulling motion. The nature of these exercises allow a significant amount of weight to be used. This can make training dangerous if you do not assess the risks and take the proper precautions. Before discussing this however, you should be aware of the anatomy of this area of the body. Anatomy
There are a few main muscles to consider. The main muscles you should be familiar with are the latissimus dorsi (commonly referred to as the ‘lats’) as well as the trapezius. The latissimus dorsi is a powerful triangular-shaped muscle which covers most of the back. The trapezius is another large muscle which runs from the area of the neck to the middle part of the back. Smaller muscles include the teres major, located above the lats, as well as the rhomboids which are located deeper in, between the latissimus dorsi and the trapezius. Of course, there are also hundreds of other small muscles in and around the spine but for all practical training purposes, only the aforementioned muscles really need to be considered. If you concentrate on working each of these main muscles during your workouts, you will no doubt work dozens of other smaller muscles in the process. Just focus on working the big muscles and the rest will take care of itself.
Preventing Injuries The muscles of the back are very strong which allows you to lift heavy weights when training this area. Some common injuries that can occur are tears in the triceps or biceps. The risk of tearing the triceps was discussed briefly in the article on triceps training. It is true that the pulling motion of back exercises recruits the biceps more than the triceps. Because of this, it can be difficult to understand why the triceps are vulnerable during such exercises without first knowing a little bit about the anatomy of the human body. Basically, the latissimus dorsi links the arms to the rib cage while one of the functions of the long head of the triceps is to move the arm towards the rib cage. This means that both the latissimus dorsi and the triceps are working together during movements like lat pulldowns (especially back lat pulldowns) and chinups. While you will not feel your triceps being worked to the point where the muscle becomes fatigued, the triceps will nevertheless be performing the mechanical function of moving the arms towards the rib cage during such exercises. This means that when performing heavy lat pulldowns or even chinups with a weight belt, the triceps can be susceptible to tears if not warmed up properly. Brief stretching and a couple of light sets of exercises for the triceps can be very useful in preventing injuries to this area. A tear in the long head of the triceps is usually not an overly serious injury and a break from training of a week or two is normally all it takes to regain strength in this muscle. Still, it is better to be safe and warmup your triceps properly than to have to nurse an easily-avoidable injury. The biceps are also obviously at a high risk of being injured during heavy training of the back. The pulling movements of exercises for this area of the body all work the biceps to some degree. As you should know by now, it is important to warmup your arms before training your back (or any other part of the upper body for that matter). Do a couple of light sets of exercises for your biceps to prepare them for the heavy weights that you will be lifting in your workout. On the subject of the biceps, the main exercise of concern for this muscle is the deadlift. A reverse grip is almost always used for this exercise- with one hand in the supinated and one hand in the pronated position- to prevent the bar from sliding in the trainee’s hands. The biceps of the supinated hand can be at a risk of tearing when the hands are positioned as such, however. This is especially true when very heavy weights are being lifted. The biceps must be surgically repaired immediately after such an injury has occurred- if not, permanent loss of the use of the bicep is likely. In addition to warming up the biceps thoroughly before training your back, the best way to avoid such an injury is to strength the tendons that hold the biceps in place. To work the tendons, try curling a barbell and stopping about halfway or 2/3 of the way up. From here, simply flex your forearms to work the tendons and joints around the biceps. This movement could also be performed in the same way on a preacher bench. Although it is easy to get caught up lifting big weights when you are trying to build your back, it is important to remember that safety should always come first. Lifting too heavy will lead to injuries and will only delay you in achieving your goal of increased strength and/or muscularity. That being said, the back contains very powerful muscles and you should still be able to lift some good amounts of weight when using proper form for the exercises listed below. On a side note, it can sometimes be hard to maintain your grip during the pulling movements associated with the exercises below. It is best to get yourself a good pair of workout gloves to help you maintain your grip and to ease the tension on your hands when training this area. Placing towels on the bar during exercises like rows or deadlifts is also an effective way to get a better grip.
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