Superficial Muscles of The Back Part I

There are two distinct classes of muscle groups residing in your dorsal complex. The first are superficial or migratory and the second are deep. The word superficial refers to something being closer to the surface, or skin area then another aspect. In this case the reference is to muscles. The superficial groups are literally closer to the surface, then their deep counter parts.

That is the first distinction made between classes. The second is that the superficial muscles are also referred to as migratory aspects of the back. The word migrate of course refers to an object moving from its place of origin to a destination foreign to it( i.e. birds migrating in the winter ). Why is this applied to these muscles?

Ahhh…that my friends is of vital importance to understanding both the innervation and function of these contractile protein groups. You see, in Utero, which is where you developed before being born, several muscles developed and grew in your shoulder region. However, as you continued to grow, they literally changed destinations, in that they moved to the posterior aspect of your body.

Here is the catch. They began in the shoulder region and were meant to move the upper extremities, such as the humerus( upper arm ) and shoulder joint. When they migrated, they only changed positions, but…they still maintained their functions! And to compound this, they dragged the nerves innervating them to the rear as well! This means that your superficial back muscles, are really muscles of the appendicular skeleton and act as such. They are innervated by ventral primary rami of the brachial plexus( see an overview of the nervous system for clarification. ) Where as deep muscles are innervated completely opposite to this( a point discussed further in part 3 of this series ).

So why did they migrate you ask? They did so to stabilize many of the bones held back there. For example, the scapula relies on muscles to hold it to the axial skeleton. No ligaments do this, only superficial muscles. Indeed, the instructions in your DNA code are full of incredible designs. Each, with a purpose beyond perfection!

What is accomplished in the process:

C. Thirdly, this muscle continues all the way down the vertebral column, which means that it can potentially provide an endless streamline of mass. Extreme lower lat development is vital for all twisting poses, because they provide extreme freaky definition on the lower sides of your back. Almost like razor blades ready to shred the competition!

2. An Anatomical & Physiological Breakdown of The Latissimus Dorsi

Victor Munez is also in a class all by himself, many consider him to be the best of the best. His specialty is the back complex, and Oval Burke is a perfect example of what he can do with this area. When I have spoken with Mr. Munez he has stated a very similar point in bringing the lats lower, and also widening them.

Dr. Michael Yessis, an author, trainer to countless champions in the field of athletics, and one of the most respected authorities in exercise physiology has this to say about the subject:

" Because The entire Lattissimus dorsi is not involved in any one exercise, it is important that you do several variants to develop the muscle fully…Development of the upper part will give you wings, while development of the lower part will give you great mass down the sides of your back.  "

The question is, why are these Geniuses separating this muscle into two regions? The answer is based on exactly why anatomy and physiology are so closely interconnected. You see, Anatomists painstakingly study the direction that fibers run along a muscle group. Ultimately, the direction they travel in, is the direction they will pull the bone they insert on towards. It is really quite straightforward. They pull insertion points toward points of origin. The muscle in question here however has several origins and the fibers run differently throughout the muscle, thus the latissimus can be functionally separated along its axis.

I will allow the greatest Anatomist science has ever known describe to you how the fibers of the lats run throughout the length of the muscle:

The latissimus inserts on the humerus. If fibers run vertically upwards, when they contract they will extend the humerus( upper arm ). Which is to say that they pull the arm downwards and backwards. A hammering motion would replicate the need to extend. The horizontal( meaning side to side ) fibers however, when contracted will pull the humerus towards the midline of the body. In other words this muscle will move your arms to your sides. This is called adduction, or retraction.

3. Origin and Insertion Points

O: The origin of this muscle is extensive! Again, pointing to its difference in functionality. To make it simpler however I will name all origin points and then give an overview. It originates on the spinous processes of the lower thoracic vertebrae, and on all of the lumbar vertebra. Which means that it originates, midway on the vertebrae that are rib level( this is where the thoracic region of the vertebral column reside ), and all along the lower back region( remember spinous processes are posterior and they are the aspect that can often be seen through a persons skin ). It also originates on the sacrum. The top of the sacrum is essentially where your lower back ends. In addition it originates on the crest of the illium, which essentially means the rear side of your hip bones, where your glutes begin and finally on the lower three ribs.

Overview – Originates along the lower half and upper sides of the back, so as to form a V.

I: It inserts on the bicipital groove of the humerus. This is the anterior or front view of the upper arm bone. The bicipital groove, is again, a groove made by the long head of the biceps tendon.

Overview: Inserts on the top of the humerus, so as to form part of the arm pit.

B. The greatest compound movement of choice here, would then be wide grip pull-ups and wide grip pull downs of varying degrees. Furthermore you will want to have your palms facing away from you( pronated ). Practice performing the movement in mid-air without actually doing an exercise. Begin by placing your hands wide and straight overhead as if reaching for the sky. Your humerus should be perpendicular to the ground. From here lower your arms out to the sides in an arching motion until the upper arm is parallel to the ground. This is the key range you want to be in. Now, focus on touching your elbow to your rib cage. The movement must be performed in a frontal plane. I like to imagine that there is a barrier in front and in back of me, and all I can do is move my arms within a jumping jacks style range of motion. Which means they should neither move forwards, or backwards( of course your elbows will bend, unlike jumping jacks, but the humerus will do a very similar movement ).

Again, your goal from the very top of the exercise is to bring the humerus to your sides. Your upper lat fibers run side to side, and this is the direction that your movement should be in!

C. When it comes to varying grips. I utilize shoulder width apart pull-ups, and work my way out to as wide as possible. The angles you use should be endless.
However, I do not perform behind the neck pull downs or pull-ups, when focusing on lats. That will be introduced later in the article.

This can be adapted to a cable cross over machine, or with a dumbbell. When using a dumbbell simply lie on your side. The arm that is superior will hold the dumbbell. The difference is in the tension. Therefore you will only lift the dumbbell on here so that it is perpendicular to the ground, before re-lowering it.

G. Pre-fatigue – The above movement can be utilized as a pre-fatigue method. I prefer a double drop set with any of the variations above. With reps being 12-15.

A. The purest form of extension, comes when utilizing the striation row. You begin by lying face forward on an incline bench like so.

The difference however between normal rows, is that you will purely extend your arms backwards without bending your elbows! I call them striation rows, or
flexor-less rows, because you have eliminated the biceps from supporting the movement. I suggest using these from 75 degrees all the way to a flat bench angle. Additionally you can set up a low cable pulley in front of an incline bench, and grasp the bar with an overhand grip. From here, row the cable handle back, without bending your elbows. Essentially you are performing pure extension here placed under resistance.

C. With adduction while performing pull-ups, you spread your arms out wide, and pronate the palms. Here you will supinate them( they should face you ) and bring your arms close together. By utilizing this grip, you emphasize extension of the humerus! Which is again the desired movement. During the chinup motion, focus on extending your arm downwards and backwards! This is absolutely essential!

D. Pullovers and straight arm pull downs - Again, implement every form of pullover possible and implement straight arm pulldowns( both found in exercise section of the site and I would also suggest reading The Anatomy of A Pullover by Adam Knowlden ). These perfectly line up origin and insertion points, which again is the key to maximum development. I am also a massive believer in the pullover machine, as was Dorian Yates.

E. One arm Rows – In order to ensure equal development on both sides of the back, implement one arm rows. The key is to extend the elbow as far back, in a straight line as is possible! No exercise blasts the lats through extension like this one can! I also am a huge believer in one arm long bar rows( place hyperlink here ) Again focus on extension. Two arm long bar rows are also excellent for the lower lats. Get your elbows back as far as possible and contract the fibers till they are exhausted!

Simply lie face forward on the ground, with your head facing the low cable pulley. From here, reach out and grasp the bar, and shrug straight back wards.
Again, this movement depresses the scapula like so.

This is one of the oldest theorems and has been used decade after decade. It is a set state. In essence you choose a particular amount of reps and perform as many sets as is needed to reach that goal. Lets say you chose 50 total repetitions. Perhaps set one you could get 20 pullups, then set two you could get 15 and so on and so forth until you reached 50 total reps. I would wager to say, that this is perhaps the best " all around method " ever invented for building the lats. It may take you 10 sets to get 50, the point is, to set a limit, and reach it! Consequently I have heard legends of the animals of yester yore, taking this theorem to all new levels of insanity! Athletes have set the mark up to 200, and some higher than this! My suggestion is to set a mark that seems impossible to reach, and just freaking do it, no matter how many sets it takes!

Start at position one, and rep out to failure. You will then do one of two things.

Choice A. Is to move to position two and rep out to failure again, followed by position three, four and five.

A. Interestingly enough, this muscle shows more slow then fast twitch fibers. However, not by much. Here are the ratios: 50.5% type I slow twitch fibers, and 49.5% type II fast fibers( 5, 6 ). My suggestion is to work in several different rep ranges. If you only work heavy, you will virtually eliminate half of your muscle fibers growth potential! I suggest you focus 70 to 75 percent of your efforts working your fast twitch fibers and 25 to 30 percent of your efforts on super high rep, constant tension slow twitch fiber work. Click Here to read about muscle fibers.

B. In addition to this, the muscle fiber ratio within the lattisimus dorsi is varied. Studies show that there is a higher percentage of slow twitch fibers in the superior aspect( upper ) of the muscle, then in the inferior( lower ) aspect ( 7 )

Which would point to a slightly higher rep range required for the upper fibers, as compared to the lower.

Conclusion?

This concludes part one of our superficial muscle series. For part two, click here.

Yours In Sport

Jacob Wilson
President Abcbodybuilding / Beyond Failure Magazine