In the field of physical culture, it would be correct to speak more than dorsal (grand dorsal or major dorsal or latissimus dorsi) of the back.
And that’s because, although the so-called back salts — one by one, of course — give breadth in the middle and upper back area, they’re not the only important districts of our back.
Of course, from an aesthetic point of view, they contribute fundamentally to shaping what most people consider the ideal male image, characterized by the typical “V” shape.
However, in bodybuilding, the backs are assigned the essential function of the width of the upper torso, a task completed by the shoulders. Not at all. In “culturist” language, it often refers to the pair of dorsal animals as “lats.” The task of denoting thickness or depth, on the other hand, is done more by the large and small round, and by the summation of the muscle layers — for example, the rhomboids, the trapeze, etc.
Taking for granted that harmonious body development cannot, most of the time, be independent of back and shoulders training, excluding from routine the major movements that activate them would be functionally incorrect. This is because – simplistically – it could be said that these districts (not necessarily a great backbone per se) are indispensable for opening the clavicles, adduction, and elevation of the shoulder pole.
More precisely, the backbone is responsible for extending, adducing, transverse extension – also known as horizontal abduction – bending from an extended position and internal (medial) rotation of the shoulder joint. It also plays a synergistic role in the lumbar spine’s lateral extension and bending.
IMPORTANT! By Bypassing the bachelor-thoracic joints and inserting them directly into the root, the movements of the dorsal on the arms can also influence the motion of the shoulder pole, such as their bass rotation during pull-up.
Grand Dorsal
Anatomy of the Grand Dorsal
The large dorsal is the largest muscle in the upper part of the body.
Note: the “latissimus dorsi” (plural: Latest dorsi) is derived from Latin and means “widest back muscle”, “latissimus” (largest), and “dorsum” (Latin): back).
On the back, typically flat muscle extends to the side, behind the arm, and is partly covered by the trapezius near the midline.
It fits into the thoracic processes of vertebrae (from sixth and seventh to the lumbar thoracic and the iliac ridge) and the little tube of the humerus head.
Anatomical variations of dorsal
The number of dorsal vertebrae to which it is attached varies from four to eight. In contrast, the number of costal insertions is more variable. Muscle fibers may or may not reach the iliac crest.
Compared to the cellar arch, which varies from 7 to 10 cm long and from 5 to 15 mm wide. The upper edge of the large dorsal can overflow from the center of the back fold of the armpit, combining the lower surface of the tendon of the pectoral large, the coracobrachialis, or the band above the brachial bicep. And this arc of the armor can mislead a surgeon.
It is present in about 7 % of the population and can be easily recognized by the transverse direction of its fibers. Guy ET al. has extensively described this muscle variant using magnetic resonance data and has positively correlated its presence with the symptoms of neurological impingement. [Guy, MS; Sandhu, SK; Gowdy, JM; Cartier, CC; Adams, JH (January 2011). “MRI of the axillary arch muscle: prevalence, anatomic relations, and potential consequences”. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 196 (1): W52-7].
Usually, the fibrous slip passes from the upper edge of the tendon of the large dorsal, close to its insertion, to the long head of the brachial triceps. Which can occasionally be muscular, is a trawl of the dorsoepitrochlearis monkey brachii. This muscular form is found in about 5 % of humans and is sometimes called a very high condyloid.
The dorsal crosses the lower corner of the dome. A study of 100 dissected corpses [James, John Di; Pouliart, Nicole; Costantini, Alberto; Life, Andrea de (September 25, 2008). Atlas of Functional Shoulder] found that:
- 43% had “a substantial amount” of muscle fibers in latissimus dorsi due to the dome;
- 36% had few or no muscle fibers, but a “soft fibrous bond” between the scalp and the latissimus dorsi;
- 21% had little or no linkage between the two structures.
The lateral edge of the dorsal is separated from the outer oblique of the abdomen by a small triangular range, the Petit lumbar triangle. The base of which is formed by the iliac crest and the floor by the abdominal interior obliquus.
Another triangle is located behind the shaft. It is bounded above by the trapezio, bottom from the dorsal and laterally by the vertebral edge of the dome; the floor consists in part of the major rhomboid. Suppose the scalp is pulled forward by folding the arms on the chest and flitting the forward bust. In that case, parts of the sixth and seventh ribs and the interspace became subcutaneous and available for auscultation. So this space is known as the auscultation triangle.
In the vicinity of the insertion on the intertubercular humerus, the dorsal is surrounded by two large muscles: the large round, which sits on average on the medial lip of the intertubercular trunk, and the large pectoral, which sits literally on the lateral lip.
The dorsal is innervated from the sixth, seventh, and eighth cervical nerve through the chest nerve (long bachelor). Electromyography suggests that it consists of six muscle fibers that can coordinate independently of the central nervous system.
Bio-mechanics of the gran dorsal
The dorsal assists in the depression of the arm along with the large roundabout and the big chest. It stretches, stretches, and rotates the shoulder inside. When the arms are in a fixed position stretched over the head, the back pulls the trunk up and forward.
It has a synergic role in the extension (rear fibers) and the lateral bending (front fibers) of the lumbar column, acting as a forced exhalation muscle (front fibers) and also as an accessory of inspiration (rear fibers).
Most dorsal exercises recruit simultaneously: the large round, the hind fibers of the deltoid, the long head of the brachial triceps, and many other stabilizing muscles.
Complex exercises for “lats” typically involve the bending of the elbow. They tend to recruit the brachial bicep, brachial, and brachioradialis.
Depending on the traction line, trapezius beams may also be recruited; horizontal traction movements like rows heavily recruit both the dorsal and the trapezius.
How To Train
Aesthetic training of dorsal
The dorsal is among the most exciting and stimulating muscles to train in the gym.
The skeletal system determines its development in breadth, given the ratio between the bisacromial axis and the bisiliac axis of 2 to 1 – the width of the shoulders should exceed that of the waist, the thickness represented by the volume capacity of the chest.
Another important genetic factor in determining dorsal hypertrophy is the type of fibers that constitute the same.
Precisely because it is a large muscle and compromises many other agonists, the training of the back involves high fatigue. Both at the energy-muscular and neuronal level; for this reason, many prefer to train it once in the microcycle weekly.
From a methodological point of view, there are no differences with other muscles. The general rules of hypertrophic stimulus apply, high TUT, high intensity, good concentration of lactic acid, incomplete recoveries, muscle depletion, etc.
Exercises for Dorsal
The power/size/strength of the dorsal can be trained with many different exercises. With or without the use of overloads (in resistance training or calisthenics), we quote:
- Vertical traction movements: pull-down and pull-up (including chin-ups); the most used isotonic machine is probably the lat-machine.
- Horizontal tensile activities: bent-over-row, T-bar row, and other rowing exercises; the most used isotonic machine is probably the Pulley.
- Shoulder extension movements with straight arms: straight-arm lat pull-down and pull-over.
- Death-lift (ground lift): even if more used for buttocks, thighs, and earthworms.
Below we will describe what we might call the most indicative exercises but train the backbone on different plans. We will voluntarily leave calisthenics such as pull-up and front lever. It would require more than just a description because it is very difficult to learn correctly. We will also remove all types of rowers with handlebars or balers because they are articulated in an article independently.
High and low Pulley
Pulley tractions may train the upper or lower part of the back, depending on whether the handle comes from the top or bottom.
This exercise builds both thickness (large and small round but not only) and width (back). It places a considerable strain on the spinal receptors as well as the back shoulders. Secondary stress concerns spinel, biceps, brachial, and forearm flexors. Those who are weak from the latter often use hooks or more rarely use bands to avoid exhausting the children before the lats.
Execution is essential and must never be wrong. Should maintain legs at about 10° beyond the extension throughout the movement – to avoid harmful strain to the lumbar part. The back always stays well sustained in hyperlordosis. Some of them flick the torso forward to better stretch the dorsal, but that way, you work many earthworms while creating a lats resting instant. If you hold the handle, you pull the grip, flick the elbow, stick the shoulder, and then drain.
Lat machine
A further key exercise is vertical cutbacks to the machine, which work more on the back than the previous one. Front tractions are primarily aimed at the lower and central sections of the back. While back tractions – advised against all those who “suffer” the extra rotation of the shoulder – are helpful for the upper part, the trapezius, and the shoulder blades. Here, too, there’s a lot of secondary stress on the spinal deltoids, biceps, and forearm flexors. The execution of this exercise may vary, depending on which bar you use, such as the trazibar or the straight bar. For the most part, the correct handle is about 30 cm wider than the shoulders. You can also use the pulley triangle, simulating the pulley triangle vertically.
Keeping your back slightly accrued during exercise, you pull down until you touch the sternum with the bar, slowly relaxing by lengthening. The mobility of the shoulders determines the inclination of the back torso; the better the hike, the less the need to lean towards the back.
Pull-down stretched arms
Many people replace it with pull-overs, but in my opinion, the two exercises do not allow working in the same way. In the tight-arm pull-down, which runs the high cable-cross or the lat-machine, you can manage the same resistance at all times of the excursion. While in the pull-over the “peak” is in the initial phase – without considering that it is the most delicate moment for the shoulders.
It’s not a specific exercise for dorsal, or rather, at certain angles; this does not mean that it is less effective. The movement strongly urges, in addition to the dorsal, also the large dentate and the large pectoral.
The position is standing in front of the cable with the lower limb opening about the shoulder width and with the knees slightly flexed. The lumbar tract is well maintained and slightly curved. It holds a bar with a width just over the shoulders, tilting the forward bust about 45 ° beyond the vertical position – the greater the load. The more I will have to pronounce myself – and keeping the elbows slightly flex (about 10 °). Traction is performed by only moving the joint of the shoulder. The elbow is still; therefore, all the arm accessories are excluded, but not those of the forearm.
With a wide-range movement, there will be no recruitment problems. Suppose the excursion is affected by pathologies or conditions of the shoulders. In that case, it may not be an exercise for training the dorsal.
Health
Dorsal and Health
Dorsal has proved to be involved in chronic pain in the shoulder and back. Since the dorsal connects the spine to the hull. The tension of the spine can be manifested as a sub-optimal function of the gleno-omeral joint (shoulder), which would lead to chronic pain or tendinitis in the tendon band of connection between latissimus dorsi and thoracic-lumbar spine.
The dorsal is a potential source of muscle fibers for breast reconstruction after mastectomy (e.g., Mannu Lembo) or for correcting pectoral hypoplastic defects such as Poland’s syndrome. A dorsal without or hypoplastic may be one of the symptoms associated with the same syndrome.
Heart support of the grand dorsal
For patients with low-range cardiopathy, not candidates for transplantation, cardiomyoplasty procedures may support the sick heart. This involves winding the heart with the latissimus dorsi fibers and electrostimulation in sync with the ventricular system.
Injury of the dorsal
Dorsal lesions are quite rare. They occur mostly in baseball throwers. Can achieve diagnosis through mammography and functional evaluation. MRI will confirm your diagnosis.
Muscle belly lesions are treated with rehabilitation, while the tent adulsion lesions can be treated surgically. Regardless of the treatment, patients tend to recover without any functional loss.