There are many major and minor muscles that collectively make up our back.  Two major ones that are not only instrumental for our overall strength but also help us look sexy, strong and athletic are the lats (latissimus dorsi) and the traps (trapezius). 

The lats are the major muscles along the sides of our backs.  Well-developed lats are easy to spot in athletes such as swimmers and gymnasts.  They give us the classic v-shape in our torsos when they are strong.  Functionally speaking, the lats play a major role in movements requiring any sort of pulling motion.  For example, lifting a heavy carry-on bag to put in the overhead storage on a flight or pulling open a heavy door.   

The traps are located in the upper middle part of our back.  They are mainly situated between our shoulder blades and up toward our neck.  Well-developed traps are easily recognizable in football players and wrestlers who are often seen as having ‘no neck’ due to the constant heavy weightlifting they put in to develop their traps to lessen the likelihood of neck injuries (Don’t worry ladies, the exercises I recommend will keep your neck looking sexy and athletic, not big and bulky). Not only do the traps help stabilize and strengthen our neck and middle back, they also help us pull things upward and work together with our lats and other back muscles. 

Here are three exercises you can do to really strengthen your lats and traps:

Bent-over Kettlebell or Dumbbell Rows – Rows target the lats and traps effectively.  Grasp two dumbbells or kettlebells of equal weight and bend at the waist until your torso is almost horizontal to the floor.  If your hamstrings are too tight raise your torso up until you’re comfortable.  Bend your knees slightly and make sure your lower back is slightly arched and not rounded (A rounded back can and will lead to injury).  Pull the weights up together toward your waist and squeeze your shoulder blades together before extending your arms out again to repeat the movement.

Shrugs – Shrugs are a simple movement that targets the trapezius muscle.  From an upright position, simply grasp two dumbbells or kettlebells, preferably heavy in weight relative to your strength.  Hold the weights at your sides, keep your arms straight and relaxed and literally shrug your shoulders up, squeezing at the top for a moment before repeating the movement.  Shrugs are an incredibly uncomplicated movement that can yield tremendous results in both strengthening the traps, preventing neck injuries and developing an athletic and sexy neck.

Pullups – Pullups are, of course, the king (or queen!) of back exercises.  They target almost the entire back as well as the core.  Pullups can be quite difficult at first, but have no fear.  If you haven’t seen it already, check out my recent blog post on pullups here.  Grasp an overhead pullup bar (or rings if you’re really trying to challenge yourself) using a grip that’s just a little wider than shoulder width.  From a dead hang pull yourself up until your chin is just past the bar.  Lower yourself back down in a controlled manner and repeat.  Aim for about three sets of 5-10 depending on your current strength level.