Upper Back Development

It's rare that you see someone with an upper back that is too well developed.

More often than not, the person has shoulders that are pulled too far forward, making them appear to be slouched over, rather than tall and proud. Their chest doesn't quite stick out, even though they spend so much time on the bench press. Why? It's because their thoracic spine is overly kyphotic, and the muscles around it are weak.

Now, the thoracic spine is supposed to be kyphotic... but what we're talking about here, is a lack of mobility in the thoracic spine and a limited ability to extend and rotate. So, increasing the scapular/thoracic mobility of the individual would be a good start.

The next point would be to strengthen the muscles of the surrounding area, namely the lower trapezius and rhomboids. These muscles are responsible for thoracic extension and scapular retraction/depression.

So, how do we go about accomplishing these things?

1. Work on improving soft tissue quality.

If your shoulders are pulled forward, and your shoulder blades wing out, you likely have tight pecs. Use a lacrosse ball to roll out your chest, and a foam roller to roll out your lats, teres major, rhomboids, and traps. Softening up these tissues will allow for greater recovery and ultimately a better range of motion.

2. Do mobility drills for thoracic extension/rotation as well as scapular elevation/depression/protraction/retraction.

Piggy-backing on to the first point with the foam roller, doing some reverse crunches on your upper back during your foam roll can really help the thoracic spine's mobility into extension. With your upper back on the foam roller, simply practice extending your head back towards the floor.

Some other mobility exercises include what I call "the sprinkler". From a position on the floor on your hands and knees, make sure your back is in a neutral spine. Place one hand on the back of your head and rotate your elbow up towards the ceiling. Try to keep your low back straight and only rotate with your upper back. You will look as if you are doing the famed '80s dance move 'the sprinkler"

Scapular wall slides facing, or sitting against a wall are another important drill. Bands really help on these.

3. Strengthen the muscles in the upper back.

This is the most obvious point in the discussion. The point is learning how to use these muscles at your will. How many people do you know who can bounce their pecs? If you're a guy who lifts weights, you probably can, and so can all your friends. Now how many guys do you know who can actively fire their rhomboids? None? Didn't think so.

My favorite exercise for building the neurological efficiency necessary for effectively firing your rhomboids is the isometric bat-wing. Simply lay face down on a flat bench with light dumbbells or kettlebells and try to put your thumbs in your armpits for 20 seconds. Think about squeezing your shoulder blades down and back and your elbows back as if they're trying to touch each other.

The bat-wing is essentially an isometric contraction in the end of the concentric phase of a row. So, it would follow that any rowing motion that pulls your scapula back and down would do the same thing. This is true. I just like the bat-wing because you can really focus on feeling the muscle work.

And now, an example of how I might use upper back exercises in a work out.

Take a relatively heavy pair of dumbbells and a a light pair of dumbbells. Set up a bench at a 30 or 45 degree incline. Perform 8-12 reps of chest supported rows with the heavier pair of dumbbells. When the rep speed slows, or form breaks down (not effectively pulling the shoulder blades back), drop the dumbbells and grab the lighter pair. Then perform rear delt flies followed by "Y"s. End with an isometric bat-wing contraction. This tri-set starts with scapular retraction/depression focusing on the rhomboids and lower traps, moving to a higher retraction focusing on the rear delts and lower/mid traps, then elevation emphasizing the upper traps and ending with a batwing again emphasizing the rhomboids. By fatiguing the traps it is easier to force to the rhomboids to carry the burden of the contraction. Three sets of this at the end of any work out will bring up your upper back development in a hurry. I'd recommend a high frequency approach with this, beginning at twice a week and progressing until you're doing it 5 times a week. Give that progression and month and get back to me on how you feel about your upper back development.