Healthy back muscles help taper your back to your waist, making your waist appear small and your back larger. The back includes many muscles, but one exercise can use a multitude of those muscles, helping make your back healthy and strong and lending it an attractive profile.
Exercise
The lat pull-down, or cable pull-down, is one of the most effective exercises to work the back because of the many muscles it engages. To complete a lat pull-down, you need access to cable machine and a wide handle. Select the weight, and sit down on the padded seat, tucking your knees under the supports, especially if you are pulling a heavy weight. Brace your core, and use a wide grip. Pull the bar to your chest, slightly leaning back as you pull. Release and extend your arms fully. Repeat until fatigued.
Back Muscles Engaged
The lat pull-down primarily works the latissimus dorsi, the muscle that runs from the front of your arm and under your arm to connect along the mid- and lower back. In addition, it works the rhomboids, which run from the middle of your neck to your shoulder blade; the levator scapulae, which supports the neck; the middle and lower part of the trapezius, that run from the top of your torso to the middle of your back and connect at your shoulder blade.
Other Muscles Engaged
In addition, a pull-down works the teres major and the infraspinatus, one of the rotator cuff muscles. It also works the muscles of the arm, including the biceps and brachialis, the muscle just above the elbow, and the brachioradialis, which runs on the top of the forearm and helps bend the elbow. The exercise also works the posterior deltoids, the muscles at the back of the shoulder, and the pectoral muscle at the front of your torso.
Repetitions
The number of times you complete the exercise depends on your goal. Mayo Clinic expert Dr. Edward Laskowski states that one set of 12 repetitions is effective, as long as you use a weight that fatigues your muscles in that 12 lifts. If you're training for a specific sport or looking to bulk up your back, then you'll need to complete multiple sets.
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