Muscle of the Month - Erector Spinae

By Susie Black - get free updates of new articles here

Erector Spinae

(the name of this muscle always makes my husband snigger...)

What are they? They comprise three different sets of muscles which make up the intermediate layer of the deep back muscles. Where are they? They extend on either side of the vertebral column, between the base of the neck and the pelvis.

What do they do? When both sides of the muscles work together they extend the spine, when one side works they help us bend to the side and more generally they help us with posture.

How do I activate them?

Every time you straighten up or bend backwards you're activating these muscles.

These deep muscles work to keep us upright so we need to include erector spinae muscle engagement as part of our balanced workout regime. Deconditioned people, people suffering from back pain and people who may have over-trained the frontal muscles usually require a greater focus on this kind of work. Here is a video introducing the kind of moves which help you locate and train these muscles.

Why do we need them?

These are the main support muscles for our spine. Just like the name suggests, they keep the spine erect.