Anatomy of The Erector Spinae

This group of muscles runs along the length of the vertebral column and helps maintain an upright posture, as well as facilitate movements of the spine. The erector spinae group consists of three columns of muscles:

These muscles work together to provide support to the spine and play a crucial role in maintaining posture, as well as in movements such as bending backward and rotating the spine.

The Importance of The Erector Spinae for Deadlifting

The importance of the erector spinae to deadlifting and all hinging movements cannot be overestimated. This includes all hinging variations with dumbbells as well. If you happen to have an imbalance where you have strong upper back and hamstrings that can lift a lot of load, whilst still having a weak lower back (erector spinae), this can put the lower back at a much higher risk as it will be exposed to loads that it may not be able to deal with. You will want to put specific work in reinforcing your erector spinae to avoid this being a problem when lifting heavy loads.

Benefits of Training the Erector Spinae

Posture

The erector spinae are one of the key muscle groups that allow us to keep good posture throughout our day. If you have very weak erector spinae you may find it much harder to maintain good posture. Performing these dumbbell exercises on a regular basis will help you improve your posture over time.

Injury Mitigation

The lower back is very susceptible to injuries both in sports and in the weight room (especially when powerlifting or weightlifting). Making sure you have a rock solid lower back can help mitigate potential injuries you might sustain while lifting weights or on the field.

Sports and Weight Room Performance

Not only will having strong erector spinae help you mitigate injury in the weight room and while playing sports, it will also help you improve your performance. As it plays a crucial role in bending backwards and rotating the spine, these movements can be essential in sports like American football, rugby and judo when in contact with an opponent. Also think about how important having a strong lower back will be when getting out of the bottom of a heavy back squat, there is no doubt that this physical characteristic will help in the gym for all sorts of movement patterns.

The Relationship Between Back Pain and Weak Erector Spinae

Lower back pain is an extremely common issue in our society. Having a strong erector spinae and core musculature has been shown to prevent lower back. This means that if you are able to strengthen your erector spinae overtime you will be able to potentially prevent lower back pain in the future. If you searched for this article because of lower back pain, refer to our extensive article on exercises for lower back pain .

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