I’m currently doing a Fitness-Tip Friday mini-series where I’m emphasizing a set of muscles that are significantly underrated as far as their overall importance – and therefore underworked by the vast majority of people! So far we’ve gone over the tibialis anterior, serratus anterior, flexor digitorum profundus, and sartorius (note: if you just subscribed and want to view those, a catalogue of all previous FTF tips is included in the All-Access Basic Membership). And this week’s underrated & underworked muscle is the erector spinae! And it’s one that most people are actually taught NOT to work at all by always keeping a straight back while lifting!
The erector spinae is actually a group of three different muscles: the iliocostalis, longissimus, and spinalis, as seen in the graphic above (we’ll leave out the multifidus here, since it’s not always grouped with the other three and has a different role). They originate from multiple locations along the sacrum, lower spine, and lower ribs, and then insert along the upper spine and ribs, so when they contract they extend and hyperextend the spine (click to view movement), or in lay terms they straighten the back.
And that is why it’s actually BAD advice to ALWAYS keep your back straight when lifting weights!! Don’t get me wrong, if you’re deadlifting or squatting, then you absolutely should keep your back straight – especially if you’re using heavy weight. However, if you always keep your back straight, then you never work and strengthen the erector spinae via concentric & eccentric contractions! The result is that they weaken relative to your other muscles, and your spine stiffens, which ironically makes you MUCH more susceptible to injury! Spinal flexion, or bending your back, is an absolutely essential functional movement – you really can’t live a normal life without it.
So you need to include exercises in your training that specifically work the erector spinae concentrically and eccentrically! One of the best ways to do that is via the Jefferson Curl (see GIF #).
With the Jefferson Curl you’ll stand straight while holding a barbell, and then slowly let the weight pull your spine down, starting with the cervical (neck) spine, then thoracic (upper) spine, then finally lumbar (lower) spine, as if you were bending one of those segmented snake toys one segment at a time. Drop as low as you can, and then reverse that exact motion back up – straightening the lumbar spine, then thoracic, then cervical, until you’re standing perfectly straight, and repeat.
Note that this is NOT a “good morning” or stiff-leg deadlift movement, which your body will naturally try to do here if you’ve always trained with a straight back. Think of bending your spine down one vertebrae at a time, from the top to the bottom, then straightening one vertebrae at a time from bottom to top. Doing these right will actually FEEL wrong at first for most people. Also, if you have really good range of motion, it can help to stand on a platform like I am, so that when you have weights on the barbell they don’t hit the ground prematurely and prevent you from getting full range of motion.
START WITH EXTREMELY LIGHT WEIGHT!!! And go very slowly. If you’ve never trained your erector spinae before, it will be weak, and your spine will be tight. You may even need to start with no weight at all. Then you can gradually work up to heavier weights.
APPLICATION: Always keeping your back straight is BAD! Start integrating exercises like the Jefferson Curl to strengthen your erector spinae and keep your spine strong and healthy!
Relevant Research Article(s):
1) Clinical reasoning framework for thoracic spine exercise prescription in sport: a systematic review and narrative synthesis
Related Dr. Gains YouTube Video(s):
1) BEFORE YOU DEADLIFT, Understand the Anatomy Behind It! (Which Muscles It Works & How to Modify It) 🔥
Dr. Gains 
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