Back muscles

Latissimus dorsi

Musculus latissimus dorsi

Your broad back muscle connects your torso to your upper arm and helps with pulling — for example when rowing.

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Back view of the human muscular system with the latissimus dorsi highlighted
Back view · latissimus dorsi

At a glance

Region
Back
Movement pattern
Pulling movements
Joint
Shoulder joint

Exercises

Exercises for the lats

Athlete pulling up on an assisted pull-up machine with both knees on the assistance pad.

Assisted pull-up machine with knee pad

Machine-assisted pull-up

A counterweighted knee pad reduces the bodyweight you pull, making the pull-up adjustable for the lats and assisting biceps.

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Standing band row with a secure chest-height anchor, elbows drawn back and handles near the lower ribs.

Resistance band · Rated fixed anchor

Standing resistance-band row

Pull against a band to train the lats and mid-back while keeping the torso still.

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Inverted row beneath a secured low bar with grounded heels, straight body and chest close to the bar.

Bodyweight · Fixed low training bar

Inverted row on a low bar

Pull the chest toward a low fixed bar while the heels stay on the floor to train the lats and upper back.

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One-arm dumbbell row with the opposite hand and knee supported on a bench.

Dumbbell · Flat bench

Single-arm dumbbell row

One arm rows a free weight while your other hand and knee support you on a bench.

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Seated lat pulldown with the bar in front of the upper chest and thighs secured under a pad.

Cable machine · Lat bar

Lat pulldown

Pull from overhead toward your chest with both arms. The machine lets you adjust the resistance.

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Seated cable row with an upright torso and a narrow handle drawn toward the abdomen.

Cable machine · Narrow handle

Seated cable row

Both arms pull a shared handle toward your abdomen against the cable's resistance.

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Bent-over barbell row with bent elbows, a neutral back and the bar near the abdomen.

Barbell · Plates and collars

Barbell bent-over row

Row with both arms while your trunk muscles hold the bent-over position steady.

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Dumbbell row with the chest supported on an incline bench and elbows beside the torso.

Dumbbells · Incline bench

Chest-supported dumbbell row

The bench supports your chest while both arms row. This reduces the effort needed to hold your torso in position.

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Overhand pull-up with the chin above a fixed bar and feet off the floor.

Pull-up bar · Bodyweight

Overhand pull-up

Pull your body toward a fixed bar. Your lats and other back muscles work together with your elbow flexors.

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Understand the muscle

From your back to your upper arm

The latissimus spreads across your mid and lower back. Its fibers converge toward the armpit and attach to your upper arm.

Broad attachment to the torso

Origin

Origo

Arises from the lower thoracic spine, thoracolumbar fascia, iliac crest and lower ribs.

This is an attachment or connective-tissue structure, not a separate contractile muscle region. The exercises for the whole muscle train the associated movement.

Connection to the upper arm

Insertion

Insertio

Attaches by a tendon to the groove between the humeral tubercles. This connection lets a back muscle move your arm.

This is an attachment or connective-tissue structure, not a separate contractile muscle region. The exercises for the whole muscle train the associated movement.

The listed exercises involve this region alongside other parts of the muscle. A muscle head or deep portion is not necessarily trained in isolation.

Simply explained

What does the muscle do?

In simple terms, the latissimus pulls your upper arm down, back, and inward toward your body.

Side view: the arm moves from in front of the body (1, dashed) down toward the torso (2, teal).
Side view

Pull your arm backward

Shoulder extension

Bring an arm held in front of you back toward your torso, as in rowing.

Back view: the arm moves from raised to the side (1, dashed) toward the torso (2, teal).
From behind

Bring your arm toward your body

Adduction

Pull an arm raised to the side down toward your torso, as in a lat pulldown.

Top view: the bent forearm turns from forward (1, dashed) toward the abdomen (2, teal).
Top view · elbow bent

Rotate your upper arm inward

Internal rotation

With your elbow bent beside your body, the forearm turns inward. The movement happens at the shoulder.

Often works with
Sources & illustrations

Anatomy and technique: the references below. Region boundaries and movement diagrams are schematic. Exercise images are AI-generated illustrations.