Lat up: Workouts to help you get that V-back

For a strong and fab back, try these simple exercises that focus on your lats

- Pulasta Dhar

Who doesn't want to be fit and look good? That is the reason most people work on the chest, arms, and the shoulders a little harder than some other muscles. But there is another larger group of muscles which is relatively harder to exercise, but is absolutely key, whether for functional fitness or the tapered look that it gives. It's the back muscles.

There are a few ways of looking at the effect of working on your back. One is the obvious benefit to the muscles surrounding the spine—you get to strengthen an area that is susceptible to a number of non-impact injuries. The other aspect is about looking cut. The back muscles are linked to the shoulder and often lean to definition. The last benefit is it makes the back look wider. This is what gives a V-shape to the body. And it is this last part that is the toughest to achieve owing mostly to how difficult it is to isolate the latissimus dorsi muscles, or the lats.