Mirror-muscle lifters may look good from the front, but we all know what happens when they turn around. Everything disappears! It's an unfortunate case of "out of sight, out of mind"—and their overall development, posture, and shoulder health usually suffer from it over the long term.

However, just because you show up for back day doesn't mean results will automatically follow. Lots of things can still go wrong, leaving you nursing a sore lower back and wondering why your upper back isn't growing. These are the most common mistakes you must correct before you can break away from the beach-muscle gang and call yourself a legit bodybuilder.

Mistake 1: Thinking "Back" Means "Lats"

The latissimus dorsi may be the most visually imposing muscle on your back, but it's far from the only one. Balanced back training also targets the lower and middle portions of the trapezius, the rhomboids, the rear delts, the teres major, and the erector spinae. No, a couple sets of seated cable rows and pull-downs aren't going to cover all of that!

Anatomy of the back infographic

A Better Way: You should be training your back from multiple angles and with multiple of the best exercises. You know, just like you'd do for chest, shoulders, or biceps! Also use multiple grip angles—underhand, overhand, neutral—and grip widths.  .....Keep reading.......