Training with higher loads and faster speeds leads to
greater erector spinae muscle activity.
Other studies have also shown consistently
greater erector spinae muscle activity when performing the back squat with higher relative loads between 30 — 75 % of 1RM or 60 — 90 % of 3RM, respectively (Willardson et al. 2009; Li et al. 2013; Aspe et al. 2014).
Erector spinae muscle activity was superior in the front squat and the superman exercises compared to the other exercises, and the back squat produced
greater erector spinae muscle activity compared to the standing barbell press.
No other exercise has been found to involve greater quadriceps muscle activity than the back squat but the barbell hip thrust involves greater gluteus maximus activity and the deadlift involves
greater erector spinae muscle activity.
The deadlift produced
the greatest erector spinae muscle activity compared to all other exercises.
Not exact matches
Heavier loads, faster bar speeds, and
greater depth (with the same relative load), all lead to increased
erector spinae muscle activity during back squats.
Transverse abdominis EMG amplitude is
greatest when the barbell is at shoulder level, while
erector spinae EMG amplitude and IAP are
greatest when the barbell is at mid-shin level.
Most squat variations appear to lead to similar quadriceps, gluteus maximus and
erector spinae muscle activity, but the back squat seems to display
greater quadriceps muscle activity than either the split squat or overhead squat.
They found that the transverse abdominis was most active when the barbell was at or above shoulder level, while
erector spinae EMG amplitude and IAP were
greatest when the barbell was at mid-shin level.
In the horizontal back extension,
erector spinae muscle activity was
greater in maximal lumbar and hip extension than in neutral.
Willardson et al. (2009) reported that the
erector spinae displayed significantly
greater muscle activity compared to the back squat but this depended upon the exact region measured and this was unclear.
They reported that the
erector spinae muscle was
greater when the back squat was performed on the floor with loads of 90 and 100 % of 1RM but there were no significant differences between conditions at 70 or 80 % of 1RM.
However, upper
erector spinae muscle activity seems to be
greater using a barbell.
The
erector spinae displays a
greater proportion of type I muscle fibers than type II muscle fibers, with type I muscle fiber proportion ranging between 63 — 73 % and 62 — 74 % in the lumbar and thoracic regions, respectively.
Upper
erector spinae displays
greater muscle activity in the deadlift compared to the back squat.
They reported no difference in
erector spinae muscle activity between the two squat variations despite a
greater absolute load being lifted during the back squat.
Despite
greater 10RM loads in the partial squat (78.4 ± 4.6 kg) compared to the parallel squat (51.2 ± 3.1 kg),
erector spinae muscle activity was superior when performing the parallel squat condition.
They reported that
erector spinae muscle activity was
greater in the ascending phase compared to the descending phase but there was no difference between squat conditions.
The
erector spinae muscle activity was significantly
greater at all loads when performing the back squat compared with the overhead squat.
Therefore, it appears that the
erector spinae displays
greater muscle activity in the upper region in the deadlift compared to the back squat, but it is unclear whether a difference in muscle activity exists between the deadlift and the back squat in the lower
erector spinae.