Teres major: exercises and how to train
The teres major runs from the lower corner of the shoulder blade to the front of the upper arm, right alongside the lats, which is why it is often called the lat’s little helper. It pulls the arm down toward the body, extends it and rotates it inward. A developed teres major adds width high on the back, near the armpits.
How to train it
It works with the lats in every vertical pull: Pull-ups, Lat pulldown, Close-grip lat pulldown and Straight-arm pulldown. Pull the elbows down to your sides and pause for a second with the arms tucked in. It needs no separate volume: 6–10 sets of vertical pulling a week load it well.
Exercises where it is the main mover
Exercises where it assists
Weekly sets in ready-made programs
A set where the muscle is primary counts in full, a set where it assists counts as half — the same way the log’s stats count it.
Other back muscles
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