When Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin casually dropped a video showing what she jokingly called her “back abs,” the internet predictably lost its collective mind. The clip shows etched lines and definition across her upper and lower back that look strikingly similar to abdominal muscles, but on the other side of her body.
“I wish I had more of them in my front, honestly,” Shiffrin told NBC Connecticut. “I didn’t know that that’s what my back looks like. I don’t know how you get that. I don’t really want it.”
Naturally, that sparked a new fitness fixation: Are back abs actually a thing? And if so, can regular people get them too? Short answer: Kind of, yes. But there’s more nuance than a viral TikTok clip suggests.
What are back abs?
They’re beyond having a toned back. “Back abs refer to the visible muscle definition and aesthetic of the posterior chain, particularly the muscles of the back and core that contribute to the overall V-shape appearance,” says Juan Ball, CPT, a certified personal trainer with Bay Club tells SELF. “The muscles doing the heavy visual lifting include the lower trapezius, rhomboids, and erector spinae—plus help from the lats and deep core stabilizers.”
This group of muscles shapes your back from your shoulder blades down to your lower spine.
Together, they can create an abdomen aesthetic—grooves, shadows, and contours that resemble the segmented look of a six-pack on the front of the body. In elite athletes, those details become even more pronounced given their intense training.
“In the case of athletes like Mikaela Shiffrin, back abs are formed through rigorous training that combines strength training, sport-specific movements, and a low body fat percentage,” Ball explains. A sport like Alpine skiing requires strong posterior engagement (the backside of your body), and constant core engagement.
So while back abs isn’t an official term, it’s a catchy way to describe visible back-muscle definition.
Alpine skiier Mikaela Shiffrin
MICHAL CIZEK/Getty Images
Can non-athletes develop back abs?
“Achieving back abs can be more challenging for the average person compared to developing front abs,” Ball says. One big factor: visibility depends largely on overall body fat percentage. Lower body fat allows muscle definition to show more clearly, but that level isn’t always attainable, healthy or sustainable for everyone.
