Barbell Rows
Barbell rows are a great mass-building exercise for the back. Start by grabbing a barbell with an overhand grip and your hands positioned a little wider than shoulder-width apart. With your knees bent and your back straight, bend forward at the waist so that your torso is at approximately a 45 degree angle. At first it can take a while to become familiar with the proper positioning for this exercise but in time it will become second-nature. While remembering to keep your back straight throughout the range of motion, pull the barbell up towards your stomach.
Squeeze your back at the end of the movement. You can hold a short isometric contraction here to emphasize the work of your back if you wish, then return to the starting position.
Tips
* This is a compound exercise which develops the latissimus dorsi, lower part of the trapezius, rhomboids, teres major, posterior deltoid, and biceps.
* There are several variations of this movement that you can try to work different muscle groups. First of all, you can focus the effort of the movement onto your upper, middle, or lower back by raising the bar towards your upper chest, middle chest, or stomach, respectively. You can also try varying the width of your grip, or try the exercise with an underhand grip in order to focus more of the effort onto the upper part of your trapezius and biceps.
* As previously mentioned, it may be difficult to get into proper position when you first start doing this exercise. You can try doing the movement while positioning your stomach and chest on an incline bench to help you learn the technique. It should be noted that you will not be able to lift heavy weights when doing the exercise like this, however. If you attempt to lift heavy weights while lying on an incline bench, the rib cage will be compressed against the bench and it will be painful to breathe properly. As a result, only execute the movement on an incline bench with light weights.
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