For some bodybuilders and fitness athletes, free weights are mandatory for just about any exercise. Free weights work not only your primary muscles, but the synergistic and stabilizer muscles as well. Working all of these muscles will enhance muscle growth and overall development. Free weight exercises for your back will target the lats, rhomboids, lower back, and trapezius tie ins. Here are some exercises demonstrations with pictures on how to perform many free weight exercises that are designed to target the various muscles of your back.  *Note: these exercises will also work the biceps a lot too, as these muscles are most always both worked with pulling movements.

Barbell Deadlift

You will see this exercise on various pages, as it is just about the most effective and most used exercises for developing a huge back. Performing barbell deadlifts will work your entire body, but will target certain muscles in your lower back and hamstrings. To perform this exercise, place the bar above your foot so that it appears to be cutting your foot in half. Bend down with your knees about shoulder-width apart and your arms outside of your knees. Keep your back flat and use an alternating grip if necessary. Simultaneously, lift the bar by locking out your legs and standing vertically with a pelvic-thrusting movement.

Bent-over Barbell Rows

Another staple in most bodybuilders and fitness athletes regime is the bent-over barbell row. This exercise is great for working your lats (the wing-like muscles on the sides of your back) to achieve a wider v-taper. To perform this exercise, keep a double-overhand or a double-underhand grip. Double-overhand grips will take strain off of your biceps. Slightly bend over to grab the bar as if you were setting yourself up for a deadlift. Keeping your elbows tucked in, row the bar up to around your rib cage.  Bring the bar back down to around your knees to remove unnecessary strain on your lower back.

Pull ups / Chin ups

This is one of the most convenient exercises to perform as well as one of the most effective. Pull ups and chin ups will work your lats as well as various other muscles in your back. To perform the pull up, keep a wider-than-shoulder-width grip on some sort of bar in which you can hang from. Keeping your chest out, pull yourself up as high as you can, preferably until your chin is slightly over the bar. The chin up exercise is practically the same, except that you will have an underhand grip and your grip will be much closer.

One arm dumbbell rows

This is a great exercise that you may perform at home if you have access to a dumbbell. You will only need one dumbbell for this exercise as you will be working with one per set. This is a great exercise for working your lats as well as other secondary muscles. To do this exercise, use either a bench or something that you can lean onto with one arm. Use the other arm to grab the dumbbell from the floor and slightly tilt your body so that you’re getting a good stretch in the lat muscle on the side of the body in which you will be lifting the dumbbell with. Row the dumbbell up so that your elbow is parallel with your body and so that the dumbbell is touching the outer side of your pectoral area or near the rib cage. Keep the swinging to a minimum to ensure that a maximal contraction is achieved.

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