Barbell Back Exercises – Introduction

8 Best Back Exercises with a Barbell + Home Strength Workout

A lot of people think that the only way to build a bigger, more muscular back is with pull-ups, chin-ups, and lat pulldowns, i.e., vertical pulling exercises.

And while vertical pulls are an excellent way to train your back, they’re not the only way and may even be inconvenient for some people.

After all, to do lat pulldowns, you need a cable machine, which may be unavailable if you train at home.

Similarly, pull-ups and chin-ups may not be a good choice as you need to be strong enough to lift your entire body weight using just your arms to do them.

The most obvious way around these problems is to train your back with a barbell.

Barbells are readily available, versatile, and ideal for home workouts.

Using a barbell means you can adjust the weight to reflect your current level of strength.

But what are the best back exercises with a barbell, and how can you combine them into a workout?

We reveal the answer!

Table of Contents

• Back Exercises With a Barbell – Introduction
• The Best Barbell Back Exercises List
• Barbell Back Exercise Descriptions
  • Deadlifts
  • Good mornings
  • Bent-Over barbell rows
  • Yates rows
  • Pendlay rows
  • Meadows rows
  • Chest-supported rows
  • Barbell pullovers
• Barbell Back Home Workout
• The 8 Best Back Exercises With a Barbell – Closing Thoughts

The 8 Best Back Exercises With A Barbell

Whether you want to build wider lats, thicker traps, and rhomboids, or stronger erector spinae muscles, you can do it with a barbell.

These are the eight best exercises for beefing up your upper and lower back!

1. Deadlifts
2. Good mornings
3. Bent-over barbell rows
4. Yates rows
5. Pendlay rows
6. Meadows rows
7. Chest-supported rows
8. Barbell pullovers

Barbell Back Exercises Descriptions

#1. Deadlift

If the squat is the king of leg exercises, the barbell deadlift is the king of back exercises.

Deadlifts work your entire back from top to bottom and side to side and also train your glutes and hamstrings.

If you only do one barbell back exercise, the deadlift should be it.

How to do it:

1. Place your barbell on the floor and stand behind it with your feet between shoulder and hip-width apart, toes beneath the bar.
2. Squat down and grab the bar with an overhand or mixed shoulder-width grip.
3. Brace your core, pull your shoulders down and back, and arch your lower back slightly.
4. Keeping your arms straight, drive your feet into the floor and stand up.
5. Keep the bar pressed back toward your legs to fully engage your lats.
6. Lower the bar back to the floor, reset your grip and core, and repeat.

How To Deadlift – Rich “Hashi Mashi”, HashiMashi.com

#2. Good morning

Good mornings are so-called because, when you do them, it looks like you are bowing to greet someone.

The good morning is an old-school lower back exercise that also works your glutes and hamstrings.

How to do it:

1. Rack and hold a barbell across your upper back as if you are doing squats.
2. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
3. Brace your core.
4. Pull the bar down onto your shoulders so it will not move during your set.
5. Hinge forward from your hips and lean over as far as your flexibility allows.
6. Do not round your lower back.
7. Stand back up and repeat.

How to do proper form Good Mornings – Buff Dudes

#3. Bent-over barbell row

The barbell bent-over row is a somewhat controversial exercise.

It has a reputation for being dangerous, but that can be said of almost any barbell rowing exercise.

However, if you do bent-over rows with a neutral (slightly arched) spine and keep your abs braced, the bent-over row can be a safe and effective upper and lower back builder.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet hip to shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand or underhand grip.
3. Hinge forward from your hips until your upper body is roughly parallel to the floor.
4. Let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders.
5. Bend your arms and pull the bar up and into your upper abs.
6. Extend your arms and repeat.
7. You can also do this exercise with a wider grip and pull the bar into your chest to target your upper back more.

How to Properly Barbell Row for a Bigger Back – Jeremy Ethier

#4. Yates row

Former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates had one of the most muscular backs in the history of bodybuilding.

This exercise is how he preferred to do bent-over rows.

It’s a little easier on the lower back than regular bent-over rows and should allow you to lift heavier weights and do more reps.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
2. Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width underhand or overhand grip.
3. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
4. Hinge forward from your hips until the barbell is roughly level with your knees.
5. Your shoulders should be higher than your hips.
6. Bend your arms and pull the bar up and into your abdomen.
7. Keep your upper arms close to your sides.
8. Extend your arms and repeat.

How to Yates Row for Total Back Development – Geoffrey Schofield

#5. Pendlay row

Pendlay rows, also known as dead-stop rows, are named after legendary powerlifting and weightlifting coach Glen Pendlay.

Each rep starts and finishes with the bar resting on the floor, which provides your lower back and grip with a short but welcome rest between reps.

This should mean you can go heavier than with regular bent-over rows.

How to do it:

1. Place your barbell on the floor and stand behind it so your toes are under the bar and your feet about shoulder-width apart.
2. Hinging from the hips, lean forward and hold the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
3. Brace your abs, pull your shoulders down and back, and slightly arch your lower back.
4. Keeping your torso stationary, bend your arms and row the bar up and into your abdominals.
5. Do not round your lower back.
6. Lower the bar back to the floor, allow it to settle for 1-2 seconds, reset your core and grip, and repeat.

How to Pendlay Row – Marcus Filly, Functional Bodybuilding

#6. Meadows row

The Meadows row is named after John Meadows, a respected bodybuilder, and bodybuilding coach.

This is a unique exercise because despite performing it with a barbell, you work one side of your back at a time like you are using a dumbbell.

How to do it:

1. Place your barbell on the floor with one end wedged against a wall or squat rack.
2. You can also use a hinged “landmine” device.
3. Stand perpendicular to the other end of the bar.
4. Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart, knees bent for balance and stability.
5. Lean forward and grab the end of the barbell with your nearest hand.
6. Brace your other hand on your leg for support.
7. Bend your arm and row the bar up and into your lower ribs.
8. Extend your arm and repeat.
9. Rest a moment and then swap sides.
10. Do the same number of reps with both arms.

John Meadows Does the Meadows Row – Testosterone Nation

#7. Chest-supported row

If all these bent-over row variations are making your lower back ache, this is the exercise for you!

Also known as seal rows, this rowing variation takes your lower back out of the movement, so you are free to focus exclusively on your lats and upper back.

How to do it:

1. Raise a flat bench on blocks so that, when you lie on it, you can fully extend your arms without touching the floor.
2. Place your loaded barbell beneath the bench and then lie on it.
3. Hold the bar with an overhand shoulder-width grip.
4. Pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your core.
5. Bend your arms and row the barbell up and into your abs.
6. Lead with your elbows, and keep your wrists straight.
7. Extend your arms and repeat.
8. You can also let the weight settle on the floor between reps, i.e., a chest-supported Pendlay row.

Barbell Seal Row – Tony Gentilcore

#8. Barbell pullover

Most barbell lat exercises are compound pulling movements.

That means they work your back AND biceps simultaneously.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you may want to train your lats without your arms from time to time.

Barbell pullovers are an effective way to achieve this goal.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back on a flat or slightly declined exercise bench.
2. Hold a barbell over your chest using an overhand grip and hands about shoulder-width apart.
3. Bend your elbows slightly but then keep them rigid.
4. Lower the bar down behind your head until your biceps are next to your ears and you feel a stretch in your lats.
5. Pull the bar back over your chest so your arms are vertical, and repeat.

How To Barbell Pullover – Rafe Teich, Beast Strong Powerhouse

Barbell Back Home Workout

While any of these exercises could help you build a bigger, stronger upper and lower back, you’ll get better results from your training if you follow a more structured program.

Do this workout 1-2 times per week to increase back size and strength.

But, before you begin, make sure you prepare your muscles and joints for what’s about to come with 5-10 minutes of easy cardio followed by dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises for your major muscle groups and joints.

Pay extra attention to your lower back.

Back Barbell Exercises Workout – Fit Apprentice®

8 Best Back Exercises with a Barbell – Wrapping Up

If you can do pull-ups and chin-ups, both deserve a place in your back-building workouts.

However, barbell back exercises can be equally effective and, in some cases, may even be a better choice.

Vertical pulling exercises like pull-ups and pulldowns are known for building back width, but horizontal rows are often better for increasing upper and lower back thickness.

Combine vertical and horizontal pulling exercises to hit your muscles from two angles and build the best back possible.

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