Exercises Using Free Weights For The Back

Strengthening the muscles within your back helps them function effectively and may prevent certain musculoskeletal conditions and injuries, such as lower-back pain and muscle strains. Performing free-weight exercises -- using barbells, dumbbells and weighted plates -- can help you achieve this goal. Consult an exercise professional to develop a personalized back-strengthening program.

Back Extension

The back extension exercise targets the erector spinae and deep spinal muscle groups within your lower back, which each consist of several muscles that contribute to the movement. Perform the exercise on an inclined bench with a platform at the bottom. Hold a barbell across your shoulders and upper back and stand on the platform with your feet close together and the front of your legs pressed against the bench. Bend over the top of the bench until your legs and torso form a 90-degree angle, then return to the starting position and repeat.

Bent-arm Pullover

Performing the bent-arm pullover strengthens the latissimus dorsi muscles, or lats, that span the outsides of your back. Lie with your upper back on top of a padded bench, your knees flexed and your feet flat on the floor. Have a partner hand you a barbell and hold it above your chest with your elbows flexed to 90 degrees and palms facing upward. Move the bar over your head and toward the floor, maintaining the angle of your arms, until your elbows are near your ears, then reverse to the starting position and repeat.

Bent-over Row

The bent-over row exercise targets the lats and the rhomboids and trapezius muscles within your upper back, which work to extend your arms and retract, or pull back, your scapula bones, respectively. Place a barbell on the floor and load it with your desired amount of weight. Stand behind the bar and bend forward, allowing your knees to flex slightly. Reach downward and grasp the bar with your palms facing forward in an underhand grip. Extend your upper arms and flex your elbows to lift the bar to your abdomen, then lower it slowly and repeat.

Shoulder Shrug

Perform the shoulder shrug exercise regularly to strengthen the upper fibers of the trapezius along with the levator scapulae muscle, which also lies within your upper back. These muscles work together to elevate your scapula bones. Position a cambered bar, which is indented in the middle, under a flat bench and load it with your desired weight. Sit on the bench, pick up the bar and hold it under your buttocks with your arms extended by your sides and your palms facing backward. Move your shoulders toward your ears to lift the bar several inches, then lower and repeat.