Barbell rowing has been the primary exercise to thicken the upper back for a long time. While this is an excellent exercise, it is not the only option. Using a large selection of back exercises in your routine will assist in recruiting many kinds of different muscles in the back, not to mention adding a little flavor to your work out as well. The following are some basic exercises that are very beneficial to the back.

Hammer Strength Machine Rows

This is widely used in the gym for a couple of reasons. First of all, they make the trainer maintain the correct range of movement during the exercise. There are no variables, it stays the same throughout the whole motion, and you can't cheat. There is a constant path of motion. Second of all, the exercise itself is really safe. For a lot of the barbell and dumbbell exercises, the first heavy lift can lead to back injuries. Since the machine controls the entire motion, the chance of an injury is very low.

Cable Rows

This exercise lets the trainer have constant tension on the back muscles. There isn't any time to rest when the weight stops moving. The bar places the exact amount of tension during every aspect of the lift.

Dumbbell Rows

These are a very popular choice because they let the trainer single out the lat muscle on the side of the body on which the exercise is concentrated. The dumbbell can be pulled up as far as the trainer wants, so the movements range has practically no limit. This is a very beneficial exercise for bodybuilders who are training their back.

Incline Dumbbell Rows

This exercise is almost identical to dumbbell rows, except now the trainer is lying face down on an incline bench. This will let the body remain tight while the lats lift up the weight from a steeper angle, igniting more of a variety of muscle fibers than normal dumbbell rows.

Two Arm Dumbbell Rows

This exercise can reduce the amount of focus a good trainer usually applies to an exercise. This is because they are now using both arms at the same time. The main attraction of this exercise is that it lets each arm be trained the same way. Some trainers will favor one arm over the other when doing exercises, which can lead to proportion issues in the future.

T-Bar Rows

This exercise is done on the T-bar machine. A lot of top-level bodybuilders use this exercise because it gets gains for the thickness of the center back more than most other exercises.