Are you looking to add mass to your physique? If you are, then Pull-ups and Bent Over Rows with a barbell are critical. Unless you have an injury, needing to compensate with a machine, these two exercises stress many synergist, or helper muscles at the same time and without leverage and smooth guided motion of a machine. Bent Over Rows, in particular, stress the trapezius, rhomboidus, teres major and latissimus muscles - or in other words, most of your back. They also stress the hip stabilizers and hamstrings, and even innervate the quads since proper form suggests that your knees will be slightly bent.

The barbell bent-over row exercise is an excellent choice for strength training, bodybuilding and function-based training because it requires the whole body to work in a unified manner. It is one of the best exercises for the back to also improve with range of motion and stability when performed properly. When done correctly with adequate resistance and appropriate rest intervals, the exercise supports performance strength and anabolic activity for hypertrophy. Regardless of the training goal, the first step is mastering the technique and correcting errors in execution. Below are some suggestions to help in this process. Taken from the January newsletter published by the NCSF:

CORRECT TECHNIQUE

INCOMPLETE MOVEMENT RANGE – HALF BENT POSITION

EXTENDING HIP DURING CONCENTRIC PHASE

HIGH PULL ACTION AND/OR ROUNDED BACK