Strengthening Your Trapezius, Rhomboids and Dorsi With Free Weights

A strong back provides the foundation for most athletic moves that you perform with your arms and shoulders, so it’s important to build solid trapezius, rhomboid and latissimus dorsi muscles. If you have a barbell and dumbbells at home or if you simply prefer to work with free weights, you can target these back muscles. Indeed, some general back exercises work your traps, lats and rhomboids at the same time. Before you begin your workout, warm up with five to 10 minutes of light aerobic exercise, like walking.

  1. Target Your Upper-Trapezius Muscles

    • The three trapezius muscles in the middle of your back assist in a variety of neck, shoulder, spine and shoulder-blade movements. Perform barbell shrugs to focus on your upper traps. Stand straight and hold the barbell with your arms hanging down naturally in front of you. Use an overhand, shoulder-width grip or spread your hands just a bit wider. Raise the bar by moving your shoulders upward and then lower the weight slowly to the starting position. Alternatively, perform shrugs while holding dumbbells with your palms facing your body. Either way, the exercise also works your middle trapezius.

    Work the Middle and Lower Traps

    • Strengthen your middle and lower traps -- along with the rhomboids and latissimus dorsi -- by doing lying rows. Grasp a pair of dumbbells and lie with your chest on an exercise bench. Your legs should be extended off of the bench with your toes touching the floor. Let your arms hang down naturally with your palms facing each other. Lift the dumbbells in a slightly diagonal line until they’re next to the sides of your middle chest, then lower them under control to the starting position.

    Build Your Rhomboids

    • It’s difficult, if not impossible, to isolate the relatively small rhomboid muscles in the middle of your upper back, which help move your shoulder blades. But you’ll find several overall back exercises that work these muscles. The barbell bent-over row strengthens your rhomboids, along with your lats and the middle and lower traps. Stand just behind the barbell with your feet about hip-width apart, flex your knees and bend forward from the waist so your torso is parallel with the floor. Hold the bar with an overhand grip and your hands spread wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your legs and torso still as you lift the bar straight up to your abdomen. Lower the bar slowly until your arms are extended to complete one repetition. You can also do bent-over rows with a dumbbell by resting one knee and hand on an exercise bench.

    Focus on the Latissimus Dorsi

    • The lat pulldown is probably the most common latissimus dorsi exercise, but if you’re not using machines, you can isolate the lats with a barbell pullover. Hold the barbell with a shoulder-width, overhand grip and then position your body perpendicular to an exercise bench. Rest the backs of your shoulders on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Begin with your arms extended, but not locked, and the barbell directly above your upper chest. Keep your arms fairly straight throughout the exercise as you lower the weight slowly behind your head and then lift it back to the starting position. Your elbows can bend a bit at the low point of the barbell’s descent. The rhomboids also assist when you do barbell pullovers.

    Program Notes

    • Exercise your back twice per week but don’t work it two days in a row. Perform eight to 12 repetitions of each latissimus dorsi, trapezius and rhomboids exercise. If the final reps in each set aren’t challenging, increase the weight by 5 to 10 percent.