The following details my primary back and biceps workout from this past Wednesday night at Kirkland Gold’s Gym. The workout was designed by my coach, John Meadows, although I made a few modifications. Here is the workout…
Superset: Straight Arm Pulldown & Seated Pulley Rows
Perform a few rounds of warm-ups before starting your working sets.
Straight Arm Pulldown x 10 reps with 130, 140 & 150lbs Immediately followed by… Pulley Rows x 8 reps with 230, 240 & 250lbs
*The key on the straight arm pulldowns is to use a rope and bend slightly forward and get your hands back as far as you can and squeeze the lats at the bottom. This will pre-exhaust your lats for the exercise that follows. On the pulley rows I attached an extra carabiner to prevent excessive bending at the waist and used a narrow, neutral grip handle. I went up in weight on each of my three working sets as listed above – FYI.
Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows
Set 1 x 8 reps with 70lbs Set 2 x 8 reps with 70lbs Set 3 x 8 reps with 70lbs Set 4 x 8 reps with 70lbs
*John had these performed like bent over rows, but due to my lower back I did them on an incline bench. The key is to try and hold the contraction for 1 second in the flexed position on each rep.
Here is a video:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM6GN6lGEwU]
T-Nation Dead Squat Bar Rack Pulls
I cannot do normal rack pulls due to my lower back, but the Dead Squat bar makes them much safer. I still have to go super light so if you wish to stay true to John’s program do 5 sets of 5 reps. Here is exactly what I did:
Set 1 x 8 reps with 159lbs Set 2 x 6 reps with 249lbs Set 3 x 5 reps with 339lbs Set 4 x 6 reps with 249lbs Set 5 x 8 reps with 159lbs
*The key here is to rest pause every rep. Set the weight down, pause for a 1 second count, tighten back up and lift.
Dumbbell Pullover
Set 1 x 10 reps with 70lbs Set 2 x 10 reps with 70lbs Set 3 x 10 reps with 70lbs
*Use the stand form lying on the bench vs across it. Keep your rest breaks to 30 seconds between sets.
Spider Curls
Set 1 x 12 reps with 20lbs Set 2 x 10 reps with 25lbs Set 3 x 8 reps with 30lbs Set 4 x 6 reps with 35lbs
*The key is to maintain your hands in a supinate position (palms up) and hold the contraction for a second at the top. These are performed lying face down on an incline bench similar to the video below, except you use dumbbells instead of a barbell.
Video from a previous workout:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvtKK7akAgU]
EZ Bar Curls
Set 1 x 8 reps with 60lbs Set 2 x 8 reps with 60lbs Set 3 x 8 reps with 60lbs Set 4 x 8 reps with 60lbs Set 5 x 8 reps with 60lbs Set 6 x 8 reps with 60lbs
*The key here is to only take 30 seconds between sets. This will burn like fire!
That concluded this primary back and biceps workout.
Train hard! Mark
