The following workout details my primary back workout from Thursday morning at Kirkland Gold’s Gym.  It’s similar to a workout designed by John Meadows, but I made a few modifications to suit my needs.  Here is the workout…

 

Barbell Rows Superset w/Meadows Rows

 

I used a barbell attached to something similar to this: https://www.elitefts.com/core-blaster-1-1.html

 

The idea here is to perform one arm barbell rows immediately followed by Meadow rows, then switch and do the other side.

 

Barbell Row Set 1 x 12 reps with one 10lb plate added (warm-up)

Immediately followed by…

Meadow Row Set 1 x 12 reps with one 10lb plate added (warm-up)

 

Barbell Row Set 2 x 10 reps with two 10lb plates added (warm-up)

Immediately followed by…

Meadow Row Set 2 x 10 reps with two 10lb plates added (warm-up)

 

Barbell Row Set 3 x 8 reps with three 10lb plates added (warm-up)

Immediately followed by…

Meadow Row Set 3 x 8 reps with three 10lb plates added (warm-up)

 

Barbell Row Set 4 x 8 reps with four 10lb plate added (warm-up)

Immediately followed by…

Meadow Row Set 4 x 8 reps with four 10lb plate added (warm-up)

 

Barbell Row Sets 5 thru 8 x 8 reps with five 10lb plate added

Immediately followed by…

Meadow Row Set 5 thru 8 x 8 reps with five 10lb plate added

 

*Do plenty of warm-up sets going up in weight.  I prefer to use 10lb plates to allow for a greater stretch at the bottom.  Once you get to a good weight for 8 reps on both barbell and Meadow rows stay with it for 8 sets via 4 rounds of the superset.

 

Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns

 

Set 1 x 8 reps with 160lbs

Set 2 x 8 reps with 170lbs

Set 3 x 8 reps with 180lbs

Set 4 x 8 reps with 190lbs

Set 5 x 8 reps with 200lbs

 

*Pyramid up in weight here and drive these all the way down and flex hard.  Let your butt come off the seat at the top to ensure an intense stretch on each rep.

 

Trap Bar Dead/Shrugs

 

This is the bar I used: https://www.elitefts.com/trap-bar.html

 

These are the chains I used: https://www.elitefts.com/eliteftstm-pair-of-5-8-chains.html

 

Set 1 x 8 reps with 135lbs

Set 2 x 8 reps with 135lbs + 1 chain each side

Set 3 x 8 reps with 135lbs + 2 chains each side

Set 4 x 8 reps with 135lbs + 3 chains each side

Sets 5 thru 8 x 8 reps with 135lbs + 4 chains each side

 

*The idea here is come up explosively and go right into a shrug, lower the weight back down and repeat until you get 8 reps.  I like the chains because they take weigh off out of the bottom where my lower back has issues and maximizes the load when shrugging.  I like the neutral grip of the trap bar because as you explode up and shrug you can kind of drive your elbows back to work the upper middle trap area.  Once you work up to a decent weight in which you can still train explosively; perform 4 sets with it.

 

Chest Supported Rows

 

Set 1 x 10 reps with two 45lb plates added

Set 2 x 10 reps with two 45lb plates added

Set 3 x 16 reps with two 45lb plates added + rest + 3 more reps

 

*Drive and hold the contraction for a split second on each rep of sets 1 and 2.  On the 3rd set make it like a challenge set.  Go to failure getting as many reps as possible.  You can pump this non-stop until your form gives out.  At that point rest for a count of 5 in the stretched position and then do as many more as possible.

 

That concluded this back workout.

 

Train hard!

Mark