About this workout
A great back is two things at once: width from the lats that gives you the V, and thickness through the mid-back that you only see from the side. Train one and you look like a coat hanger. This plan gives each its own day, vertical pulling for width, heavy horizontal rowing for thickness, and props up the rest of your physique so nothing falls behind while you specialize.
Who This Program Is For
- You can already do at least a few strict pull-ups and row with your back, not your arms.
- Your back is a weak point and you want to bring it up over two months.
- You can train four days a week.
- You have a pull-up bar, barbell, dumbbells and cables.
Who this is NOT for: anyone who can't yet feel their lats working. If every row and pulldown is all biceps, spend a few weeks learning the mind-muscle connection on lighter machine work before you specialize.
It is also not for beginners. If you have under a year of training, a full-body or upper/lower plan will grow your back faster than specialization. Start with the 4 Day Upper Lower Split for Muscle and Strength.
What You'll Need
- Pull-up bar
- Barbell and rack for rows and rack pulls
- Dumbbells for single-arm rowing
- Cable station with a lat pulldown and rows
- Straps, optional but useful once the weights get heavy; your back should fail before your grip does
- A notebook or app to log every load
The Program
Four days: a width day, a thickness day, a push day and a legs/arms day. Sample week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.
On rows and pulldowns, pull with your elbows and let the arms follow. If you can't stop curling the weight, drop it and re-learn the movement; a lighter set you feel in your lats beats a heavy one you feel in your biceps.
| Day 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Back (Width Focus) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Pull-up | 4 | 6-10 | 2-3 min |
| Lat Pulldown | 3 | 10-12 | 2 min |
| Straight Arm Pulldown | 3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Seated Cable Rows | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Reverse Flyes | 3 | 15-20 | 60 sec |
| Day 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest and Shoulders | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 6-8 | 2-3 min |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 3 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Tricep Pushdown | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Day 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Back (Thickness Focus) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Bent Over Row | 4 | 6-8 | 3 min |
| T-Bar Row | 3 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| One Arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Rack Pulls | 3 | 5 | 2-3 min |
| Barbell Shrugs | 4 | 8-12 | 90 sec |
| Day 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Legs and Arms (Maintenance) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Squat | 3 | 6-8 | 3 min |
| Leg Press | 3 | 10-12 | 2 min |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Barbell Curl | 3 | 8-10 | 90 sec |
| Hammer Curls | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
How to Progress
Two four-week blocks.
Weeks 1-4, own the movements. Add reps within each range before you add weight. On the rack pulls, keep the fives heavy but clean; this is a thickness builder, not a max-out.
Weeks 5-8, add load. When you hit the top of the range on all sets of a lift, add weight next session: 10 lbs on rack pulls and rows, 5 lbs elsewhere. On pull-ups, add reps until you clear 12 clean, then start adding weight with a belt. No formal deload in 8 weeks, but if your pulling strength drops two sessions running, take a light week and reset.
Warm-Up and Recovery Notes
Before heavy rows and rack pulls, warm up the whole posterior chain: a few minutes on a bike or rower, then bodyweight hip hinges and a light rowing set to groove the pattern.
Your lower back is involved in every heavy row and rack pull. If it is the thing that fatigues first, your form is breaking; cut the set. A tweaked lower back ends a back program fast.
Sleep and food drive back growth like anything else. Seven hours minimum, and don't specialize on 1,500 calories.
Nutrition and Supplementation
Back is a big, hungry muscle group. Eat at a slight surplus and hit 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight to give it something to grow from.
The supplements worth your money here are protein powder for intake, creatine monohydrate at 5g a day, and a pre-workout for the heavy pulling sessions.
FAQ
Straps, yes or no? Use them on your heaviest rows, rack pulls and shrugs so your back is the limiting factor. Train grip separately if it is a weak point. Do not let a weak grip cap your back growth.
I don't have a T-bar setup. A barbell in a landmine or a chest-supported machine row covers the same job. Substitute freely on the second rowing movement.
Can I add direct ab work? Yes, tack a few core sets onto Day 2 or Day 4. It won't interfere.
Questions and results
Ask a coach
Running this program? Tell us what week you are on and how the progression is going. A coach answers every question here.