Back & Biceps — Workout Tracker

Lats · Mid Back · Traps · Rear Delts · Biceps · Brachialis

Video credit: these exercise demos are not mine — shared with thanks to the creators who made them.

Cardio warm-up
Treadmill
10 min cardio warm-up — elevates heart rate and warms the posterior chain before any pulling
10 min
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Greco Swing — between exercises
Big slow arm circles — forward and backward — until the joints feel loose and lubricated. No count, no timer. Named after a local bodybuilder who swears by it. Do it between any two movements whenever needed.
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Rest between sets — 20 seconds
Keep rest short and consistent at 20 seconds between sets. Enough to breathe, not enough to cool down.
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Progression — 5–10 reps × 5 sets
Reps should fall between 5 and 10 across all 5 sets. Once you can hit that range for every set, it's time to raise the weight. The last set of each exercise should be taken to a system fail.
Warm-up
Cable face pull
Rear deltoid, infraspinatus, teres minor — primes the rotator cuff and rear delt before all the heavy pulling
warm-up
▶ Video
  • Set cable at forehead height with a rope attachment.
  • Pull elbows back and OUT — thumbs pointing behind you at the finish position.
  • Squeeze rear delts and external rotators hard at peak contraction.
  • No shrugging — keep shoulders down and packed the whole time.
  • Light weight, strict form only. This is a primer, not a strength set.
Lats — Primary Movers
Lat pulldown Machine (wide grip)
Latissimus dorsi (upper portion), teres major, rear delt — wide grip on the pin-loaded machine maximizes the lat stretch at the top of every rep
5 × 10
▶ Video
  • Sit tall, chest slightly up — small arch in your lower back.
  • Grip just outside shoulder width; think "bend the bar" to pre-activate lats before you pull.
  • Initiate by depressing your shoulder blades DOWN first, then drive elbows toward your hips.
  • Bar comes to upper chest — never behind the neck.
  • Control the ascent: let arms fully extend at the top for a complete stretch — 2 seconds up.
Lat pulldown Machine (close grip)
Latissimus dorsi (lower portion), teres major — close grip on the lat pulldown machine shifts emphasis to the lower lat and inner back thickness
5 × 10
▶ Video
  • Use the close-grip/V-bar attachment on the lat pulldown machine — palms facing each other.
  • Lean back slightly (~15°) to keep tension on the lower lats throughout the set.
  • Drive elbows straight down past your sides — imagine squeezing oranges in your armpits.
  • Hold 1 second at full contraction before you release.
  • Teres major activates hardest in the bottom quarter of the rep — slow down there.
Straight-arm pulldown Cable (also known as the stiff-arm pulldown)
Latissimus dorsi in pure isolation — arms stay straight so biceps are removed from the equation entirely
5 × 10
▶ Video
  • High cable, straight bar or rope. Stand far enough back to feel a stretch at the start.
  • Slight bend in elbows — lock that angle and keep it the entire rep.
  • Hinge at the hips slightly; push the bar down and back toward your thighs.
  • Think "lats only" — no shrugging, no bending the elbows to help the weight.
  • 3-second eccentric on the way back up for maximum time under tension.
Mid Back — Rhomboids, Traps & Rear Delts
Smith machine bent-over row
Rhomboids, mid & lower trapezius, latissimus dorsi — the heaviest compound pull of the session, builds overall back thickness
5 × 10
▶ Video
  • Hinge at the hips until your torso is 45°–60° above parallel — chest up, lower back neutral.
  • Overhand grip just outside shoulder width. Bar starts at mid-shin level.
  • Lead the pull with your elbows — drive them up and BACK, not just back.
  • Touch the bar to your lower chest or upper abdomen, not your belly button.
  • Hold 1 second at the top — squeeze your shoulder blades together hard.
  • The Smith machine stabilizes the bar path — use this to go heavier than you could freestanding.
Single-arm DB row
Rhomboids, mid trapezius, latissimus dorsi — unilateral work forces each side to pull its own weight, exposing any strength imbalances
10 × 10 (R/L)
▶ Video
  • Brace your non-working hand and same-side knee on the bench — spine parallel to the floor.
  • Let the dumbbell hang fully at the bottom for a complete lat stretch before each rep.
  • Pull elbow up and BACK — past your hip, not just to hip height.
  • Do NOT rotate your torso to cheat the weight up. Core stays braced and still.
  • Each side is its own set — the unilateral load fires core stabilizers hard. Use that.
Seated mid row machine
Mid trapezius, rhomboids, rear deltoid — retract and depress the shoulder blades before each pull on the seated row machine, pause hard at full contraction
5 × 10
▶ Video
  • Use the machine's handles — sit upright with feet braced on the platform, don't rock backward to start the pull.
  • Flare elbows out to ~45° to bias mid traps and rear delts over lats.
  • Retract AND depress shoulder blades before you pull — don't let your traps shrug up.
  • Pull to lower chest. Pause and squeeze hard at full contraction.
  • Slow controlled return — resist the weight all the way forward for a deep mid-back stretch.
Bent-over DB reverse fly
Posterior deltoid, infraspinatus, teres minor — hinge forward so gravity loads the rear delt directly; this is pure isolation, keep the weight light and the squeeze tight
5 × 10
▶ Video
  • Hinge at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor — soft bend in the knees.
  • Let the dumbbells hang straight down, palms facing each other, slight bend locked in your elbows.
  • Raise both arms out to the sides in a wide arc — lead with your pinkies, not your thumbs.
  • Stop when your arms are parallel to the floor — going higher recruits traps instead of rear delt.
  • Squeeze hard at the top for 1 second, then lower slowly. 5 lbs is enough — ego has no place here.
Biceps — All Heads & Brachialis
DB Concentration curl
Biceps brachii (short head/peak) — bracing the elbow against your inner thigh removes all momentum, isolating the bicep peak completely
10 × 10 (R/L)
▶ Video
  • Sit on the edge of a bench with legs spread, lean forward slightly at the hips.
  • Brace the back of your upper arm/elbow against the inside of your thigh — this locks out all swinging.
  • Let the dumbbell hang straight down at the bottom for a full stretch before each rep.
  • Curl the weight up toward your shoulder, keeping the elbow pinned to your thigh the whole time.
  • Squeeze and hold 1 second at the top — focus the contraction on the bicep peak.
  • Lower slowly — 2–3 seconds — one arm at a time.
Incline DB curl
Biceps long head — arms hanging behind the body at 45° creates a stretch that flat curls can never achieve, targeting the outer bicep peak
10 × 10 (R/L)
▶ Video
  • Set the bench to 45°. Sit back fully — head, shoulders and back all in contact with the pad.
  • Let your arms hang straight down BEHIND your body — that stretch is the whole point.
  • Curl both arms simultaneously or alternate — keep elbows behind the plane of your body throughout.
  • Do NOT let your elbows swing forward to help — that kills the long head stretch entirely.
  • Go lighter than you think. The stretch position dramatically increases the difficulty.
Zottman Curl (also known as "stir the pot")
Biceps brachii on the curl up, brachioradialis & forearm extensors on the slow turn down — one movement, both directions of the arm trained
5 × 10
▶ Video
  • Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward (supinated) — both arms work together with equal weight.
  • Curl up like a normal curl, palms facing up the whole way to the top.
  • At the top, rotate both wrists so palms face down (pronated) — that's the "stir."
  • Lower the weight slowly and under control in this palms-down grip — this is where the forearm work happens.
  • At the bottom, rotate back to palms-up and repeat. Both arms move together, same pace.
  • If the card calls for 20 lbs, that's 10 lbs in each hand — both dumbbells are the same weight, lifted at the same time.
DB hammer curl front press
Brachialis & brachioradialis on the curl, anterior deltoid on the press — combines an arm-thickness builder with a shoulder-pressing finish in one rep
10 × 10 (R/L)
▶ Video
  • Neutral grip — thumbs pointing up, palms facing each other throughout the curl. Do NOT rotate.
  • Curl the dumbbell up to shoulder height — this is the brachialis/brachioradialis portion, the muscle under the bicep that makes your arm look thicker.
  • From the top of the curl, press the dumbbell straight forward and up at eye level — squeeze the front delt at full extension.
  • Reverse the press back to shoulder height, then lower the curl slowly to the start.
  • Elbows stay tucked at your sides during the curl portion — only the forearm and shoulder move during the press.
  • Can be done alternating or simultaneously. Simultaneous increases the stability demand.
Cool down
Treadmill
5 min cool down — easy pace
5 min
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Notes
Session notes
Changes made, how you felt, things to remember
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Back & Biceps — Workout Log

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