June 01 - Back

Goal: wider lats + fuller rear-delt/mid/lower-trap shelf behind the shoulders.

Main win: bring the May 28 back day forward, but make it cleaner: hit the big pulls first, then actually get the rear-delt/trap-shelf work instead of defaulting to shoulder press/curls.

What we’re improving today

• Keep Lat Pulldown / Close-Grip Pulldown / Long Pull / Landmine Row as the backbone.
• Keep Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown because it directly supports lat width without biceps taking over.
• Replace last time’s Precor Shoulder Press swap-in with Cable Rear Delt Fly / Reverse Pec Deck if the station is open.
• Curls stay optional. Back Raises stay skipped unless you specifically want a light lower-back finisher.

Rules for today

• Lats: elbows to hips, shoulders down, no biceps-dominant pulling.
• Rows: 1-sec squeeze, chest tall, no momentum reps.
• Rear delts/traps: lighter and cleaner, 12–20 reps. If it turns into shrugging, lower the weight.
• Beat reps only if form stays clean. Today is not a yank-the-stack day.

Warm-up

• 5 min easy bike/walk
• 2 light ramp sets on Lat Pulldown before working sets
• 1 light set of Face Pulls or Rear Delt Fly before heavy pulls

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Lat Pulldown

Visual: cached closest match — wide lat pulldown.

!320

How: Chest slightly up, shoulders down, elbows drive toward ribs/hips. Do not lean way back or curl the bar down.

Target: last session fell to 90 × 7 after earlier 90 × 10. Get back to 90 × 8–10 clean before chasing 90 × 11.

Accidentally did a lower set for my second set

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Close Grip Lat Pulldown

Visual: cached closest match — close-grip front lat pulldown.

!320

How: Pull elbows down and in. Keep neck long; don’t shrug into the rep.

Target: last time hit 70 × 10. Repeat 70 × 10–11 only if lats are doing the work.

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Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown — Lat Width Add

Visual: cached closest match — rope straight-arm pulldown.

!320

How: Slight hip hinge, arms mostly straight, shoulders down. Pull rope/bar from eye level to thighs by driving lats, not triceps.

Target: last best was 50 × 10. Aim 50 × 11–12 if you can keep tension in lats.

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Long Pull

Visual: cached closest match — seated cable row.

!320

How: Chest up, pull elbow back, pause at the body. Don’t round forward and yank.

Target: last session was 90 × 9. Get 90 × 10 clean again before going for 90 × 11.

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Bent Over Landmine Row ❌

Visual: cached closest match — barbell bent-over row.

!320

!320

How: Brace, stay hinged, pull through elbows. No jerking off the floor.

Target: May PR is 65 × 10. Last time was 65 × 8. Rebuild to 65 × 9–10 clean.

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Face Pull

Visual: MuscleWiki rear/shoulder cable exercises. No exact cached GIF; use strict form.

How: Pull toward face/forehead, elbows high-ish, rotate thumbs back. Think rear delts + lower traps, not upper-trap shrug.

Target: use this as shelf work. Last clean best in May was 90 × 10, but last log has a weird 10-lb final set. Start controlled and build back toward 80–90 × 10–12.

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Cable Rear Delt Fly / Reverse Pec Deck — Shelf Builder

Visual: MuscleWiki rear/shoulder cable exercises. Use reverse pec deck if cables are busy.

How: Soft elbows, pull out and slightly back. Keep traps down. Stop when rear delts finish the rep; don’t crank your shoulders behind you.

Target: 3 sets × 12–20. Light, clean, real rear-delt burn.

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Single Arm Cable Curls — Optional

Target: only do this if the back/rear-delt work is complete. Strict reps; don’t let it steal energy from lat work.

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Rope Curl ❌

Skip by default today. Your goal is lats + rear-delt/trap shelf, not extra biceps volume.

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Back Raises

Skipped by default today — keep back fatigue for rows/pulldowns unless lower back feels fresh and you want a light optional finisher.

Did all these as body weight

May 28 - Back