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August 31 - Back
Updated Aug 31, 2026 05:42 PM
Run — completed first
- Distance: 2.5 km
- Time: 25 minutes
- Effort: Count this as today’s warm-up and conditioning. Take 2–3 minutes, drink water, then start the first pulldown ramp-up set.
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Overall goal: get a productive back session after the run without piling on unnecessary volume. Prioritize lat width, mid-back thickness, and the rear-delt shelf.
Main win: complete the three main pulls with clean form. The workout stays compact at 12 lifting sets across 5 exercises because the run is already done.
Rules today
- No extra treadmill or bike warm-up.
- Do 2 light ramp-up sets on Lat Pulldown; do not log them.
- Leave 1–2 clean reps in reserve. The run may reduce energy, so do not force a PR.
- Vertical pulls: shoulders down, neutral wrists, elbows toward ribs/hips.
- Rows: still torso, controlled return, one-second squeeze.
- If energy drops, cut Face Pull first, then Hammer Curls, before cutting a main pull.
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Lat Pulldown — Main Width Lift
Visual: cached closest match — wide lat pulldown.
!320
How: use your usual Precor/Icarian angled neutral-wide handle. Chest slightly up, shoulders down, neutral wrists, and elbows toward ribs/hips. Do not lean far back.
Target today: 3 sets × 8–12. Start around 90. Match the previous clean numbers before trying to progress.
| Set | Prev Weight | Weight | Prev Reps | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90 | 80 | 10 | 15 |
| 2 | 100 | 90 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | 100 | 100 | 7.5 | 8 |
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Single-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown — Width Focus
Visual: single-arm cable lat example
How: full overhead stretch, shoulder down, ribs controlled, and elbow toward the hip. Keep both sides honest with no torso twist.
Target today: 2 sets × 10–12 per side at 60–70 with control.
| Set | Prev Weight | Weight | Prev Reps | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | 70 | 10 | 8 |
| 2 | 70 | 60 | 10 | 10 |
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Seated Long Pull — Mid-Back Thickness
Visual: cached closest match — seated cable row.
!320
How: chest tall, shoulders down, pull elbows back, pause at the body, and return under control. Do not round forward and yank.
Target today: 3 sets × 8–12. Use 75–85 for clean reps. Do not judge today against fresh numbers after the run.
| Set | Prev Weight | Weight | Prev Reps | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85 | 8 | ||
| 2 | 75 | 10 | ||
| 3 | 75 | 10 |
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Face Pull — Rear-Delts and Upper Back Alternative
How: use a rope, pull toward the forehead, keep the neck long, and rotate the thumbs back without shrugging.
Target today: 2 controlled sets × 12–15 around 70. Keep it light enough to feel the rear delts and upper back rather than the arms.
| Set | Prev Weight | Weight | Prev Reps | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70 | 60 | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | 70 | 70 | 10 | 10 |
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Dumbbell Hammer Curl — Arm Width Builder
How: neutral grip, elbows pinned near your sides, and no swinging. Lower each rep under control.
Target today: 2 sets × 8–12. Start at 20; use 25 only if the first set stays strict after all the pulling.
| Set | Prev Weight | Weight | Prev Reps | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | 25 | 20 | 7 | 10 |
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Intentionally removed today: Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown, rear-delt fly, and extra core work. The run plus 12 quality lifting sets is enough for a productive session.
Source: July 29 - Back + Core · Progress reference: August 2026 - Workout Stats