Advanced Back Workout: Build Thickness, Strength, and Control
This session is built for advanced lifters who already move well under load and are ready to push back development further — both in raw pulling strength and muscular detail. If you've been training seriously for several years and want a session that challenges your posterior chain from every angle, this is where we go next. The future you — with a broader, stronger back — starts here.
What the research says
Two areas of research are worth your attention before we walk you through this session. First, rest periods matter more than many advanced lifters give them credit for. A study on resistance-trained men found that 3-minute rest intervals produced significantly greater gains in both muscle strength and muscle thickness compared to 1-minute intervals over 8 weeks — so the instinct to keep rest short in the name of 'intensity' may actually be working against you. Second, when a study compared how well people learned and progressed on weight training with and without in-person accountability, the group training independently without required attendance scored significantly lower on both upper- and lower-body strength tests, while all groups improved equally on knowledge. That finding points to the value of structured, accountable sessions — exactly the kind you're doing now.
The rest-period finding comes from a controlled, randomized study on experienced lifters — a relatively solid design for this question; the online training finding comes from a single 16-week study on college students, so the strength conclusion applies to that specific population and context.
In a study of resistance-trained men, those who rested 3 minutes between sets showed significantly greater gains in 1RM squat, 1RM bench press, and anterior thigh muscle thickness compared to those who rested 1 minute, over an 8-week period of 3 total-body workouts per week.
View study →A 16-week study comparing traditional in-person weight training classes to an online group found that the online group scored significantly lower on both bench press and squat strength tests, while all three groups showed significant improvement in written knowledge scores.
View study →The routine
Warmup
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. This will be your starting position. Perform a rear lunge by stepping back with one foot and flexing the hips and front knee. As you do so, rotate your torso across the front leg. After a brief pause, return to the starting position and repeat on the other side, continuing in an alternating fashion.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. This will be your starting position. Keeping your arms straight, swing them straight up in front of you 5-10 times, increasing the range of motion each time until your arms are above your head.
Main
Place two kettlebells on the floor about shoulder width apart. Position yourself on your toes and your hands as though you were doing a pushup, with the body straight and extended. Use the handles of the kettlebells to support your upper body. You may need to position your feet wide for support. Push one kettlebell into the floor and row the other kettlebell, retracting the shoulder blade of the working side as you flex the elbow, pulling it to your side. Then lower the kettlebell to the floor and begin the kettlebell in the opposite hand. Repeat for several reps.
To deadlift with short bands, simply loop them over the bar before you start, and step into them to set up. For long bands, they will need to be anchored to a secure base, such as heavy dumbbells or a rack. With your feet, and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and bend the knees until your shins contact the bar. Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. After the bar passes the knees, aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar. Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.
You can attach the chains to the sleeves of the bar, or just drape the middle over the bar so there is a greater weight increase as you lift. Approach the bar so that it is centered over your feet. You feet should be about hip width apart. Bend at the hip to grip the bar at shoulder width, allowing your shoulder blades to protract. Typically, you would use an overhand grip or an over/under grip on heavier sets. With your feet, and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and bend the knees until your shins contact the bar. Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. After the bar passes the knees, aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar. Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.
Using a spacing that is just about 1 inch wider than shoulder width, grab a pull-up bar with the palms of one hand facing forward and the palms of the other hand facing towards you. This will be your starting position. Now start to pull yourself up as you exhale. Tip: With the arm that has the palms facing up concentrate on using the back muscles in order to perform the movement. The elbow of that arm should remain close to the torso. With the other arm that has the palms facing forward, the elbows will be away but in line with the torso. You will concentrate on using the lats to pull your body up. After a second contraction at the top, start to slowly come down as you inhale. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions. On the following set, switch grips; so if you had the right hand with the palms facing you and the left one with the palms facing forward, on the next set you will have the palms facing forward for the right hand and facing you for the left.
For this exercise, start out by placing a towel around a chin up bar. Grab the chin-up bar with your palm facing you. One hand will be grabbing the chin-up bar and the other will be grabbing the towel. Bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.v Pull your torso up until the bar touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. The upper torso should remain stationary as it moves through space and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work other than hold the bar. After a second on the contracted position, start to inhale and slowly lower your torso back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched. Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions. Switch arms and repeat the movement.
Cooldown
Position yourself on the floor on your hands and knees. Pull your belly in and round your spine, lower back, shoulders, and neck, letting your head drop. Hold for 15 seconds.
Sit upright on a chair. Bend to one side with your arm over your head. You can hold onto the chair with your free hand. Hold for 10 seconds, and repeat for your other side.
This session includes high-skill movements — particularly the one-arm chin-up and banded/chained deadlift variations — that place significant demand on your joints, connective tissue, and nervous system; if you experience sharp pain (distinct from muscular effort), stop the movement immediately and consult a qualified professional before continuing.