You’ll perform your first cardio session upon waking, and then a few—or several—hours later you’ll train your back and abs today. Take a look at my workout chart to make sure you’re getting the right amount and the proper HIIT sessions for each workout.
The first exercise for back in Week Five is lat pulldowns. Remember to get a good stretch in your lats with each rep, but you do not need to go to the point where your arms are straight—that only includes biceps flexion once you’ve reached that point. Retract your shoulder blades before you begin to pull for each rep.
Next up are chin-ups for 4 sets to failure. We’ll use a neutral grip, which means you’ll use a bar that allows your palms to turn in and face one another. Lower slowly, emphasizing the negative with each rep.
The third move in today’s workout is reverse-grip pulldowns using an EZ-bar. For this move, you’ll lean back to get a good contraction, and then you’ll come forward with control as you allow the handle to stretch overhead.
We’re taking up the volume in terms of exercises today. You’ll perform rows on a unilateral high row machine, such as a Hammer Strength machine, if you have that available in your gym. If not, then look for a high row machine that works the arms independently. After that you’ll perform bent-over dumbbell rows, which we’ve included a few times on this 12-Week Lean Muscle Program. Check out my video to remind yourself how these moves are performed.
Finally, we’ll include some abs work today. We’ll perform decline sit-ups with a twist. Come up and bring an elbow to the opposite-side knee for 10 reps, alternating sides. Then transition to bringing your hand to the opposite knee for 10 reps, alternating sides. Finish off with 10 reps to the front. Rest for 1 minute between these 30-rep sets.
Cardio |
25+10 minutes |
Upon waking perform 25 minutes of steady-state cardio followed immediately by 10 minutes of HIIT for 60 seconds on/60 seconds off |
Lat Pulldowns Rest 2 minutes between sets |
|
|
Chin-Ups Rest 2 minutes between sets |
|
|
Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldowns With EZ-Bar Rest 2 minutes between sets |
|
|
Unilateral High Row Machine Rest 2 minutes between sets |
|
|
Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows Rest 2 minutes between sets |
![]() |
![]() |
Decline Bench Sit-Ups Perform 10 reps of opposite elbow to knee; 10 reps of opposite hand to opposite knee; then 10 reps straight up. Rest 1 minute between sets |
![]() |
![]() |
Cardio |
25 + 15 Minutes |
Perform 25 minutes of steady-state cardio followed by 15 minutes of HIIT cardio sessions of 60 seconds on/60 seconds off |
GETHIN’S GO-TO:
Today, I emphasized working the negative with chin-ups. This is challenging, but it will help you increase the number of regular reps you can perform over time, and it also helps your lats grow. Negatives are a classic intensity technique, where you take longer to extend the muscle. For chin-ups, I want you to take about 3 seconds to lower to the starting position with each rep. This will force your lats to work much more, and you’ll really feel a stretch in them.
WHAT SUPP?