This is the start of Week Four, and that’s why I keep pushing the sense of urgency. After this workout, we only have four more back workouts left to change the shape of our backs.

This week you’ll reduce intensity just a little bit. At the end of every set, when you can’t do one more full rep, you’ll do 3–5 partial reps to encourage more contraction and muscle breakdown. This will allow the central nervous system to recover a bit before the challenging last weeks to come.

I’ve taken my Ferodrox, opens in a new tab and my PRE-KAGED, opens in a new tab, and I plan to have a bloody good workout even though I don’t feel like it. I’m going to go in and lead the charge.

For pulls-ups (or chin-ups), drive your chest toward the bar while keeping your elbows pointing back. Then perform your partial reps, bringing your subscapularis up and down (as I do in the video). Then do the same with neutral-grip lat pulldowns and T-bar rows.

After that perform heavy dumbbell shrugs to work the upper fibers of the traps. I went with about 20 reps because the dumbbells I chose weren’t heavy enough. The key is to perform the reps you can do to failure before adding your partials, so make the adjustments in weights and reps you need. By the way, this applies to every move you perform. The key is failure rather than a random number.

After I completed my deadlifts, I drank the rest of my intra-workout, opens in a new tab to make sure I could go into seated calf raises fully hydrated, still getting a pump, buffering my lactic acid, and promoting muscle protein synthesis. Instead of performing high reps for seated calf raises, this week go with heavy low reps followed by 5 partials.

Then begin drinking your post-workout recovery protein, opens in a new tab right away because tomorrow’s workout is dictated by today’s recovery.

Download KrisMBT Training Week4 Day22.pdf, opens in a new tab

Pull-up

Sets:

Reps:

10–12 + 5 partial reps

Strategy:

Regular + partial reps

Person performing a chin-up on a pull-up bar, rear view, wearing a baseball cap and wrist wraps

Person performing a pull-up on a bar, rear view in a gym setting

Neutral-grip lat pulldown

Sets:

Reps:

10–12 + 5 partial reps

Strategy:

Regular + partial reps

Person performing a neutral-grip lat pulldown on a cable machine in a gym, pulling the handles down toward the chest

Person performing neutral-grip lat pulldown on a cable machine in a gym, seated and pulling the handles toward their chest

T-bar row

Sets:

Reps:

10–12 + 5 partial reps

Strategy:

Regular + partial reps

Person performing a T-bar row in a gym, bent over lifting a barbell to target the upper back and lats

Person performing a T‑bar row with a loaded barbell in a gym, leaning forward to target the back muscles

Dumbbell shrug

Sets:

Reps:

10 + 5 partial reps

Strategy:

Regular + partial reps

Man performing standing dumbbell shrug in a gym, facing a mirror and demonstrating the shoulder shrug exercise

Man performing standing dumbbell shrugs in a gym, holding dumbbells at his sides to demonstrate shoulder contraction

Deadlift

Sets:

Reps:

10 + 5 partial reps

Strategy:

Regular + partial reps

Person performing a barbell deadlift in a busy gym demonstrating hip hinge form

Man lifting a heavily loaded barbell with mixed grip in a busy commercial gym

Seated calf raise

Sets:

Reps:

10 + 5 partial reps

Strategy:

Regular + partial reps

Person performing seated calf press on gym machine, feet on platform with heels lowered

Lower legs pressing the footplate of a seated calf-press machine demonstrating a calf-strengthening exercise in a gym

HIIT

Sets:

Reps:

Strategy:

4 minutes easy/1 minute full intensity for a total of 15 minutes

TIP

Today I have to say I didn’t feel like working out. These are the days where you’re going to have to dig deep and still pursue your training with persistence. Anybody can get through the easy days. It’s the successful people who persevere through the things they don’t want to frigging do.