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Exercises

Back day warm-up: what to do before rows and pulldowns

Published October 24, 2026

For back day, row easy for 3 minutes, do 5 walkouts, then 15 band pull-aparts, 12 banded bent-over rows and 10 supermans, and finish with 2 or 3 ramp-up sets of your first back lift: barbell rows, lat pulldowns or the chest-supported row. The drills take 6 minutes and warm the upper back, lats and lower back in that order.

  1. Rowing Machine Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats
  2. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  3. Band Pull-Apart Shoulders, Upper Back
  4. Band Bent-Over Row Lats, Upper Back
  5. Superman Lower Back
  6. Barbell Row Upper Back, Lats
  7. Lat Pulldown Lats
  8. Chest-Supported Row Upper Back, Lats

Raise: 3 minutes on the rowing machine

On back day the rower is the obvious choice: every stroke ends with a row. Keep the pace easy and the strokes long.

Raise: easy rowing to warm the back, legs and arms together

Rowing Machine

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats

It rehearses the row on every stroke while warming you up, which makes it the best fit for back day.

How to do it

  1. Strap your feet in, sit tall, and grab the handle with straight arms.
  2. Push with your legs first, then lean back slightly, then pull the handle to your lower ribs.
  3. Return in the reverse order, arms, body, then knees, at an easy pace you could talk through.

Cues

  • Legs, body, arms; arms, body, legs
  • Conversational effort

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms before the legs finish their push: it turns an easy row into an arm workout.

Swap for: Ski Erg, Air Bike, Stationary Bike

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Mobility for the hinge and the lats

Rows are done in a hinge and pulldowns start from arms overhead. Walkouts cover the hinge, and a short hang from the bar opens the lats.

Mobility: hinge, walk to a plank and back

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

Each rep hinges at the hips with straight legs, preparing the hamstrings and back for bent-over rows.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, bend at the hips, and put your palms down by your feet.
  2. Walk your hands forward until you reach a high plank with your shoulders over your wrists.
  3. Walk your hands back toward your feet and roll up to standing.

Cues

  • Shoulders over wrists in the plank
  • Small hand steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag in the plank: squeeze your glutes before you walk back.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Spider Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

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Mobility: hang from a bar to open the shoulders and lats

Dead Hang

Forearms

A short hang lets the lats lengthen before pulldowns start pulling from overhead.

How to do it

  1. Grip a pull-up bar overhand with your hands about shoulder width.
  2. Lift your feet and let your body hang with straight arms.
  3. Breathe slowly and let your shoulders rise toward your ears, then step down.

Cues

  • Relaxed, straight arms
  • Slow breathing

Common mistakes

  • Swinging or kicking: hang still so the stretch reaches the lats.

Swap for: Straight-Arm Pulldown, Pull-Up, Arm Circles

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Activate the upper back, lats and lower back

Three light drills cover the whole back: pull-aparts for the muscles between the shoulder blades, banded rows to rehearse the row path, and supermans for the lower back that holds you in the hinge.

Activation: upper back and rear delts with a band

Band Pull-Apart

Shoulders, Upper Back

It wakes up the rhomboids and rear delts, which finish every row.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light band in front of your chest with straight arms and hands shoulder width apart.
  2. Pull the band apart until it touches your chest, pinching your shoulder blades.
  3. Let it come back slowly to the start without losing tension.

Cues

  • Lead with the hands, not the neck
  • Pause at the chest

Common mistakes

  • Arching the lower back to finish the rep: use a lighter band.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, Band Rear Delt Fly, Band Scapular Retraction

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Activation: banded row in a hinge

Band Bent-Over Row

Lats, Upper Back

A light row in the same hinge you will use with the barbell, practice for the elbows and the torso angle.

How to do it

  1. Stand on the middle of a band, hold an end in each hand, and hinge forward with a flat back.
  2. Row your hands to your lower ribs with the elbows tucked near your body.
  3. Straighten the arms slowly and keep the hinge.

Cues

  • Elbows to your hips
  • Hold the hinge

Common mistakes

  • Standing up as you row: keep the same torso angle every rep.

Swap for: Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, Inverted Row, Seated Cable Row

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Activation: lying lift of the arms and legs for the back muscles

Superman

Lower Back

The lower back holds your torso still during rows; a light set gets it working first.

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with your arms stretched overhead and legs straight.
  2. Raise arms, chest and legs a few inches off the floor together.
  3. Hold for a second, then lower everything together.

Cues

  • Long, not high
  • Eyes on the floor

Common mistakes

  • Cranking the head back to lift higher: keep your neck in line with your spine.

Swap for: Back Extension, Exercise Ball Back Extension, Band Good Morning

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Ramp up on your first back lift

Your first lift gets 2 to 4 ramp-up sets. The heavier and more technical it is, the more steps: barbell rows get three, a machine row two.

First lift: bent-over barbell row with ramp-up sets

Barbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

The heaviest back lift for many people; its ramp-up sets also rehearse holding the hinge under load.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bar at your thighs, hinge forward until your torso is near 45 degrees, back flat.
  2. Row the bar to your lower ribs with the elbows tucked near your sides.
  3. Lower to straight arms and keep the torso angle.

Cues

  • Brace before every rep
  • Bar to the belly button

Common mistakes

  • Standing taller each rep as it gets heavier: if the hinge goes, the set is over.

Swap for: Pendlay Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, T-Bar Row

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First lift: lat pulldown with ramp-up sets

Lat Pulldown

Lats

On a width-focused day, two light sets on the stack let you find the path before it gets heavy.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your thighs under the pad and grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders.
  2. Pull the bar to your upper chest, elbows driving down and back.
  3. Let it rise until your arms are straight and your lats stretch.

Cues

  • Elbows to your back pockets
  • Lean back only slightly

Common mistakes

  • Pulling the bar behind the neck or swinging the torso: pull to the chest with a steady body.

Swap for: Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown, Pull-Up, Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

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First lift: seated chest-supported row machine

Chest-Supported Row

Upper Back, Lats

With your chest on the pad, the ramp is short, and the lower back gets the day off.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles are at chest height and rest your chest on the pad.
  2. Pull the handles back until your elbows pass your torso.
  3. Let the handles return until your arms are straight and your shoulders reach forward.

Cues

  • Chest stays on the pad
  • Squeeze, then reach

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your chest off the pad to move more weight: the pad is there so your back can rest.

Swap for: Machine Row, Seated Cable Row, Incline Dumbbell Row

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Back day that opens with heavy barbell rows

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Resistance Bands, Barbells

You start with barbell rows for sets of 6 to 8.

Heavy rows load the lower back as well as the upper back, so the warm-up keeps the walkouts and supermans and gives the row three ramp-up sets. Working sets stop 2 reps short of failure so your torso angle holds to the last rep.

Row Day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 45 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 15 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Band Bent-Over Row 1 × 12 4 15 s
SupermanHold 1 s at the top. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Barbell Row3 warm-up sets firstRamp: bar x10, ~60% x6, ~80% x3. 4 × 6–8 2 2:30 min
How to run it
Six minutes of drills, then the ramp-up sets. Rest 2 minutes before the first working set.
How to progress
Add 5 pounds when all sets reach 8 with 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Back day focused on the lats

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Pull-Up Bar, Resistance Bands, Lat Pulldown

Your back day starts with pulldowns and focuses on width.

Pulldowns start overhead, so this version adds the dead hang and drops the supermans; the lower back has little to do today. The pulldown gets two ramp-up sets.

Lat Day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Dead HangSeconds. 1 × 30 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Band Bent-Over Row 1 × 12 4 15 s
Lat Pulldown2 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
How to run it
Drills first, then two light pulldown sets.
How to progress
Add one plate when all sets reach 12 with 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Back day the day after squats or deadlifts

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Pull-Up Bar, Resistance Bands, Seated Row Machine +1

Your lower back is still tired from a leg day, so you row with your chest on a pad.

The chest-supported row takes the lower back out, so the warm-up does too: no hinge drills, just the rower, the hang and the upper-back drills, then two light sets on the machine.

Supported Back
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Dead HangSeconds. 1 × 20 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 20 4 15 s
Chest-Supported Row2 warm-up sets first 3 × 10–12 2 90 s
Lat Pulldown1 warm-up set first 3 × 10–12 2 90 s
How to run it
Keep the pace easy and go straight into the machine ramp.
How to progress
Add weight when all sets reach 12 with 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do I warm up my back before working out?

Three minutes on a rower, walkouts, band pull-aparts, a light set of banded rows and supermans, then ramp-up sets of your first back exercise.

What is a good 5-minute warm-up for back day?

Two minutes on the rower, 15 pull-aparts, 12 banded rows, then two light sets of your first lift.

How many warm-up sets for barbell rows?

Three is typical: the empty bar for 10, about 60 percent for 6, about 80 percent for 3, then your working sets.

Should I warm up my lower back on back day?

If your first lift is a bent-over row or deadlift, yes, with a set of supermans or walkouts. For chest-supported and machine rows you can skip it.

Do I need to stretch before back day?

A short dead hang is enough. Longer back stretches fit better after the session.