Name: Playbook - Sam Sweeney - 12/29 Back and Core
Uploaded: 2026-06-17T00:04:48.274Z
Duration: 55 min
Description: 12/29 Back and Core

Rowena

And I’ve been introduced to my new favorite back exercise of all time: the Gironda Row!!! More of those please 😃

Megan

Sarah

Kara Hutcheson

You’ve made me excited for the gym again! This was such a great workout!

Ashley

Michelle Correa

Amazing workout as usual ! Feeling muscles I never knew were there ! 🥳😀

Kate Wolf

Nyakeh

Nick

Awesome awesome workout. Thank u so very much

Awesome awesome workout. Thank u so much.

Deadlifts are my enemy so I swapped with rack pulls. But owwwwiee my lats are going to hurt tomorrow

Ashanta

Laura

I feel like my back is massive after this workout- defs a new fav of yours on the app:)!

Haley

Donalee

Great workout!  Loves the back ext/rollouts at the beginning!

Loving these workouts! I purchased the year membership just because of your workouts!

Happy Wednesday!

IMPORTANT: As we transition out of this training block, please feel free to use this week as a “lighter”  or deload week. This means you can stick with the rep count and cut your weight by 50-60% of usual working weight, or you may stick with you working weight and cut your volume or sets of each exercise (only do 2-3 sets of each), or simply work on perfecting technique with lighter weight. We will be moving into a new 8 week training phase next week and we want you to feel rested and recovered. **

12/29 Training Day Overview:

Warm Up: foam roll, upper body warm up and activation routine B from app

Superset:
1. Back Extensions: 4S/20R, 15R, 12R, 10R
2. Ab Rollouts: 4S/20R, 15R, 12R, 10R

3. Deadlift: 4S/7R

Compound Set:
4. Single Arm Bent Over Row: 3S/12R each side
5. Lat Pulldowns: 3S/15R

Superset:
6. Gironda Row: 3S/10R straight drop 10R circular
7. Machine Reverse Fly: 3S/15R

Rep Count: 
Round 1. 20R 
Round 2. 15R
Round 3. 12R 
Round 4. 10R
Tempo: Steady
Modification: Supermans

- position yourself on the hyperextension machine so the pad is at or just slightly below your hip bones. 
- legs should be extended but not locked out. 
- begin with your chest facing the ground, keep head/neck/spine neutral
- lock in your hands behind your ears, elbows out
- use your trunk/erectors to raise the chest up until your torso is in line with your lower body
- contract the low back/erectors
- lower the torso back down with control

Back Extensions

Rep Count: 
Round 1. 20R
Round 2. 15R
Round 3. 12R
Round 4. 10R
Tempo: Steady
Modification: barbell rollouts, plank walkouts [toes/knees]

- grip the handles of the ab rollout wheel
- position yourself on your knees, chest facing down
- tuck the chin and keep the head/neck/spine neutral 
- squeeze the glutes and brace the core to create a “stiff trunk” 
- slowly extend the arms forward as you begin to roll the wheel out 
- roll the wheel until your arms are fully extended and chest is hovering above the ground [or choose to roll out only as far as you feel in control, work your way up to full extension]
- use your core and exhale as you roll the wheel back in towards your quads. 
- contract the core at the top of the rep.

Ab Rollouts

Superset

Rep Count: 7R
Tempo: Steady/power
Modification: trap bar deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, KB/DB deadlift

 - Load the bar with an appropriate weight for the rep range. 
- Position the bar so it is above “mid shoelace “
- Stance is hip width (feel free to play around with stance, your mobility will play a large role in the width of your stance)
- Create a tripod foot with your feet (think about connecting/pressing through big toe, little toe, and heel) 
- With a neutral spine, hinge the hips back as you bend forward to grip the barbell. 
- Grip the barbell with a pronated grip (feel free to use straps), hook grip, or an under/overhand grip. 
- Grip should be just outside of the hips
- Activate the lats by depressing the scapula (shoving them down and pinning them there) and think about breaking the bar around your body. As you do this the bar should be pulled right up to your shins.
- Take a bracing breath, expand your stomach 3D
- Keep a neutral spine, and use the torque in your lower body to leg press the weight up (think about your knees externally rotating, but don’t actually rotate, and snap the hips in)
- Make sure to reach full hip extension at the top of the rep, don’t hyperextend through the low back
- Lower with control, keeping the bar close to your body. 
- Reset breath in between each rep.

Deadlift

Rep Count: 12R each side
Tempo: Steady

- set up on a flat bench or a decline bench
- with a neutral spine bend forward so your chest is facing the bench/down. 
- place one hand and one knee up on the bench [on the same side]
- with the other hand grab the dumbbell and plant the foot on the same side firmly on the ground. 
- start with your arm extended
- retract the scapula and drive the elbow towards your waist as you row the dumbbell up towards your chest. 
- pin the elbow in close at the top. 
- lower with control until arm is completely extended.

Single Arm Bent Over Row

Rep Count: 15R
Tempo: steady
Modification: use a straight bar/lat pulldown bar

- Use a pronated grip and grab the bar or single arm attachments.
- Press your knees up into the pad, driving the balls of your feet into the ground, flexing your calves.
- lean back at a slight 45 degree angle and hold the brace.
- depress the scapula as you pull the handles down.
- think about pulling the handles apart, hands should be outside of the shoulders at the bottom of the rep. 
- contract the lats
- release the cable with control until arms are fully extended 
- keep wrists in line with the elbows throughout

Lat Pulldown

Compound Set

Rep Count: 10R straight drop 10R circular
Tempo: Steady
Modification: Dumbbell bent over pronated grip row drop to crescent row

- use the straight bar attachment and set the cable up high, above shoulder height. 
- grip the straight bar with a pronated grip and step back from the cable 3-5 steps [facing cable]
- bend forward slightly, keeping a neutral spine
- start with arms extended up towards the direction of the cable, head/neck/spine neutral. 
- row the cable towards your mid/high chest
- elbows pinned at your sides at the top of the rep, contract the mid back
- release the cable with control until arms are fully extended
- continue for 10R before dropping the weight by 20-50% and performing 10R of a circular Gironda row.
- start the row in the same way, by pulling the straight bar to your mid chest, elbows pinned in close to your sides
- as you release the cable push the bar down towards the ground, following the line of your legs
- allow the cable to move away from your body as release the straight bar back up towards the cable [this should create the “circular” motion]
- keep the spine neutral throughout. 
- complete 10R more.

Gironda Row [straight to circular]

Rep Count: 15R
Tempo: Steady
Modification: Dumbbell bent over reverse fly

- Position yourself on the machine so your hands grip the handles slightly lower than shoulder height, and your chest is pressed against the pad of the machine
- Grip with handles with a neutral grip
- Keep a slight bend in the elbows and retract the scapula as you fly the weight back
- Pull the handles back until hands are in line with the shoulders
- Contract the rear delts and mid/high back
- release with control until arms are extended forward

Machine Reverse Fly

12/29 Back and Core

No modification for hack squat. No weight is not modification. Overall okayish workout.

Porchia

Jennifer

6/16 Quads, Glutes

Audry

Jessica

6/15 Shoulders, Arms

Really loved the trap bar grip on the stiff legs, hit soooo right ❤️‍🔥

Lizz

6/12 Hamstrings, Glutes

This felt great and the burnout was especially awesome!

Janet

6/11 Chest, Shoulders

💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻❤️🔥❤️❤️

6/10 Back, Core/Abs

Elaine Rondon

Loved the ladder SS! As always such a good leg day! 🔥

6/9 Quads, Glutes

How many times can I say perfection in a single split? The limit does not exist ♾️

Katie

6/8 Shoulders, Arms

Please make this split a permanent workout option on the app! I have extremely mixed feelings about it, but I can’t deny the growth I’ve been seeing!

Emily

Michelle 

6/5 Hamstrings, Glutes

6/4 Chest, Shoulders

Absolutely loved everything about this one, a favorite for sure!

6/3 Back, Core/Abs

The burnout leg extensions were a really cool variation!

BabyLuv

Morgan

6/2 Quads, Glutes

Love the lat raise variety, hit just right ❤️

6/1 Shoulders, Arms

Calling the authorities because that box squat into reverse lunges superset-pyramid-drop-set shenanigans was attempted murder.  😤🥵

Mandy Rigsby

Alice

5/29 Hamstrings, Glutes

Vanessa

Shoulders and chest annihilation 🤸🏻‍♀️🥇🪂

5/28 Chest, Shoulders

I would love if there were more abs on ab day. But I adore all of the diff ways we worked the back.

I surprised myself today! Didn’t know i had the strength or stability to do the one leg pullover and I did!!! This split has really made its way into my top favorites already!

5/27 Back, Core/Abs

5/26 Quads, Glutes

All the corkscrews felt SOOO good today 💪🥰

5/25 Shoulders, Arms

Heather

Alexis

5/22 Hamstrings, Glutes

Solid chest day. Those around the worlds depleted the tank fully!

Tamara Feist

5/21 Chest, Shoulders

I'm trying to fall in love with the gym again and the structure of this split is helping significantly! Thanks Sam!

5/20 Back, Core/Abs

First day back! Almost 11 months postpartum. That was tough but so glad to be back at it.

5/19 Quads, Glutes

The trisets flowed so perfectly together!

Trisha Jones

5/18 Shoulders, Arms [NEW SPLIT!]

This day always feels so aligning for me 🥰

Just did the running part …needed that this morning 🔥

Yesenia

5/15 Shoulders, Core (sprints- DELOAD)

Wall sits never fail to bring the quad fire 🔥

Vonny

5/14 Quads, Glutes (abs-DELOAD)

Shoulders have been feeling a lot stronger to support these chest day moves!!

Lorena

5/13 Chest, Triceps (sprints- DELOAD)

5/12 Glutes, Hamstrings (abs- DELOAD)

Bicep endurance has improved so much over the course of this split 💪🥰

5/11 Back, Biceps (sprints- DELOAD)

Linz

Great split. Ready for a deload week though

5/8 Shoulders, Core (sprints)

Holly

5/7 Quads, Glutes (abs)

Flavia

Has anyone got triceps I can borrow? Mine are on 🔥🔥💪

Carol

5/6 Chest, Triceps (sprints)

Really love the eccentric focus on the 2-1 ham curls

JulieAnn

5/5 Glutes, Hamstrings (abs)

God those inverted rows get me every time 💀🫠

Molly

5/4 Back, Biceps (sprints)

One of the kick ass workout ever. Those snatches wow. Loved it. 😍

5/1 Shoulders, Core (sprints)

Lateral walks and step ups were challenging today, loved it. 😍

Omg the step ups 😭🥵. I will not be able to walk right tomorrow

Faith

4/30 Quads, Glutes (abs)

Took a week break cause was in a rut but we're back and feeling better 🔥 even with the break still progressing 🔥 all thanks to the intentional programming.

4/29 Chest, Triceps (sprints)

The contralateral reverse lunges felt really great today!

4/28 Glutes, Hamstrings (abs)

Karen Arce

Better than late than never 🥹🤷🏻‍♀️

4/27 Back, Biceps (sprints)

Jill

This split is by far my favorite. Please add Cardio days more🩵

Olivia Schneider

4/24 Shoulders, Core (sprints)

Gabrielle

McKayla

Loving this!! I needed to switch gears! Love the new challenge.

4/23 Quads, Glutes (abs)

Rachael

So good. I’ve been combining chest and shoulders for my 4 days a week split and works great!!!

4/22 Chest, Triceps (sprints)

Jessi mollak

Lisa

4/21 Glutes, Hamstrings (abs)

Pull ups will forever be a struggle 😂😂

4/20 Back, Biceps (sprints)

Love this program. Skipped run did deep stretches instead.

4/17 Shoulders, Core (sprints)

Shannon

4/16 Quads, Glutes (abs)

Energy on high today! Flew through that and finished feeling absolutely fantastic! A favorite for sure!!

4/15 Chest, Triceps (sprints)

Wow I really needed that! Feeling so strong and balanced 🥰❤️‍🔥

4/14 Glutes, Hamstrings (abs)

Kayla Staker

4/13 Back, Biceps (sprints)

Love the addition of core and ab work. Thank you. Always a challenge for me but worth it!

12/29 Back and Core

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