Back · Reconnection

Eat something 2-3 hours before this session — training under-fuelled costs 10-15% on every lift (§G). If you didn't and energy is under 5/10 today, cap this session at RPE 6 regardless of the week.

General Warm-up8 min

row

5 min steady · zone2 conversational

Easy pace, ~130 bpm for 5 min — raise core temperature before the primer.

treadmill (backward, incline)

3 min steady · zone2 conversational

15% incline, 3 km/h, walking backward — your signature warm-up finisher before squatting/pulling.

Mobility Primer8 min

90/90 Hip Switches (dynamic flow)

Video thumbnail: 90/90 Hip Switch (Improve Hip Health & Mobility)

External video — 90/90 Hip Switch (Improve Hip Health & Mobility) by Simone Sports Performance.

How to do it

Setup: Sit on the floor. Front leg bent 90° at hip and knee, shin angled across your body toward the far hip — this hip is now in external rotation. Back leg bent 90°, shin angled out behind you, away from your body — this hip is in internal rotation. Spine tall, hands off the floor.
Execution: Lift both knees slightly off the floor and rotate through the hips — not the hands — to swap which leg is in front. Flow side to side for the prescribed time, each bout under 20 seconds.
Common error: Pushing or dragging yourself around with your hands instead of rotating from the hip — if you need your hands to move, you're not doing the drill.
Feel: Smooth rotation through both hips, no catching. Dull ache anywhere is fine, keep going. A sharp pinch in the right hip crease means stop that rep and shorten the range.

Dynamic flow through internal/external rotation, both sides — 8 reps each side, every bout under 20s. Groove the movement, do not force range.

2 × 8/side · bout <20s · rest 0:15

Hip-flexor PAILs/RAILs (couch-stretch position)

Video thumbnail: Couch Stretch PAIL RAILS TUTORIAL

External video — Couch Stretch PAIL RAILS TUTORIAL by SJC Physiotherapy.

How to do it

Setup: Kneeling lunge: rear knee down, rear foot up against a wall or bench behind you. Front foot flat on the floor, well out in front. Torso tall, ribs stacked directly over your pelvis — not leaning back.
Execution: PAIL: squeeze the rear glute and drive that knee down into the pad, ramping the effort up over 5-10s, hold at peak, release over 5s. RAIL: immediately try to drag the same knee forward off the pad against your own resistance, hold 5-10s. That's one rep. Repeat for the prescribed reps, then switch sides.
Common error: Arching the lower back to lean the hips forward and fake extra range — the stretch has to come from the front of the rear hip, not from your spine. Keep the ribs stacked down over the pelvis the whole time.
Feel: A building stretch through the front of the rear hip/quad during the PAIL, real muscular effort during the RAIL. Dull ache is fine. A sharp pinch in the right hip means back off the depth now, don't push through it.

Couch-stretch position (2nd weekly exposure). Ramp to 40-50% effort over 5-10s, hold peak 5-10s, release 5s — that's the PAIL. Immediately, RAIL: draw the knee forward against resistance, hold 5-10s.

2 reps/side · ramp 20s, hold 8s · effort RPE 4-5 · rest 0:30-1:00

Cat-Cow

External video — Cat Cow - Exercise Library by London Strength .

How to do it

Setup: Hands and knees. Wrists stacked under shoulders, knees stacked under hips.
Execution: Let your breath set the tempo, one full breath per position. Inhale into Cow: let the belly sink, lift the chest and tailbone, eyes look slightly up. Exhale into Cat: push the floor away, round the spine, tuck the chin toward your chest and the tailbone under, eyes look toward your navel. Flow smoothly from one checkpoint to the other for the prescribed reps.
Common error: Stopping in the rounded Cat position and holding it — the drill is the full alternation between both checkpoints, timed to the breath, not a static round-back stretch.
Feel: A smooth wave travels the full length of the spine each direction, checkpoint to checkpoint — eyes up and belly low at one end, chin tucked and spine rounded at the other. No sharp catching anywhere in the back.

Spinal prep for the hinge — 10 reps.

2 × 10 · rest 0:10

Single-leg RDL (bodyweight pattern rehearsal)

Single-leg RDL (bodyweight pattern rehearsal)~200-400KB demo

Showing: Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlift — closest verified demo. Shows the Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlift performed with load. The primer's "bodyweight pattern rehearsal" is the identical hip-hinge pattern performed with empty hands, purely to groove the balance and hinge before the loaded Romanian Deadlift work later in the session.

Bodyweight pattern rehearsal — feel the hinge, not a working set.

2 × 6/side @ RPE 3 · rest 0:20

Banded Hip Distraction

External video — Banded Hip Distraction by The Active Life.

How to do it

Setup: Loop a heavy band around a low, sturdy anchor (a rack post works well). Step into the band so it sits high in the hip crease of the working leg, facing the anchor, then walk backward away from it until there is strong, obvious tension pulling that hip straight back toward the anchor.
Execution: Sink into a shallow squat or split-stance lunge on the banded side, letting the band's pull gently distract — open a small gap in — the hip joint. Rock or shift gently through a few positions for the prescribed time, breathing normally throughout.
Common error: Standing too close to the anchor so there is little or no real band tension — the whole point is the joint distraction, not just standing near a band. If you can't feel a clear backward pull on the hip, step further away.
Feel: A gentle "opening" sensation deep in the hip joint, not a muscular stretch — this is a joint-capsule mobilization, different from the muscle stretches elsewhere in the primer. No sharp pinch; if the right hip sharpens, step closer to the anchor to reduce the pull rather than stopping outright.

Thick band around the hip crease, anchored behind you, step into a lunge — pulls the femoral head back into the socket. No band? Substitute a 20s deep lunge hold, rear knee down, pushing the hips forward.

2 × 20s/side hold · rest 0:15

Main Lift — Conventional Deadlift18 min

Conventional Deadlift

Conventional Deadlift~200-400KB demo

Full reset every rep — no touch-and-go. Full brace before each pull, bar over mid-foot, push the floor away. Right hip: dull ache is fine, sharp or pinching pain means stop the rep and reduce range/effort — don't grind through it. Right hip: dull ache is fine, sharp pinch means stop — shorten the range or switch to a rack pull from just below the knee for the rest of the session.

4 × 5-8 @ RPE 6 · tempo 1-0-3-1 · rest 2:30

Accessories24 min

Barbell Row — Bent-over

Barbell Row — Bent-over~200-400KB demo

Flat back, pull to the sternum/lower ribs, squeeze the shoulder blades at the top.

4 × 6-10 @ RPE 6-7 · tempo 3-1-X-1 · rest 2:00

DB Row (single-arm, bench-supported)

Pull to the hip, not the armpit. 2-second hold at the top, every rep.

3 × 8-10/side @ RPE 7 · tempo 2-0-2-2 · rest 1:30

Lat Pulldown (wide-grip)

Pull to the upper chest, drive the elbows down and back. Swap in pull-ups if you'd rather — same slot.

3 × 8-12 @ RPE 7 · tempo 2-0-2-0 · rest 1:30

Barbell Shrug

Barbell Shrug~200-400KB demo

Straight up and down, no rolling the shoulders — that's how you tweak the neck.

3 × 10-15 @ RPE 7 · tempo 2-0-2-1 · rest 1:00

Single-leg Hyperextension

Video thumbnail: Hyperextension (Single Leg)

External video — Hyperextension (Single Leg) by Operation Badass.

How to do it

Setup: Hips against the pad of a 45-degree (or horizontal) hyperextension bench, ankles secured under the rollers. One leg's foot stays flat on the footplate and does all the work; the other leg trails behind, unweighted, touching nothing, for balance only.
Execution: Lower under control by hinging at the hip — not the lower back — until you feel a stretch in the working-leg hamstring/glute, torso and legs roughly in line with the bench. Drive back up through the working-leg heel to a flat-back finish. Stop level with your legs at the top — do not keep arching past that into a lower-back extension.
Common error: Letting the trailing leg push off the floor or bench to help (defeats the unilateral point), or continuing to arch the lower back past flat at the top instead of stopping there.
Feel: A building stretch through the working-leg hamstring/glute at the bottom, a firm glute squeeze at the top — the top position should feel like a strong contraction, not a backward bend. No pinching or strain in the lower back itself.

2nd posterior-chain exposure this week, on purpose — this is where it always sat in your own logs, near the end of back day.

3 × 12-16/side @ RPE 7 · tempo 2-0-2-0 · rest 1:00

Dumbbell Pullover (bench)

Dumbbell Pullover (bench)~200-400KB demo

Light weight, focus on the stretch across the lats, not the load.

3 × 12-15 @ RPE 6-7 · tempo 3-0-2-0 · rest 1:00

Mobility Finisher9 min

90/90 shin-box PAILs/RAILs

Video thumbnail: Hip Mobility Drill: The Shin Box

External video — Hip Mobility Drill: The Shin Box by Balance In Motion.

How to do it

Setup: Same 90/90 shin-box seat as the primer drill — front shin across your body, back shin behind you. Settle onto one side and stay there; this is a hold, not the switching flow.
Execution: PAIL: press the front shin/knee down into the floor, ramping the effort over 5-10s, hold the peak, release over 5s. RAIL: immediately lift that same shin/knee back up off the floor against your own resistance, hold 5-10s. That's one rep. Repeat for the prescribed reps, then switch which leg is in front and repeat on the other side.
Common error: Rushing the ramp instead of building it over the full 5-10 seconds, or letting the torso collapse forward to fake extra depth — sit tall throughout.
Feel: A deep, controllable stretch through the front hip during the PAIL, real muscular effort during the RAIL. Dull ache is fine and expected. A sharp pinch in the right hip crease means back off the depth immediately.

40-50% effort, 2 reps/side — same dosing as the primer.

2 reps/side · ramp 20s, hold 8s · effort RPE 4-5 · rest 0:30-1:00

Couch Stretch

External video — Couch Stretch by Functional Bodybuilding.

How to do it

Setup: Kneeling lunge, rear shin up against a wall or couch/bench behind you, rear foot pointing up. Front foot flat on the floor, well out in front. Torso tall, ribs stacked over the pelvis.
Execution: Squeeze the rear glute to sink the hip forward and deepen the stretch. Hold completely still for the full prescribed time. This is a finisher drill only — never do it before lifting.
Common error: Arching the lower back to bring the torso closer to vertical instead of actually moving the hip forward — this fakes depth without touching the hip flexor. Keep the ribs pulled down and let the glute squeeze do the work.
Feel: A steady, building stretch through the front of the rear hip and thigh that should ease slightly the longer you hold it. Dull ache is normal. A sharp pinch in the right hip means come out of the position, don't fight it.

Passive hold, 60s each side.

60s/side hold · rest 0:15

Pigeon Stretch

External video — PIGEON STRETCH by Atomic Athlete.

How to do it

Setup: Front leg bent, shin angled across your body with the front foot pointing toward the opposite hip. Back leg extended long behind you. Hips square to the floor, not twisted or hiked to one side.
Execution: Fold your torso forward over the front shin, letting your weight sink down. Hold still, breathing, for the full prescribed time.
Common error: Letting the hips rotate or hike up to force the front knee flatter — this fakes extra rotation from the hip instead of finding it honestly. Keep the hips square first, and accept whatever depth that leaves you with.
Feel: A deep stretch on the outside of the front hip and glute. A sharp pinch in the front of the hip crease means the angle is too aggressive — back the front shin off toward a less rotated position.

Passive hold, 60s each side.

60s/side hold · rest 0:15

Back · Reconnection

row

treadmill (backward, incline)

RPE — lifting sets

Effort — mobility & primer sets