Bar & Ballast: Day A (Weighted Pull-Up Lead)
Pronated-grip pull day led by the weighted pull-up. One heavy wave on added load, a bodyweight back-off, a horizontal row, scapular work and hanging core. Pull-up bar plus something you can hang from your waist.
Estimated session
- Movements 5
- Working sets 17
The session
| Order | Exercise | Sets | Target | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Weighted Pull Ups Priority lift. Dip belt, weight vest or a pack you can hang from the waist. Dead hang at the bottom, chin clearly over the bar, no kip. Ramp with the two templated feeders at bodyweight, then run the working sets at the week's prescribed added load. 2 warm-up sets first 5 × 5 · rest 3 min | 5 | 5 | 3 min |
| 02 | Chin-Up Back-off volume at bodyweight, supinated grip. Belt comes off. Full dead hang to sternum contact, two seconds down. Stop each set two reps short of failure — this is the set that gets cut first if the session runs long. 3 × 8 · rest 2 min | 3 | 8 | 2 min |
| 03 | Inverted Row Horizontal pull. Bar in a rack at waist height, a low pull-up bar, or a sturdy table edge. Body straight from heel to head, chest to the bar, pause a beat at the top. Raise the feet onto a chair to make it harder; bend the knees to make it easier. 3 × 10 · rest 1:30 | 3 | 10 | 1:30 |
| 04 | Scapular Pull-Up Elbows stay locked. Depress and retract the shoulder girdle, hold one second at the top, lower into a full passive hang. This is the tissue that has to tolerate the added load — do not rush it. 3 × 10 · rest 1 min | 3 | 10 | 1 min |
| 05 | Hanging Leg Raise Strict, no swing, pelvis tucked at the top. If grip fails before the abs do, bend the knees and reduce the range rather than kipping the legs up. 3 × 10 · rest 1 min | 3 | 10 | 1 min |
Coaching notes
Load the belt before the first working set and leave it on — re-hanging plates between sets is where the rest interval goes. Order is fixed: heaviest loaded pull first, bodyweight back-off second, horizontal pull third, scapular and core last. The back-off stays at bodyweight even in the heaviest weeks; it is volume, not a second top set. Template sets are the week-three to week-five baseline; the week's coachingInstructions override set count and RPE ceiling — three sets at RPE 7 in weeks one and two, three at 6.5 in week six, five sets of three with a final set to 8.5 in weeks seven to nine. No waist-loading option? Wear a loaded pack, cinched hard. No rack or waist-height bar? Row from under a sturdy table with the heels on the floor, or run a prone floor row — arms overhead, elbows pulled to the ribs, chest off the floor — for three sets of twelve at matched RPE. Do not substitute another set of pull-ups; the horizontal pull is the pattern this slot exists for.
Programs that use this template
The training principles
Let the coach tell you when to add weight.
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Aleks · Coach
Proposal · add weight