If you are looking for an easy-to-follow and effective workout plan to train your biceps and back together and maximize muscle growth, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I’ve shared an ultimate 8-week back and biceps workout routine (with PDF) that will allow you to train in an organized way and help you build strength and size over time.
From beginners to intermediate and male to female, this program is suitable for every fitness enthusiast who wants to grow their biceps and back muscles.
3 Reasons to Train Back and Biceps Together
Training back and biceps together is common among bodybuilders because of the following reasons:
1. Back and Biceps Both Work During the Pull Exercises
The back and biceps work during the pull exercises, such as bent-over rows, pull-ups, and biceps curls. It makes your workout convenient, time-efficient, and effective.
2. A Pair of Large and Small Muscle Group
A well-structured muscle-building workout program involves training one large and one small muscle group together for an effective workout session. This training approach allows you to hit your biceps and back more frequently and promotes hypertrophy.
3. Good for a Balanced Training Split
Training the back and biceps together allows you to design a balanced workout routine that involves performing a chest and triceps on Monday, back and biceps on Tuesday, and legs and shoulder on Wednesday. This way, you can train your every muscle once a week in three days and twice in six days.
Biceps and Back Muscle Building Exercises
| Back | Biceps |
|---|---|
| Pull-ups | Chin-ups |
| Bent-over Row | Barbell Curl |
| V-grip Pulldown | Preacher Curl |
| Seated Cable Row | Hammer Curl |
| Medium-Grip Pulldown | EZ Bar Curl |
| Conventional Deadlift | Incline DB Curl |
| One-arm Dumbbell Row | Concentration Curl |
| Lat Pullover | Bayesian Cable Curl |
| Incline I-Y-T Raises | Dumbbell 21s |
| T-Bar Row | Hammer Chin-ups |
| Row Machine | Spider Curl |
| Pendlay Row | Alternating DB Curl |
| One-arm Cable Row | Drag Curl |
Other helpful resources:
8-Week Back and Biceps Workout Routine for Ultimate Mass Gain
This program includes various exercises, from compound and isolation to bilateral and unilateral.
I’ve also included a moderate to high rep-set range (10 to 20 reps per set) for muscle-building and heavyweight few rep-set ranges (5-10 reps per set) for strength-building.
You can follow this workout schedule to train your triceps and chest together.
- Monday – Chest and Triceps
- Tuesday – Back and Biceps
- Wednesday – Legs and Shoulder (Superset)
- Thursday – Chest and Triceps
- Friday – Back and Biceps
- Saturday – Superset Legs and Shoulder
- Sunday – OFF
Instructions:
Those who train biceps and back twice a week can do moderate rep-range sets (10-20 reps per set) on day one and heavyweight sets (6-10 reps per set) on day two. The combination of these two will help you increase strength and mass.
However, if you train three times weekly, split the above routine into two weeks and perform a combination of higher and fewer reps/sets on the same day.
Examples of warm-up exercises to do before lifting heavy:
It is best to do a brief warm-up session to increase your heart rate and oxygen flow and prepare your muscles for weight training exercises.
Here are 10-minute warm-up workouts you can do before starting the back and biceps workout.
Warm-up 1
- 2-3 minute Upper Body Foam Rolling
- 3-5 minutes of Stationary Bike or Treadmill
- 10-15 Hindu Pushups
- 15-20 Superman Pull
- Pull-ups (as many reps as possible x 3)
- 15-20 Bench Presses (as a warm-up set)
Warm-up 2
- 3-5 minutes Treadmill
- 10-15 Inverted Row
- 5-10 Floor IYT raises
- 10-15 Bent-over Rows (lightweight)
- 8-10 Dive Bomber Pushups
- 15-20 Lat Pulldown with lightweight
Week 1 & 5
Tuesday – Back and Biceps Hypertrophy Focus
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-ups | 3 | Till Failure | 90-sec |
| Bent-over Row | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 8 | 2-min |
| V-grip Pulldown | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 8 | 2-min |
| Seated Cable Row | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 8 | 2-min |
| EZ Barbell Curl | 3 | 15, 12, 10 | 90-sec |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 15, 12, 10 | 90-sec |
Friday – Back and Biceps Strength Focus
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium-Grip Pulldown | 4 | 10, 8, 8, 6 | 3-min |
| Conventional Deadlift | 4 | 10, 8, 6, 4 | 3-min |
| One-arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 8-10/arm | 1-min |
| Chinups | 3 | Till Failure | 2-min |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 8-10/arm | 2-min |
| Preacher Curl | 3 | 8-10/arm | 2-min |
Week 2 & 6
Tuesday – Medium Range Rep-Sets
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing Rope Pulldown | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 8 | 2-3 min |
| Incline I-Y-T Raises | 3 | 10, 8, 6 | 2-3 min |
| T-Bar Row | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 8 | 2-min |
| Rear Front Pulldown | 3 | 15, 12, 10 | 2-min |
| Barbell Curl | 3 | 15, 12, 10 | 2-min |
| Concentration Curl | 3 | 10/arm | 45-sec |
Friday – Heavyweight Rep Sets
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-ups | 3 | Till Failure | 90-sec |
| Seated Cable Row | 4 | 10, 8, 8, 6 | 2-min |
| Chest-Supported Row Machine | 4 | 10, 8, 8, 6 | 2-min |
| Pendlay Row | 3 | 10, 8, 6 | 2-min |
| Dumbbell Pullover | 3 | 10, 8, 6 | 2-min |
| Bayesian Cable Curl | 3 | 10/arm | 45-sec |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 12, 10, 8 | 1-min |
Week 3 & 7
Back and Biceps Day 1 – Hypertrophy Sets (10-20 reps)
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bent Over Row | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 10 | 2-min |
| Narrow Grip Pulldown | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 10 | 2-min |
| T-Bar Row | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 10 | 2-min |
| Seated Cable Row | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 10 | 2-min |
| Dumbbell 21s | 3 | 21 | 2-min |
| Hammer Chin-ups | 3 | Till Failure | 2-min |
Biceps and Back Day 2 – Heavyweight Sets (6-10 reps)
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional Deadlift | 4 | 10, 8, 6, 4 | 3-min |
| Rear Lat Pulldown | 4 | 10, 8, 6, 6 | 3-min |
| Chest-Supported Row Machine | 4 | 10, 8, 6, 6 | 3-min |
| One-arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10/arm | 1-min |
| EZ Bar Barbell Curl | 3 | 10, 8, 6 | 2-min |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10, 8, 6 | 2-min |
Week 4 & 8
Tuesday – Back and Biceps
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-ups | 3 | Till Failure | 2-min |
| Rear Lat Pulldown | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 10 | 2-min |
| T-Bar Row | 4 | 15, 12, 10, 10 | 2-min |
| Dumbbell Pullover | 3 | 15, 12, 10 | 2-min |
| Alternating Dumbbell Curls | 3 | 10/arm | 45-sec |
| Spider Curls | 3 | 15, 12, 10 | 2-min |
Friday – Back and Biceps
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bent-over Row | 4 | 10, 8, 8, 6 | 2-3 min |
| Standing Rope Pulldown | 3 | 12, 10, 8 | 2-min |
| Chest-Supported Row Machine | 3 | 12, 10, 8, 6 | 2-min |
| Seated Cable Row | 4 | 12, 10, 8, 6 | 2-min |
| EZ Bar Preacher Curl | 3 | 15, 12, 10 | 2-min |
| Alternating Hammer Curl | 3 | 15/arm | 2-min |
