Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

Episode 2706: The Best 3-Day a Week Back Routine

Release Date: October 15, 2025
Hosts: Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge

Overview

In this episode, the Mind Pump crew delivers a deep dive into constructing the ultimate 3-day-per-week back training routine. The conversation explores why back training is foundational for both aesthetics and function, breaking common gym myths, providing nuanced programming recommendations, and sharing personal stories about back development. The team also tackles several listener questions, offering real-world, actionable coaching on programming, nutrition, and goal setting. Infused throughout are candid discussions on family, technology, social trends, and the realities of fitness progression.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Back Training Fundamentals

[05:19]

• The team defines the “back” as a collection of major muscles: erector spinae, lats, rhomboids, traps, teres major/minor, etc.
• Sal: “It's a huge area, huge body part. We're going to talk about training your back, one of the most aesthetic body parts, also one of the most functional.”
• Citing both aesthetic and functional necessity, they emphasize the back’s importance for overall strength, injury resistance, posture, and physique.

2. Early Experiences & Compound Lifts

[05:47–08:10]

• Adam and Justin recall their first exposures to serious back training.
• Sal’s early mentors instilled a love for compound lifts like deadlifts and squats in his teens—contrasted with many who focus on frontside muscle groups.
• Deadlifts and heavy compound movements are highlighted as critical for full back development.

3. Deadlifts: The Foundational Movement

[09:30–15:17]

• Sal dispels the myth that deadlifts “aren’t a back exercise”: “Anybody who has experience with deadlifting will tell you deadlift develops a well developed back. Not just a strong back, but a very, very well [developed one].”
• Adam shares his own progress: after dropping basic rowing movements in favor of deadlifts for months, his back thickness and row strength increased substantially.
  • Quote [14:07] Adam: “The thickness of my back changed, completely changed. And just my overall strength was wild to see that.”
• The deadlift is not just about maximal strength; its isometric demands on the posterior chain are uniquely high.

4. Back Training: Health, Quality of Life, and Aesthetics

[15:17–17:41]

• Coaches prioritize back development for new clients due to its corrective, functional benefits and its influence on quality of life.
• Adam: “It directly combats all the things you do all day long. We're so anteriorly driven...the back is so neglected, humans in general kind of have this rounded...look.”

5. Complexity in Programming for the Back

[17:38–21:18]

• The team discusses why the back cannot be trained as simply as, e.g., the legs, due to its many muscle groups and functions.
• Sal: “Back training...it's not complete unless you involve two or three movements. For lower body, you could do deep squats...Back training, I can't pick just one exercise.”

The Ultimate 3-Day-Per-Week Back Routine

[18:00–22:11]

Sal presents his ideal back-focused routine for someone looking to maximize back development over three weekly sessions:

Day 1

• Deadlifts: 4 sets x 3 reps (heavy, low-rep, picking a weight you could do for 5–6)
• Close-Grip Pulldowns: 10–12 reps for targeted lat development

Day 2

• Seated Rows: 3 sets x 15 reps (higher volume, less lower back fatigue than barbell rows)
• Pullovers: 3 sets x 15 reps (lat focus, some isolation)

Day 3

• One-Arm Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 8 reps

• Wide-Grip Pulldowns or Wide-Grip Pull-Ups: 3 sets x 8 reps (scapular mobility, upper lat focus)

• Justin recommends adding rotation into one-arm rows for extra functional benefits; Adam recognizes both strict (anti-rotation) and rotational forms as valuable.

Memorable Moment:
Adam: “The single best pump I've ever had in my life on my back was doing heavy deadlifts followed by a lat pulldown. It just feels like someone took a bicycle tire pump and just...The most full I've ever felt.” ([21:18])

Listener Calls & Coaching Segments

1. Optimizing Workout Schedule with a Busy Life

[56:43–65:12]

• Kevin, 41, struggles to maintain intensity during short weekday workouts and asks if a hybrid schedule (short weekday sessions, longer weekend lift) makes sense.
• Advice:
  • Flexibility is key: don't be slave to the 7-day week. Take days off when needed, pick up where you left off.
  • Adam: “For the workouts, get accomplished which is still only a...50 minute workout or less. So Saturday and Sunday, you take two of the days and combine them...”
  • Focus on consistency over strict adherence to calendar routines.

2. Fat Loss Plateau/Muscle Gain for Women

[65:23–72:52]

• Alicia lost 26 pounds, strength-trained for months, but is discouraged by scale stagnation despite visible body comp improvements.
  • Advice:
    • Consider reducing frequency and intensity: switch to a 3-day per week full-body program (Sal: “That's more than you need. But if you're enjoying it...modifying intensity and getting stronger...”)
    • Focus on gradual calorie increase (reverse dieting)
    • Don’t get trapped by the scale—performance & visual progress matter more.

3. Bodybuilding Competition Readiness & Mental Health

[72:52–84:11]

• Angelica wants to compete, but eats too little and is concerned about health issues and relationship with food.
  • Advice:
    • Both Adam and Sal urge her to resolve food/body image issues before considering a show.
    • Focus on health, robust metabolism (get to 3,000 calories/day at 18% body fat).
    • Suggestion: Switch to a strength/Powerlifting program—build experience, enjoy the process, and revisit competitive ambitions in the future.
  • Quote [80:16] Sal: “If you have any body dysmorphia or food relationship issues, [competitive bodybuilding] is the last thing you should do. It will throw you right into dysfunction.”

4. Lean Bulking Struggles with Hunger & Equipment Limits

[86:08–93:07]

• Aaron lost 50lbs, is now lean and wants to bulk, but feels too full eating whole foods and is limited to dumbbells/bench at home.
  • Advice:
    • Don’t force-feed if full; muscle building is slow.
    • If wanting more mass, consider a gym membership or build out home gym (add barbells/racks).
    • Adam: “The next level...is investing in more robust home gym or gym membership where you can start to hit those lifts.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Deadlifts:
  “[Deadlift is] the heaviest lift you'll ever do in your entire life when you do consistent strength training...So it's like, why would you not do this one exercise that's going to allow you to lift the most amount of weight? And does that have value? Absolutely.”
  — Sal [10:55]

• On Back Training and Aging:
  “That’s why when you look at somebody 80 years old that hasn’t exercised, they have that closed in shrimp, walker type of [posture]...That’s 70 years of not training the posterior side.”
  — Adam [16:38]

• On Routine Structure:
  “We always look at everything in this seven day snapshot as if that's how our body works. It's okay...Even if it turns into a nine-day week...if you're more consistent than you're not, you're going to be winning.”
  — Adam [64:56]

Miscellaneous Segments

• [27:00–39:54] Off-topic conversation on the adverse effects of dating apps—which has led to a “winner-take-all” dynamic in online dating, reducing happiness for both sexes.

  • Sal references: “Online all those buffers are gone. Apps give women a real-time global leaderboard of male attractiveness status… the 1% and perceived value…”

• [53:45–55:50]
  Introduction of Fatty15 (C15) supplement, likening its novel anti-inflammatory impact to Omega-3’s, predicting mainstream adoption soon.

• [49:50–51:38]
  Halloween talk (haunted houses, kids’ reactions, Tesla “ghosts” on car sensors)—lighthearted, showing hosts’ personalities and rapport.

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Intro to Back Training: [05:19–10:04]
• Deadlifts: Function & Aesthetics: [10:04–15:17]
• Back Health, Quality of Life, and Coaching: [15:17–18:00]
• 3-Day a Week Back Routine Outline: [18:00–22:11]
• Listener Call #1 (Scheduling Workouts): [56:43–65:12]
• Listener Call #2 (Fat Loss Breakthrough): [65:23–72:52]
• Listener Call #3 (Comp Prep & Food Relationship): [72:52–84:11]
• Listener Call #4 (Lean Bulk & Equipment): [86:08–93:07]

Takeaways

• The back requires diverse, compound, and sometimes isolating movements for full development. A deadlift-focused routine, paired with vertical/horizontal pulls and some isolation, offers maximum results for both looks and function.
• Proper fitness programming must adapt to lifestyle—not the other way around.
• Chasing aesthetics at the cost of health or sound nutrition is a dead end; focus on robust habits for sustainable transformation.
• The Mind Pump team continues their ethos of practical, no-nonsense coaching buttressed by decades of collective experience and a true passion for helping listeners thrive.

Stay fit, expand your mind, and follow Mind Pump for raw fitness truth.