Back in the day, bodybuilders kept it simple. They trained hard, and they trained heavy. They didn’t have dozens of variations of machines, allowing them to torch muscle groups from hundreds of angles using cables and other attachments. They had barbells, plates, and not much else. Yet, despite this lack of technological innovation, they managed to build some seriously well-developed physiques.

We’ll be training old school today, using a minimal amount of sets to completely scorch two major muscle groups (back and shoulders) in very heavy and brutal fashion. We’ll be combining back and shoulder day into one ‘super’ day in which you will only need one station and one set of equipment - the squat rack, a barbell, and a pile of plates. Reserve this corner of the gym for about 45 minutes during a quiet time of the day and you’re ready to get to work. Gloves with wrist wraps and a weight belt are not required, but will certainly be helpful for this training session.

Always start with deadlifts. After two warm-up sets, you should be ready to jump into heavy sets of 4 to 6 repetitions. You are looking to add serious muscle mass - and nothing adds mass to the back, legs, and the rest of the body like low repetition deadlifts. After three heavy sets, drop back on the weight and complete one set of twenty repetitions with 185 or 225 pounds – your lower back will be completely spent at this point. From here, move to the upper back movements. Start with four sets of barbell rows, using 10 to 12 very slow repetitions for each set. Focus upon bringing the weight up to the belly button with each repetition, and pausing momentarily. At the conclusion of this set, your upper back will be torched.

It’s now time to get the traps and shoulders involved! Begin with three sets of upright rowing. This movement will warm up the shoulders and traps, but can be skipped if you suffer from any rotator cuff injuries, as upright rows can be very stressful on the AC and RC joints. Barbell shrugs come next. Due to the limited range of motion and comparatively few muscle fibers available for stimulation, you will want to use both high and low repetition work to activate both the slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Sets 1 and 2 should consist of 15 and 12 repetitions, respectively. As you add the 45-pound plates, sets 3 and 4 should be in the 6 to 8 repetition range. Finally, move down the weight and knock out two more sets of 15 to 20 repetitions to finish off the traps for the day.

Your shoulder training will be limited to front deltoid work using overhead barbell presses, but your side and rear deltoids will receive some secondary stimulation as well. If you have access to dumbbells (or just wish to use plates in lieu of dumbbells) a few sets of side and bent over dumbbell lateral raises should be added to the tail end of your routine. Otherwise, a simple straight shot of 5 sets of overhead barbell presses should suffice.

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