Exercise Scientist Tries LeanBeefPatty’s Back Workout (Is It Actually Good?)

Mike had not jump roped since childhood; he tripped multiple times but still felt it was an effective warm-up.

Pull-ups require high motor unit recruitment even at low reps because of the bodyweight load; meeting 'minimum threshold' activation across submaximal sets drives hypertrophy without excessive damage.

He did 12, 10, 8, 4, and others to reach 40, starting with lat pulldown warm-ups because he weighs 228 lbs and is 41 years old.

When the bar descends below shoulder height, the line of pull becomes more vertical relative to the torso, demanding more elbow extension (triceps) and pectoral engagement rather than lat adduction.

He performed 4 sets of 10–12 with a controlled eccentric, noting that it's an effective way to maximize utility from each rep.

He says he's prioritizing upper back width over thickness currently, so rows are low priority, but when he does them he avoids the dumbbell chest-supported version.

The biceps crosses the shoulder and elbow and has greatest leverage as a supinator/elbow flexor when the forearm is supinated; hammer-grip relies more on brachioradialis and brachialis, which are heavily loaded during rows/pull-ups.

He says: 'I typically am not a big fan of hammer curls... I like to keep all of my curls, as many as possible, pretty goddamn supinated.'

Deltoids are short-muscle groups with limited eccentric loading under stretch, reducing mechanical tension-induced damage and allowing faster recovery, so frequency and volume can be higher than for larger muscle groups.

He says: 'I'm going to do something like a little different because I need like fucking bigger delts. I just had enough. And so I'm going to do like a 20 arm weight or so and I'm going to do a sum total of like 80 reps.'

Traditional warm-ups often involve static stretching or light cardio; jump rope provides ballistic movement specific to lifting.

He attempted it in the video, missing occasionally, and noted it was the first time since childhood. 'I haven't jump roped since I was like 10 or something.'

Conventional arm routines often mix grip positions. Hammer curls are thought to target brachialis and brachioradialis, but Mike sees them as redundant given daily pulling.

He states: 'I typically am not a big fan of hammer curls because if you notice like almost all of your pulling movements you do, pull-ups, rows, etc. are in that position anyway.' He then did the programmed superset but clearly prefers supinated curls.

Dumbbell chest-supported rows are often touted as a way to protect the lower back while hitting the mid-back, but the independent handling of dumbbells introduces instability that limits loading.

He says: 'I absolutely do not love this exercise because of the instability of the dumbbells, your total force output's going to be substantially lower than it would be like on a 45° like chest support row, like a proper one with one connector. Like a corner row, landmine row.'

Typical programs prescribe moderate volume for shoulders, but Mike argues their small size and inability to be stretched deeply allows extreme training frequency/volume.

He says: 'I'm used to this much volume, so I need more. 4 by 12 is not cutting it... your girl's getting big delts or bust.' He used 20 lb arms and did 80 reps.