Joseph Baena isn't hiding where his training style comes from. His latest back day looks like it was pulled straight from his father's own workout diary.

The actor and fitness enthusiast, son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, regularly shares his Golden Era-inspired sessions on social media. This one leaned heavily into old-school bodybuilding staples — heavy rows, plenty of pull-ups, deep lat stretches, and a constant emphasis on actually feeling the muscle work.

"The back is my favorite body part to train," Baena said as per Men’s Health. "Filling out the lats, rear delts and traps can completely change your physique."

As published by Andrew Tracey of Men’s Health, here are the four exercises he uses to get some serious back gains.

1. Pull-ups

Baena opens with pull-ups, targeting 50 total reps across five sets of 10. 

"I start with this to warm up. Pump up the lats and gives me a nice stretch for the shoulders," he said.

 Rather than locking into a rigid set count, his real goal is hitting that 50-rep total, however many sets it takes.

2. T-Bar rows

From there, he moves to T-bar rows for four sets of 10. It's the exercise Baena rates above all others. 

"This is probably my favourite exercise ever," Baena said. "So good for building thickness in the back and it's an exercise you can really go heavy on."

Where the pull-ups handle vertical pulling, the T-bar row adds a horizontal pull that hits the lats, traps, rhomboids and rear delts.

3. High-cable rows

High cable rows follow for three sets of 10 to 12, performed with elbows flared to shift emphasis toward the upper back. 

"Traps and rear delts totally engaged," Baena said. 

He also flagged a caution for less experienced lifters, warning against copying his exaggerated forward stretch between reps. 

4. Single-arm pulldown

The session closes with single-arm pulldowns, three sets of 10 per side. Baena doesn't use the move regularly, but brings it in when needed. 

"I don't normally do these, but feel it's necessary to even out the activation in the lat if I feel like one side is lacking in size or engagement," he explained. 

Training unilaterally helps prevent a stronger side from dominating the movement and masking imbalances.

Apart from an impressive back, Baena also boasts his father's genetics in the pectoral area.

Joseph Baena shares chest workout

Baena’s father, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was a complete bodybuilder in his prime. But there was one part of his body that still has no equal: his chest. Now, his son is carrying the same legacy, and he recently shared his chest workout with his followers.

As published by Philip Ellis of Men’s Health, the session runs five exercises deep. 

It opens with incline bench press, 6 sets of 10, with weight increasing every other set. From there, Baena moves to flat bench dumbbell press, 4 sets of 10 to 12, followed by the incline press machine for 4 sets of 10 with a five-rep drop set added at the end.

Dumbbell flys come next, 4 sets of 12, before Baena closes the workout with bodyweight dips taken to failure across four sets.

Baena's fitness journey started in the pool as a competitive swimmer before he transitioned into bodybuilding, often training alongside his father at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach.

Written by

Zaid Quraishi

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi