bigshug, you should definitely listen to your body with respect to being warmed-up. If you pull in a cooled environment, be sure to wear 2-3 shirts and/or a heavy sweatshirt. This helps a lot.
My last meet was in an air conditioned expo hall - TERRIBLE. When I lift, the hotter I am, the better (and the safer I feel). As soon as I got there, I called my wife and told her to bring my winter coat with her. Of course, I had a big sweatshirt with me already. Beause of the way the meet was run, you would have to wait about 10 minutes between attempts, which placed an even greater emphasis on staying warm. So between attempts, I'd throw on my warm-up's and my sweatshirt and the winter coat. I'm sure most people in the crowd thought I was nuts. I soaked the coat, LOL, but I stayed very warm. And that's what's important when you're moving a lot of weight.
So what I'm saying is you're the one who knows when you're warm. Just do as little as it takes to get warmed-up thoroughly.
With regards to my routine....I also used to do a ridiculous number of sets on back day. 1-2 heavy sets of pulls (back then, mid-5's x 5 was heavy) followed by about 20 more sets of various rows. I always wondered why my back was always sore, LOL. What a moron!
My goal now is to hit every muscle group (HEAVY) 2-3 times within any given 7-10 day period. The only way I can do that with the degree of intensity that I expect from myself is by limiting the volume of work.
If you're content with training a muscle group once per week, then you may be able to get away with a higher volume. But you've already complained about lower back issues. BTW, regardless of my chosen training protocol, I would NEVER pull and bent row on the same day. That's asking for lower back problems.
Also, the more advanced you become, you'll realize that you will need less volume because you'll be recruiting a much greater percentage of available muscle fibers due to having a more efficient CNS than a less advanced lifter. That's why 80+% of 1RM is so BRUTAL to an advanced lifter while a beginner could do multiple sets of 5 or 6 reps without thinking twice.
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