As the world’s greatest bodybuilders get ever closer to Olympia, they know that each and every gym session is an opportunity to head towards making history. One man that exemplifies this ethos is the two-time 212 Olympia champion, Shaun Clarida, as he shares how he blasts his back.
“There’s no such thing as being comfortable in this game,” wrote The Giant Killer in an Instagram post on July, 29, 2024. “Achieving greatness is only found outside your comfort zone.”
Shaun Clarida’s Top 5 Back Exercises For Olympia Training
Here are the go-to exercises for building his back, shared by the man himself. Clarida performs 2 sets of each exercise. Aim for 8-12 heavy reps to gaining muscle.
Pulldowns
Pulldowns are great for adding mass to the lats and strengthening the back, promoting better posture and overall stability. As Clarida demonstrates with his variation, it is important to be upright, and not lean backwards.
Chest Support Rows
The chest support keeps you centered, forcing the back muscles to be the primary load bearer here. You will also work the biceps as you can’t move the weight without your arms. Rows will train your upper, middle, and lower traps in addition to your rhomboids. To a lesser extent, they will also hit the lats.
Barbell Rows
Bent-over barbell rows will build your back and shoulders. You’ll lift the barbell from the floor and then bend over slightly so that your chest is parallel with the ground. From here, you raise and lower the bar for reps. The process of pumping out these bad boys will give you an all-over back workout, activating all the major primary mover muscles as well as the synergistic stabilizing muscles.
Dumbbell High Row
High rows are another compound movement meaning that you’ll train multiple muscles and can work with heavy loads for mega mass gains. High rows will work your upper-back including the delts, thus helping to you to add width to your shoulders. To get the most out of this move, make sure to get a stretch at the bottom of the row and then squeeze at the top in order to engage those posterior shoulder muscles.
Linear Row
The linear row machine that The Giant Killer steps into may not be at your local gym, but you can experiment with the standing cable row. Here, you will tax almost every muscle in the back, in addition to your triceps, biceps, chest, and core, as you lift the load from the ground., making this a great finishing exercise to make sure you’ve worked those muscles to, or close to failure.
Ready for more? Clarida also recently shared his leg day workout, click here to try it out.