3-time Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead and Raw teammate Brett Wilkin get together to hit an intense back workout. This is a great back workout to build some thickness and width to the lats, so if that's a weak point of yours, then continue on.
Chris Bumstead & Brett Wilkin Back Workout
The video starts with Bumstead AKA CBUM going over some updates of his supplements that are being released with Raw.
Once in the gym, Bumstead introduces Brett Wilkin, AKA The Butcher. He said that he's smaller than Wilkin, so he'll follow Brett's lead for the workout.
Lat Pulldowns
The two big men start on lat pulldowns using Prime grips. Wilkin helps Bumstead squeeze out a few more reps as he encourages him to bring his elbows through at the bottom of the movement.
The benefit of using the Prime grips is that they can rotate at the wrists to keep their elbows tucked as they pull down. The two talk about their forearms being on fire after 10 reps when the brachialis has to work overtime to keep the load coming down. It looks like the pair hits 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps here.
Machine Rows
The second exercise in the back workout is the machine row. Once again, this machine allows for some movement at the wrists, enabling them to keep the elbows tucked and get a great back contraction. They take turns with this one while pushing each other to squeeze out a few more reps. Bumstead talks about squeezing his back at the top bottom of his reps and imagines himself posing on stage to help with his mind-muscle connection.
Chest Supported Rows
The third exercise is chest-supported rows, where they're pulling 3 x 45lb plates. In this exercise, we see the famed bodybuilding coach Matt Jansen get involved with spotting the lift and encouraging the increased range of motion. Once again, the guys look like they're hitting anywhere from 8-15 reps.
T-Bar Rows
The fourth exercise the pair tackle is the T-bar row, where they have 5 plates loaded up. Again, you can hear the coach, Jansen telling them to let the bar down in a slow, controlled manner to get a good stretch. Again, the rep scheme is in the 10-15 range here, and we can assume 1-2 sets.
Straight Arm Pulldown
The fifth exercise of this back workout sees the two on the cable machine. With this exercise, they focus on getting a great contraction at the bottom while moving in a slow controlled negative of 2-3 seconds.
Seated Cable Rows
The last exercise we see CBUM hit is seated rows where it looks like they're going for a burnout or failure set.
Wrapping up the video, Bumstead talks about the need to really focus on 1-2 working sets saying the volume is enough to grow.
Sample Chris Bumstead & Brett Wilkin Back Workout
With this workout, the focus is on getting maximum contraction and range of motion while still using relatively heavy loads.
- Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Machine Rows: 2 sets x 10-12 reps
- Chest Supported Rows: 2 sets x 12-15 reps
- T-bar Rows: 2 sets x 10-15 reps
- Straight Arm Pulldowns: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (3-second negative)
- Seated Cable Rows: 1 set x failure
Note: Keep rests between sets 45-90 seconds.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
It's interesting to see Chris Bumstead keep the pace with Wilkin, who is the bigger guy and in the Open division. The two worked well together and show that having a workout partner can help to push you past your limits.
If you give this workout a try, let us know in the comments!
Related:
- Chris Bumstead Shares Shoulder Workout
- Bodybuilder Chris Bumstead Workout Routine & Diet
- Brett Wilkin Delivers Extreme Leg Workout
Kiel DiGiovanni
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