Chris Bumstead has been over the moon after his big win at the 2023 Mr. Olympia. Winning his fifth Classic Physique division title, Chris Bumstead is one of the GOATs of bodybuilding for a reason. Once the competitions concluded, the bodybuilder decided to take a break from his most beloved sport. CBum, who regularly uploads his workout routine on his YouTube channel, uploaded a video of his full-back workout before his hiatus.
A video of Cbums’ back workout from last year has resurfaced over the internet. In the video, he speaks about the various exercises and routines he focuses on for full-back workouts. Before getting into his routine, he says that he is exhausted continuously and that his body can’t push enough after a show. He says:
“I probably need to give myself adequate rest because, for the last two weeks since the Olympia, I’ve been sleeping most nights like 8 to 9 hours in bed. I only sleep like 6 -7 hours.”
He further says that he is recovering now and wants to start training by doing a little more super sets, a little more volume, and pushing himself a little less. Speaking about his back workout, he mentioned that ‘stretch’ is his favorite one. Let’s dive deep to learn about the multiple workouts for Cbums’ back.
Wide neutral grip lat pulldown
In the wide neutral grip lat pulldown, CBum warms up his back muscles first. This workout primarily targets the latissimus dorsi muscles in the back but also activates major pulling muscles like the trapezius, teres major, teres minor, and biceps. Bumstead performs this workout with a shovel handle that enables a neutral grip. After a few warm-up sets, CBum did a drop set to complete the drill.
Nautilus Pullover machine
Bumstead began the workout with warm-up sets on the pullover machine. He didn’t seem to train rigorously, but he let himself come back into routine. Bumstead once spoke about his back routine and how he likes to fire up the back with this exercise.
“My back is fu***ng random. I do like two working sets. One of them is optional, like a droplet or something. If I feel good, I’ll do three, but typically two, working sets. Six exercises; warm up with some pullovers.”
Plate-loaded, seated low-row
Bumstead then moved on to the next set of exercises, which was the plate-loaded seated low row. He cranked out some heavy sets on the Seated Row machine. He kept his weight on the highest horn, making it difficult to lock the movement on contraction.
Hence, adding weight to the lower and middle plate horns suits the bodybuilder better. It helps him get a good contraction while lifting heavy. Chris Bumstead, however, did not seem happy with the workout in the video and wanted to work out more heavy. He shifted to the next set of exercises for his back, the chest-supported dumbbell row.
Chest-supported dumbbell row
CBum shifted towards the chest-supported exercises with dumbbell rows. He completed a few reps, took a break, and did a few more sets before tiring out. In the video, Bumseatd further mentioned that he will switch his workouts a little once he figures it out.
“I’m going to be doing a little bit less intensity, like row split style. So I’m going to do like kind of a push-pull legs variation, but not quite. Just so, I’m not doing like six exercises on the chest.”
View this post on Instagram
He further cites that this is not his favorite way to train, as his chest locks up. However, he is trying to allow his body to relax a little bit and still train for everything he needs to do. Bumstead is now focusing on his recovery period after the Olympia and what he needs to do.
Pull-ups
In the video, Bumstead is seen doing pull-ups as part of his back workout. However, he states that he cannot do pull-ups.
“I’m going to do a murf in 6 months. The main thing is I can’t do pull-ups. So I’ll do pull-ups every day for the next 6 months.”
Bumstead hangs from a pullup bar with his hands spaced wider than his shoulders. This method contracts your lats and pulls up until your chin is over the bar. Lower yourself slowly. On weighted pullups, fasten a dip belt around your hips and add weight until you can’t complete more than 6 to 8 reps. Bumstead says:
“If you can do 20, then you should do 10. Cause if you get close to failure, your recovery screws up the set.”
In conclusion, when following Chris Bumstead’s back workout, your muscles will tire out quickly. It’s always best to start slowly and increase weight gradually. If you do not feel a pump, lower the weight and focus on contracting your back with every rep.
