Modern-day bodybuilders still aspire to build a back like Ronnie Coleman's. And when you get suggestions or special tips from the 8-time Mr. Olympia, it's definitely worth paying attention.

On June 9, Coleman took to his Instagram account and shared an old short clip of himself performing a specific back exercise.

In the caption, he revealed the name of the exercise by saying,

“You want those thick, dense back muscles!! Heavy bent over rows will do the job every time…. Yeah, buddy!!”

Bent-over rows became central to Coleman's Mr. Olympia dominance.

According to a January 29 post on the Instagram account of Iron Addict,

“In 1997, after placing sixth at the Mr. Olympia competition, Ronnie Coleman implemented significant changes to his physique, particularly focusing on his back development through a high-intensity routine. His 1997 back workout began with bent-over rows, starting with 135 lbs for 15 reps using strict form before progressing through sets of 225 lbs and 315 lbs for 12 to 15 reps. If he felt his muscles had not yet reached failure, he would add a final set with 405 lbs.”

As a result, he earned exceptional points at the 1998 Mr. Olympia and won the title that year.

Apart from bent-over rows, what other workouts did the bodybuilding legend do to build an impressive back?

Ronnie Coleman's other back workouts for the Mr. Olympia title

The workout session continued with T-bar rows. For warm-up, Coleman used to do 15 reps with 4 plates, then transitioned to working sets of 12 reps at 6 plates.

Coleman increased the weight by 1 plate per set and completed 4-5 sets in total.

The post on Iron Addict added,

“To further enhance his back width and thickness, he prioritized seated cable rows, focusing on a full stretch at the end of each rep for three sets of 15 reps at 200 lbs.

He concluded the session with wide-grip cable lat pull-downs, pulling the bar to his upper back for three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps to maximize upper lat development.”

He opted to train his back more than once a week.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil