To prepare for the 2023 Olympia, Men’s Physique competitors Ryan Terry and Sadik Hadzovik met at an East Coast gym to train back less than one week from the big stage. While Hadzovik isn’t on any of the 2023 Olympia rosters, Terry has packed on muscle tissue thanks to the updated weight caps and seeks his first Olympia title — his highest finish is second in 2016; he ranked seventh overall in 2022. Terry published his back workout with Hadzovik on Terry’s YouTube channel on Oct. 29, 2023. Check it out below:
[Related: Chris Bumstead & Urs Kalecinski Train Arms Together One Week Before the 2023 Olympia]
Terry’s & Hadzovik’s Back Workout
Below is a breakdown of the Men’s Physique rivals back day:
- Bench-Supported Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
- Seated Single-Arm Cable Row
- T-Bar Row
- Wide Grip Seated Cable Row
- Machine Row
- High Cable Pulldown
- Machine Pulldown
Before lifting, Terry foam rolled to loosen knots and improve mobility. Terry remained motivated through the fatigue caused by his calories deficit during peak week by training with a fellow “OG” athlete of Men’s Physique. Hadzovik mentioned that if Terry’s energy were still high, something would be wrong, “This far away from the Olympia, you shouldn’t really have a ton of energy. You should use your drive to propel you through the workout.”
Bench-Supported Single-Arm Lat Pulldown
Bench-supported single-arm lat pulldowns opened the workout. They hoisted a weight bench to an incline next to a cable machine with a single-handle attachment. While lying sideways on the bench, Hadzovik grabbed the handle for lat pulldowns.
Lying sideways allowed them to pull the cable through a greater range of motion to target their lats. Unilateral pulldowns helped them fully contract their lats to their fully shortened position via a conscious mind-muscle connection.
Seated Single-Arm Cable Row & T Bar Row
The seated cable rows — a horizontal pull — complimented the vertical pull of the pulldowns. Terry protracted his shoulder blades forward for a deep stretch before his concentrics. He extended the load slowly and paused for plenty of time under tension — a tried and true methodology Terry has used during his pro career.
Pyramid training T-bar rows with two 45-pound weight plates were next. The V-bar attachment maintained their hand position closer to a neutral grip to offer the intended line of pull.
(@ryanjterry)[Related: Nick Walker Withdraws From the 2023 Mr. Olympia Due to Hamstring Tear]
Seated Rows & Pulldowns
Another horizontal row variation with a wider grip followed. Wide grip cable rows target the upper back and rear delts. Machine rows promote density in the mid-back. The high cable pulldowns and machine pulldowns were tagged at the end of their workout to push them to exhaustion.
Despite being less than a week from the Olympia stage, Terry lifted heavy at lower reps (i.e., the intensity was high while the volume was low). We’ll see if Terry’s updated physique can help him fend off the return of four-time Men’s Physique Olympia champion Jeremy Buendia and help dethrone the reigning champion Erin Banks.
Featured image: @ryanjterry on Instagram
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