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Ronnie Coleman is a retired American professional bodybuilder, best known for winning the Mr. Olympia title (international bodybuilding contest) eight years in a row. Along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Coleman is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.
Coleman has won 26 IFBB professional titles during his illustrious career. He's best known for having a great hulking and muscular back, for which he regularly performed exercises targeting the back muscles, such as deadlift, lat pull down, barbell rows and others.
In this article, we will look at some of Ronnie's favourite exercises.
Ronnie Coleman’s Favourite Back Exercises
Ronnie Coleman used to alternate between two sets of back workouts, one to increase back thickness and the other to increase width. By focusing on both simultaneously, Coleman developed his legendary back muscles evenly and in excruciating detail:
To Increase Thickness
1) Deadlifts
Deadlifts work out almost the entire posterior chain of muscles, including the lats, lower back, glutes and hamstrings. As such, they are an excellent exercise for beginners to strengthen their back.
Deadlifts also help build muscle, core stability and gripping strength - all important factors in eventually getting a muscular back like Ronnie Coleman.
2) Barbell Rows
Ronnie Coleman recommends barbell rows as an excellent explosive exercise that can help you build muscles quickly, as well as widen your back.
Regular inclusion of barbell rows can increase your back strength pretty quickly, making it one of the best lifts to build wider and thicker back muscles. The exercise works out your entire back musculature and is also useful for progressive strength gains.
3) T-Bar Rows
The T-Bar row is an isolated strength movement that's very popular in the bodybuilding arena.
It effectively isolates your upper back and lats while also activating several other muscle groups, such as the rear delts, biceps, hamstrings, glutes and abdominals. It's a great exercise to improve muscle maturity and build a thick, muscular back like Ronnie Coleman's.
4) One Arm Dumbbell Row
One arm dumbbell row is another of Ronnie Coleman's favourite exercises to build muscular strength in the back and upper arms. The movement specifically targets your upper and lower back, shoulders, biceps and hips while improving core stability. Make sure to include this one in your routine to get a strong back.
To Increase Width
1) Seated Cable Row
Seated cable row is yet another exercise that Coleman used to do to build his hulking back. Seated cable rows work out your latissimus dorsi (middle back), rhomboids (between shoulder blades), trapezius muscles (neck, shoulders and upper back) and the biceps brachii (front of the upper arm). The exercise can help build strength and muscle in your upper back.
2) Lever Machine Pulldown
This exercise specifically targets your lats and latissimus dorsi muscles and can help you grow them over time to achieve a back like Ronnie Coleman's. It's a great exercise to help correct wrong posture as well.
3) Underhand Front Pulldown
This is another of Coleman's favourite exercises to build his super strong, beefy back. The underhand-grip lat pulldown builds strength in the back, biceps and forearms while working the biceps more than a typical overhand grip does.
