For sheer size, Wilmore says there’s nothing better than free weights: “With free weights, you have to balance everything yourself, so you end up using more muscles. Basically, with one freeweight movement — such as T-bar rows, one-arm dumbbell rows or military presses — you’re working the target muscle, plus a lot of stabilizers. The result is more all-around size because of the greater workload.”
Wilmore’s back training focuses mainly on movements for thickness, since he feels he has more than enough width at this point. “Early in my training, I did plenty of chins and wide-grip lat pulldowns,” Wilmore remembers. “I still do those movements, but they take second billing to free-weight rowing exercises. The more mass and thickness you have in your back, the deeper the separation and detail once you diet down. That adds a three-dimensional quality to it.”
Instead of the machines seen in most gyms, Wilmore opts for the old-school version by placing one end of an Olympic bar in the corner and hooking a V-bar handle underneath the opposite end. “This goes back to the days of Arnold [Schwarzenegger] and Franco [Columbu],” Wilmore says. “With machines, you’re locked into a certain groove, but with free weights, you’re in total control. Plus, it’s harder doing them like this, so I figure it’s better for me.”
Arch your back at the top for a complete contraction
Look straight ahead and keep your head level
Pull to your lower abs
Keep your elbows in tight to your body
At the top, hold it and squeeze, mimicking the Christmas-tree pose onstage
DUMBBELL ROWS
Wilmore likes these for their increased range of motion. “You’re not limited by the bar,” he explains. “You can exaggerate the stretch at the bottom and take it back as far as possible at the top. Working one arm at a time [unilateral training] lets you focus a little bit more on each side, which is always good for improving symmetry.”
Arch your back at the top for a complete contraction
Pull to your lower abs
Keep your elbow in tight to your body
Let the dumbbell drift forward a little at the bottom for a better stretch
Avoid lifting your torso and straightening your leg at the top
Wilmore makes presses a staple of his shoulder training. “They’re the most basic shoulder exercise of all, and should be the meat and potatoes of every delt workout,” Wilmore says. “Presses work the entire shoulder muscle, which is why I always include some form of them, whether it’s with a barbell or dumbbells.”
Use a slightly wider-than-shoulder-width grip
Keep your head facing up toward the ceiling
Keep your back flat and chest out
Lower the bar to your chin
Stop just short of full lockout to keep constant tension on the shoulders
SHRUGS
Traps are one of the few muscles that can be seen from both the front and rear, and they play a major role in complete shoulder and back development. Wilmore recommends shrugs with barbells, dumbbells and machines. “There’s no better exercise to hit the traps directly than shrugs,” Wilmore insists. “It doesn’t really involve too much else besides the traps. It’s pretty simple without a lot of moving parts, but you still have to concentrate on proper form to get the most out of them.”
Lower all the way to the bottom and let the weight hang to stretch the traps
Keep your arms straight; do not bend to lift the weight
