Bodybuilder Blessing Awodibu is working hard to earn the second qualification to the Olympia stage. He recently dealt with a back workout to prepare for the next show.
Blessing Awodibu is an Irish professional bodybuilder that competes in the Men’s Open division of the IFBB Pro League. The outspoken and brash bodybuilder is one of the better self promoters in the sport and has got a lot of media attention as a result. The 31-year-old made his pro debut with a third place finish at the 2021 Indy Pro. However, he hit the pause button on his career after a lackluster performance at the 2021 New York Pro a week later.
‘The Boogeyman’ utilized the time away from the sport to make massive improvements and came back with vengeance. He kicked off the 2022 competitive season with a win at the 2022 Indy Pro, earning direct qualification to the 2022 Olympia. He tested himself once again at the 2022 New York Pro and captured the trophy.
2022 Olympia featured the most difficult line-up of competitors in recent history with the mix of veterans, top contenders and rising prospects. Anticipation about Michal Krizo and Andrew Jacked’s debut was one of the talking points heading into the show. However, Awodibu skillfully inserted his name in the mix by reigniting the rivalry with Michal Krizo and Nick Walker. He ultimately fell short on the grandest stage of bodybuilding and finished sixteenth.
Blessing Awodibu goes through a massive back workout
Awodibu last competed at the 2023 Chicago Pro in an attempt to earn the direct qualification to the 2023 Olympia. However, his conditioning was not on point and he ultimately finished fourth at the show. The Irishman did not stop working and has looked good in his recent physique updates. He plans to compete in Italy and Spain next to earn his second Olympia qualification.
Awodibu’s quest to earn the 2023 Olympia qualification is on as the window is eventually going to close down. He recently tackled a back workout to improve his physique. The video of this training session was posted on Muscle & Strength YouTube channel. So let’s go right at it and check out how Awodibu built that titanic back!
Machine Shrugs
Awodibu believes that the back is the strongest part of his physique. While getting fullness and conditioning are relatively easier tasks in isolation, striking a balance between both to get a stage-worthy physique is a challenging task. Awodibu kicked off his quest for a perfect back with machine shrugs and performed some heavy sets to train the trapezius muscles.
“I love training traps. For me, I think they really enhance my physique. I normally start my back workout with traps – Just one shrug exercise. I just hope I’ll overload them and then I move on to something else,” Awodibu said.
Superset – Chest Supported Rows and Dumbbell Rear Delt Flyes
The 2022 New York Pro winner took to chest supported row, a horizontal pulling movement to add some thickness to the back. Chest supported rows help build upper back strength and hence contribute towards improving posture. The 31-year-old superset this exercise with the rear delt rows.
Rear delts or posterior deltoids are classified as a part of shoulders. However, many bodybuilders prefer to train the rear delts in their back workout as they are heavily stimulated during compound pulling movements. Blessing Awodibu tries to balance the best of both worlds. He said:
“I make sure to hit them on shoulder day too. It’s not a regular thing on back days. But some days that I know I have a little bit more time, I make sure I hit them after traps.”
Awodibu feels that rear delts are very important for a professional bodybuilder’s physique to stand out.
“It just makes you look more 3D, pops out and again, gives you a better v-taper from the back,” Awodibu said.
After executing this superset to heavily stimulate the upper back and rear delts, Awodibu jumped into another rowing exercise.
Plate-Loaded Rows
The Boogeyman tackled plate-loaded rows next to stimulate the back. This variation of rows works the rhomboids. Latissimus dorsi, erector spinae as well as the trapezius muscles. Awodibu rowed some heavy weights to target these muscles and moved on to a free weight exercise.
Bent Over Barbell Rows
Awodibu has been dealing with lower back pain over the last few months. As a result, he prefers machine variations of exercises like T-bar rows to mitigate his way around the pain. But he felt good during this training session and did not miss the opportunity to benefit from some good ol’ bent over barbell rows. Some heavy working sets of the rows followed a warm-up set and Awodibu then proceeded to the finisher of the day.
Superset – One Arm Lat Pulldown and Cable Pullover
The workout reached conclusion after this superset. Awodibu first did the one arm lat pulldown on an iso-lateral plate loaded machine to target the lats. Unilateral movements help build mind-muscle connection more effectively and also help eliminate strength imbalances.
He superset the movement with cable pullovers. This isolation movement isolates the lats without having to involve biceps. Additionally, it is better for shoulder dexterity. Awodibu performed both exercises in rapid succession, maintaining short rest periods and called it a day in the gym.
Overall, the workout included:
- Machine Shrugs – 4 sets of 12 reps
- Superset – Chest Supported Rows and Dumbbell Rear Delt Flyes – 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps for each exercise
- Plate-Loaded Rows – 4 sets of 10 reps
- Bent Over Barbell Rows – 4 sets of 10 reps
- Superset – One Arm Lat Pulldown and Cable Pullover – 4 sets of 10 reps for each exercise
Blessing Awodibu has proven that he can come back stronger after losses. If he stays the course for the next few months, ‘The Boogeyman’ can certainly earn another invitation to the Olympia stage.
You can watch the workout video below, courtesy of Muscle & Strength YouTube channel:
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