Seven-time Figure Olympia Cydney Gillon is constantly breaking down training routines for her followers, making it easier for anyone to achieve their fitness goals. In a recent YouTube video, Cydney Gillon shares a back workout perfect for beginners.
“It’s seven-time Figure Olympia champion Cydney Gillon and we are here to walk you through the beginner version of how to do back. I’m going to take you through a few staple exercises, of course there will be variations to them, of course there are more things that you can do, but this is what you can start with if you have no idea what you’re doing and you’re in the gym for the first time and you’re trying to figure out and you’re trying to get your health on track.”
Over the years, Cydney Gillon has established herself as a dominant competitor in the Figure Olympia category after successfully earning and defending the title for seven straight years. Gillon has gained a reputation for having her symmetry and conditioning locked in while boasting awe-inspiring aesthetics.
Cydney Gillon Shares Blueprint for Building an Effective Back Training Routine
Even while keeping up with her busy schedule of being an elite bodybuilder, Cydney Gillon makes it a point to share her knowledge regarding fitness and nutrition with her fans. Through her social media, Gillon breaks down exercises to help target specific areas of the body including glutes, legs, and even high-intensity interval training routines.
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In her latest venture, Cydney Gillon shared a YouTube video that focused on a back-day workout perfect for beginners who need a good place to start.
Cydney Gillon’s Back Day Workout For Beginners
- Low Pulley Row
- Pulldown
- T-Bar Row
- One-Armed Dumbbell Row
Low Pulley Row
Kicking off her back day workout, Cydney Gillon begins with low pulley rows and explains how she prefers to be positioned for this exercise, emphasizing the importance of activating the lats, not the arms.
“There’s options, just depending on where you feel it the most and where you want to activate is what machine and what attachment you’ll use. So, first things first, I set my weight. I’m going to scoot up. Get up tight on the machine. Get my handles ready. Hands wrapped around, from there, depending on the machine, I go high foot on this one because my legs are short.”
“I stay close, my abs are tight, my booty is back. I’m going to push back first. Get my feet lower, because I like to keep mine a little bit low so that way my knees are in the way when I start to pull, when I start to pull, I’m going to use my lats first not my arms.”
Pulldown
Next, Gillon moves into pulldowns which she describes as a staple in any back routine.
“Pull downs should also be a staple in your routine. You have rows and pull downs, you have two options, you just switch up the handles.But it’s basically the same concept how you’re doing your workout for your back day.”
She also gave body positioning tips.
“For here, the seat is generally like this, it’s usually a cable machine that goes like so. If you want to see where your seat needs to be, for me, I like to have no space between my pad and my legs.”
“Pull through to the top of my chest. Now, it doesn’t always have to go to the top of your chest. You can go under your chest if you want a deeper stretch more in the mid-back.”
She quickly goes over the different variations you can choose from and demonstrates how to lower the machine to pull off a reverse version.
“So option one, straight to the top of the chest. Option two, under the chest but slightly lean back. Another variation, if you’re crunching for time and you want to kind of stay in the same area and there’s a lot of people in your gym at the same time. You have another variation you could do where you go reverse. This you could drop it down a little bit lower,” says Gillon.”
T-Bar Row
Cydney Gillon revealed that the T-bar row was her favorite as a kid and explained how it is ideal for hitting the middle of the back.
“This one I loved as a kid. It’s just a standard t-bar row. Now, t-bar row-wise, you have option to take this grip. I generally measure my thumbs to make sure my hands are in the exact same place.”
“This one is really good for getting that meat through the middle of the back. Same concept though. Watching where the machine lines up, see if your thumbs match, see where everything is, that way everything is always equal.”
One-Armed Dumbbell Row
For the final exercise, Cydney Gillon goes into detail about how to execute the proper form to ensure you engage the back during one-armed dumbbell rows.
“This is to be able to show you what you can do if you have these pieces at your house or you’re generally at any gym around the country, it has a pull down, it generally has a t-bar row, it has a row machine. This is showing you what your form should look like and why you’re doing these motions.”
“Every gym has a dumbbell,” adds Gillon. “We’re going to do a bent over dumbbell. You can go a little higher than this bar thing, generally. If I wasn’t filming I’d probably use a bench or the actual dumbbell rack, since I’m not going to be in the way.”
She offered insight on where to place your feet.
“Step my foot back, start rolling my right arm, that means my left foot is my base. My right foot steps back about a foot’s length, I’m going to take my hand actually going to scoop it more to have more range of motion. Here, I’m going to let my arm hang a little bit and my abs are tight.”
While focusing on the lats for this movement, Cydney Gillon also emphasizes that you should always start with your weaker side first.
“I’m going to keep this facing version right here. When I start to row, I’m going to let that stretch happen through the back of that hip and the back of that lat, rotate, and let my lat pull through.”
“Drive my elbow up. Now, when I’m doing this, notice my arm isn’t going here, it’s not back here doing a tricep kickback, I’m pulling through and driving to the side of my hip right in this area. So when you’re rowing, that’s exactly what you want to do. Again, start with your weaker side.”
Cydney Gillon consistently gives back to the fitness community through her social media content. Gillon regularly shares her tips and tricks whether it’s ways to prepare for a contest as a natural bodybuilder or even providing inspiration.
As one of the most accomplished Olympia champions on stage today, beginners to experts can learn something from Cydney Gillon. Fans look forward to seeing her step back on stage this October at the 2024 Mr. Olympia show!
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