Men’s Physique talent Erin Banks is out for redemption this year after coming up short in his last Mr. Olympia contest. In a recent YouTube video, Banks executed an intense back workout in preparation for the nearing 2024 Dubai Pro show on July 28.
Erin Banks, a thriving star in the Men’s Physique category, has wowed fans on stage with his gnarly back thickness. In 2022, Banks left his mark on the bodybuilding world when he secured not only the 2022 Arnold Classic win but also the Men’s Physique Olympia title. His awe-inspiring stature and defined lats played a role in the upset victory over former three-time champion Brandon Hendrickson.
His back-to-back wins in 2022 solidified Erin Banks as the first Men’s Physique competitor to earn both the Arnold Classic and Olympia titles in the same year. Intent on continuing the streak, Banks took to the stage at the 2023 Arnold Classic, where his supreme muscle separation led to a successful title defense.
Unfortunately, his winning streak would soon come to an end. Just before the Mr. Olympia competition, Banks took a major risk at the 2023 Legion Sports Fest Pro, where he ultimately lost to Kyron Holden. While he could have sat this one out and waited to compete at the 2023 Olympia to defend his title, Banks bets on himself but it didn’t go his way.
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Erin Banks Smokes ‘Crazy’ Back Workout 7 Weeks Before 2024 Dubai Pro Show
His momentum was drastically affected after his loss at Legion Sports Fest Pro, which led to him failing to defend his title at the 2023 Mr. Olympia. Instead, Ryan Terry claimed gold in the highly competitive category followed by former champion Brandon Hendrickson, leaving Banks in third place.
While Erin Banks has been relatively quiet during this bodybuilding season, he recently took to YouTube where he shared that he is seven weeks out from competing at the 2024 Dubai Pro show.
“We are seven weeks out… damn! Seven weeks out, Dubai Pro, y’all are going to see me very soon. I’ll be in Dubai in maybe four weeks. Yeah four weeks, we’re going to make it happen. We got back today. We going to destroy it. We going to do some crazy shit.”
To prepare for the stage, Erin Banks smashed a super intense back day workout. Check it out below!
Banks’ Back Day Workout
- Single-Arm Lat Pulldowns
- T-Bar Rows
- Low Rows Machine
- Behind-the-Neck Lat Pulldown
- Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown & Face Pulls — Superset
Single-Arm Lat Pulldowns
To get the workout started, Erin Banks begins with single-arm lat pulldowns, where he sat on the ground to enhance his range of motion.
“How I do this variation is I sit truly on the ground because one I have long arms, so again, if I was to sit here, the range of motion would be very short.”
“What we’re going to do is sit all the way on the ground, make sure we’re pulling all the way through. Full range of motion. This is not a heavy exercise. We’ll put it at 85.”
T-bar rows
Erin Banks stresses with this next movement that hand placement is very important.
“We’re going to do six for six. I’m going to throw this belt on for some cushion,” shares Banks. “Everybody talks about growing the back, growing this, how to get wider, how to do this, but I also see a lot of guys, hand placement is very wrong.”
He says if you want a wider back, your hand placement on exercises should be wider apart. However, if you want to work the middle of the back, your hands should be shoulder-width apart.
“You want your hand placing, again, if I want a wider back where do you think I’m going to reach, wide. If I want to work on that mid back, I’m going to go shoulder-width apart.”
Low Rows Machine
Having spent time away from the stage, Banks looks forward to competing once again.
“It’s go time. I’ve been putting in so much work and working so hard. Head has been down. Been focused. Nothing really thrown in the way. Even if it was thrown in the way, it wasn’t held or picked up and held on to. We just continue to push forward man and grind.”
Behind-the-Neck Lat Pulldown
For the behind-the-neck lat pulldowns, Erin Banks is focusing on the upper traps and the upper back for a fuller appearance.
“Behind the neck lat pulldowns. Again, it’s targeting those upper traps and that upper back. I’ve never sat forward on this I usually just sit backwards. We’re going to see.”
Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown & Face Pull
Banks finishes the workout with a superset before sharing that he plans to take a dip in the cold plunge.
“Dual superset, face pulls and straight-arm lat pulldowns. That’s what we’re going to finish with.”
“We’re going to get our silly ass in the damn cold plunge. I’m not ready for it. I’ve never been. We’re going to attempt it today because the body is sore as hell,” adds Banks.
Even though Erin Banks has had a relatively quiet off-season, he still managed to attract some negative attention this year. A few months back, Banks was recording a video of himself training at the gym when someone walked in front of his camera. Banks made some off-handed rude remarks that caught the attention of the ‘gym police,’ also known as Joey Swoll. As a result, Erin Banks took responsibility and apologized for his behavior.
Erin Banks is training harder than ever to make a comeback at this year’s 2024 Mr. Olympia. Fans look forward to seeing the improvements he has made when he takes to the Dubai Pro stage in just seven short weeks!