Eddie Hall recently partnered with a bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler for an intense back workout. So, seeing that Hall is a retired strongman, he has the strength necessary to train with anyone in the world. However, he still had to give his all to endure Jay Cutler’s taxing workout. Hall became the 2017 World’s Strongest Man and became the first person in history to deadlift 500 kilograms (1,102.3 pounds) in 2016, which required incredible back strength amongst other factors. However, the record was later broken by his archrival Hafthor Bjornsson when he deadlifted 501 kilograms (1,104.5 pounds) four years later.
Eddie Hall also had a short, but a very entertaining career in boxing. His match was in fact against Bjornsson, as the two men transitioned to professional boxing to settle their rivalry. Marketed as the ‘heaviest boxing match in history’, the fight garnered a lot of attention. Hall lost the fight via unanimous decision but both men were widely appreciated for making the transition to boxing in the correct way.
With boxing and strongman in the past now, Hall grew a desire to compete in bodybuilding and see how far he can go in the sport. He intends to compete at a bodybuilding show by the end of 2024, for which he has already started training in order to get the necessary body composition. To learn the finer details of bodybuilding training, Eddie Hall has partnered with the professional bodybuilders like Jamie Christian-Johal over the last few months. Now, The Beast joined hands with legendary bodybuilder Jay Cutler who guided Hall through a back workout.
Cutler is one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time and has won the prestigious Mr. Olympia title a whopping four times in his career. His rivalry with 8X Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman is arguably the greatest one in the history of the sport. After years of trying, Cutler dethroned Ronnie in 2006 to win his first Mr. Olympia title and went on to secure it three more times in 2007, 2009, and 2010. The 49-year-old retired in 2013 but still maintains an excellent physique. He guided Hall through an intense bodybuilding back workout. The video of this training session was posted on Eddie Hall’s personal YouTube channel. So, without further delay, let’s take a closer look at the detailed account of this training session.
Eddie Hall and Jay Cutler go through a back workout
Cutler lauded Hall’s interest in learning different aspects of training and trying out new things. The 49-year-old planned the training session to focus more on volume and get a good pump.
“When I used to train, I felt like I could go through a wall coz the back would get so pumped up. It’s all about repetitions, kind of movements with angles that kind of get your muscles to get contraction in different regions,” Jay Cutler added.
With that, the duo jumped right into the workout as Cutler explained the finer details of the craft along the way.
Lat Pulldown
Cutler started the workout with lat pulldowns on a plate-loaded machine. While explaining the correct technique for pushing through this movement, Cutler said:
“I know this weight isn’t too heavy but we’re going to work on the contraction. So, when you come down, I want you to kind of… This is kind of imitating the back double biceps, right? So, you’re going to squeeze, you know? Get that fire in the lats. So, make sure you get the contraction and don’t just pull the weight.”
Cutler suggested Eddie Hall to target at least three working sets of 12 reps with incrementally heavier weights to get the pump, with 45 to 60 seconds of rest between two reps. Cutler feels that using the lifting straps during heavy exercises is essential to avoid extra forearm pump. The legendary bodybuilder also explained how he approached back training during his career and said:
“I had a wider waist, had this offset and I had to build as big a lats as possible. So, because you always want to create that taper in bodybuilding, right? So, because I was a little wider waisted the lats had to really flare out. Therefore, I really focused on the pulldown movements, the one-arm dumbbell rows which stretch the lats which created that crazy V-taper, right?”
Eddie Hall then finished three sets of lat pulldowns using straps and Cutler guided him to the dumbbells section next.
One Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Rows
To lengthen the lats a little more for achieving the v-taper, Cutler guided Hall through the bent-over dumbbell rows next and he performed a few solid sets of the movement.
“He’s definitely the hardest worker in the room,” Jay Cutler said about Hall as he performed the exercise.
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns
Cutler wanted Hall to stretch the lats a little more with an underhand grip movement. However, he avoided going to barbell rows due to its perceived danger for biceps and suggested Hall do the reverse grip lat pulldowns instead. Hall pushed through three sets of reverse grip lat pulldowns and Cutler appreciated Hall for ‘training angry’.
Seated Cable Rows
While vertical pulls like lat pulldowns make the back wider, horizontal pulls like seated rows give the back the thickness it needs. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to incorporate both types of movements in the training routine. Jay Cutler guided Hall through the standard seated cable rows next.
“We talk about the back double biceps, okay? That knottiness in the back. This is going to focus on the thickness part, okay? Front to back thickness too… When you do hold your side poses too, you want to have that thick back. That will help, okay?” Cutler said.
After cranking out some solid sets of close-grip seated rows on a cable machine, Hall and Cutler took to the next exercise.
Machine Reverse Grip Rows
Jay Cutler took Eddie Hall to another rowing machine and guided him through reverse grip rows on a chest-supported machine. The movement imitated the reverse grip barbell rows, but the weights used were not too heavy. Hall cranked out a few solid sets of the exercise. So, this movement served as the finisher to the back workout as the duo wrapped up the training session afterward.
Overall, the workout included:
- Lat Pulldown
- One Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Rows
- Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns
- Close-Grip Seated Rows
- Machine Reverse Grip Rows
Eddie Hall has nearly two years to transform his physique into a one that looks suitable for bodybuilding. If he continues to learn the minute details from masters like Jay Cutler and implement it into his training, he can certainly outdo a lot of bodybuilders on stage.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Eddie Hall The Beast YouTube channel:
Published: 6 March, 2023 | 1:16 PM EDT
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