Bodybuilder Shaun Clarida will put his ‘Giant Killer’ nickname to the test in March. On January 10, 2025, he challenged himself with an intense Ronnie Coleman-Kai Greene-style back workout eight weeks from the 2025 Arnold Classic.
Shaun Clarida is a former two-time 212 Olympia winner, having reached the pinnacle of his career in 2020 and 2022 with unprecedented muscle hardness, conditioning, and bursting fullness. However, while in pursuit of his third 212 Olympia title in 2023, Keone Pearson‘s shape, aesthetics, and paper-thin waist proved impossible to overcome.
In 2024, Clarida attempted to win back the honor but once again fell at the hands of ‘The Prodigy,’ who brought the best package of his career. Undeterred by the setback, Clarida bet on himself and competed at the 2024 EVLS Prague Pro, pushing Chris Bumstead and Martin Fitzwater en route to third place. With a knack for excelling in the Open class, Clarida will again test his resolve in the category at the nearing 2025 Arnold Classic, which is set to take place from February 27 to March 2 in Columbus, Ohio.
Shaun Clarida Crushes Ronnie Coleman-Kai Greene Style Back Workout 8 Weeks from 2025 Arnold Classic
Find his exercise selections below:
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- Rope Pullovers
- Seated One-Arm Cable High Row
- Megasmass Linear Row Machine
- One-Arm Bent-Over Dumbbell Row
- Seated Row Machine
- Rack Pull
Rope pullovers
During the YouTube video, Clarida utilized pullovers as his warmup before moving into more intense movements. He prefers the rope attachment over the bar for a better range of motion.
“Pullovers for me are just a warmup. I usually do them at the beginning and at the end of the workout. The reason I do them at the beginning is to get some blood in my lats.
I prefer the rope over the bar like some people. I feel the bar stops right here [at chest] whereas the rope, I’m able to get back here [past the chest], and get more into the lat range. That’s why I prefer the rope.”
Seated One-Arm Cable High Row
The future is always uncertain and for that reason, Clarida doesn’t hesitate when it comes to competing often.
“I always say you never know what tomorrow brings. I never want to say, I’m going to pass this Olympia or pass the Arnold, and then the next year comes around and I can’t do it, or whatever the case may be. I believe in taking advantage of the opportunities that are given to you.”
He ensured that his lats were opened up throughout the workout, emphasizing that he’s looking to build a back comparable to bodybuilding icons Ronnie Coleman and Kai Greene.
“You want those lats to kind of open up. Same with rear double bicep or rear lat spread, when you hit that shot, you want that lat to really be opened up. I’m trying to grow that Ronnie Coleman Kai Greene back where the fucking lats are right on top of their ass.”
Megasmass Linear Row Machine
During row machine repetitions, Clarida touched on the harmony he has with his new coach. He also discussed the challenge of taking down Keone Pearson at the 212 Olympia.
“He knew who I was [Boss of Outlaw] he’s seen me, and he was able to assess and nitpick but also he believes as much as I believe that we can win the title back. Let’s not get it twisted, it’s going to be tough.
Keone is an absolute freak. But at the same time, Stefan believes in me and I believe in him, we have a crazy game plan. Look what we did in five weeks together from the Olympia to the Prague show.”
One Arm Bentover Dumbbell Row
Feeling strong, Clarida hit bent over dumbbell rows, keeping constant ‘tension in the muscle.’
“I don’t know if it’s these dumbbells or I’m just that fucking strong but these dumbbells feel like 40s,” laughs Clarida. “The main thing with me is whenever I stretch, I want to keep that tension in the muscle itself.”
Seated Row Machine
Throughout the workout, Clarida explained why he wanted to travel more moving forward.
“This year, I want to travel even more. I’m already going to FIBO in Germany. I’m going to Australia. I’m going to go back to Japan. It’s going to be so awesome to travel the world man. Bodybuilding has given me so so much. I’m so thankful for the IFBB, NPC to give us that platform to compete at the highest level.”
Rack Pull
He admitted that he took some time off training post-Prague to reset, and now, is looking forward to pushing his body in prep for the Arnold Classic.
“After the Olympia and Prague, I was kind of bored of training a little bit. It was kind of like tedious. Kind of like okay, here we go again. But because we were away for an entire week, even though I trained, I didn’t train at my own gym and I didn’t push as hard as I normally would.
Again, because I wasn’t at my home gym. That break was a nice reset for me to get back home and go let’s go, we’re eight weeks out, let’s get it going,” shared Clarida.
If Clarida wants to make a statement in Columbus, Ohio, he’ll have some massive threats to deal with on stage. In addition to reigning Mr. Olympia Samson Dauda and Derek Lunsford, he’ll also have to get through rising threats like Andrew Jacked, Brandon Curry, Carlos Thomas Jr., and many others.
Clarida appears to be in a good headspace as he aims to shock the world at the 2025 Arnold Classic. Don’t miss his next contest appearance; Fitness Volt will have live coverage of the Arnold Sports Weekend in March!
RELATED: Shaun Clarida Unveils The New Training Split He’s Using to Dominate at the 2025 Arnold Classic
Watch the full video from the Shaun Clarida YouTube channel below:
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