Bodybuilder Terrence Ruffin is marching closer to his next contest appearance of the 2024 season. In a recent YouTube video published on August 16, 2024, Ruffin walked his fans through an information-packed upper body workout.
Ruffin is one of the few men who have defeated reigning five-time Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead (2016 IFBB Dayana Cadeau). While he’s never laid claim to the Olympia title, Ruffin has proven himself as one of the most dangerous competitors in the division, courtesy of his back detail and overall conditioning levels. He is a two-time Arnold Classic champion (2021, 2022).
He led a productive and successful 2023, having secured gold at the 2023 Legion Sports Fest Pro. He used that momentum to prepare for his fourth Mr. Olympia contest, which saw him take fifth place. To secure his qualification early for this year’s Olympia gathering, Ruffin walked away in first place at the 2023 Sheru Classic Pro. Cool, calm, and calculated, Ruffin is training carefully to bring his best look to the stage on the horizon.
Bodybuilder Terrence Ruffin Share Upper Body Workout
Find his exercise selections below:
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- Flat press
- Single-arm row
- Incline flyes
- Wide grip lat pulldown
- Cable bicep curls (seated)
- Cable cross-body tricep extension
Flat press
Ruffin believes body composition plays a role in how an individual approaches flat pressing due to the position of the spine.
“I would rather have someone do they vary their stuff between a low incline and a high incline press.
I think for most people that’s going to be best, especially when you factor in someone’s rib cage and when they’re rotating like this, the flat press actually becomes more of a decline press compared to being with a neutral spine.”
Single-arm row
He prefers single-arm rows because he has more control over the resistance curve of the machine, making the load feel heavier at the bottom and lighter at the top.
“Single-arm rows, there’s a couple reasons why I chose this machine and why I’m doing it in this manner. One thing you’ll notice is I’m only doing one arm at a time. A couple reasons is one, the reason why I’m putting my arm here is to change the resistance curve of the machine so that it’s heavier at the bottom and a little lighter at the top so it matches the strength profile of my body.”
Given the neurological challenges of using two arms, Ruffin appreciates single-arm rows for building his back.
“The reason why I have the leg like I do is a bit more stability as opposed to having the other leg going, I have the same leg, same arm when I row. Lastly, I’m doing it one arm at a time because there’s a lot of things neurologically that your body can and can’t handle and you can test this out yourself doing curls.
Curl both arms at a time. Then, once you can’t get any more reps, try to do one arm at a time. I guarantee you can get one or two extra reps.”
Incline flyes
As for incline flyes, Ruffin offered a variation using a foam roller instead of a bench, which he credits for a better range of motion that allows the scapula to move more freely.
“It’s not my favorite bench for it. I don’t know if you have something a little thinner it would be better.
Even if you have one of those half foam rollers, you can put that on there and make it so it’s not moving around too much it can add a little bit of range of motion and let your scapula move a little bit more freely as you get into that deep stretch.”
Wide grip lat pulldown
According to ‘Ruff Diesel,’ wide grip lat pulldowns are a staple in his routine. He believes it’s best to include these and single-arm pulldowns for a more complete back.
“Wide grip pulldowns are still a very very good movement to do for your lats. I’ve been really loving adding them back in. I’ll have this on one day, I’ll still have the single-arm pulldown on another day. But definitely, if you can, especially if you’re doing twice a week, incorporate both into your program.”
Cable bicep curls (seated)
He said to keep the cable at a 90-degree angle at the bottom during cable bicep curls for optimal stimulation.
“Ideally you want that cable when you’re at the bottom to be at a 90-degree, so the rope ends here, the rope should go directly back so I probably could have raised it by one and get a little bit better, a little bit more of a stimulus out of it but it’s fine.”
“You’ll feel a big difference too. A lot of times with this resistance curve stuff it’s going to feel weird especially if you’re not used to it. It will feel really light at the top here but give it a few reps because once your muscle actually start to fatigue then it’ll feel just right,” he shared.
Cable cross-body tricep extension
Lastly, he performed cable cross-body tricep extensions to top off his arm pump. He’s happy with the progress he’s made to his physique thus far.
“I’m happy with the progress so far. I took a critical look at myself as everybody should, every bodybuilder should. And I really wanted to bring up the delts and the arms so we added in one set of bis, one set of tris, and one set of side delts and rear delts per day.”
Ruffin mentioned that even an additional two sets per exercise produced meaningful results while away from the stage.
“That’s an increase of two sets per week,” adds Ruffin. “For right now, we’ll see how that goes. I know a lot of people are saying wow, two sets per exercise is nothing but that’s a what a 100 percent increase and they’re already growing pretty good.”
Ruffin has trained with esteemed bodybuilding veterans ahead of his next competition. He pumped iron alongside inaugural Arnold Classic champion Rich Gaspari, where the two demolished a leg day workout focused on intensity.
Based on his training session, Terrence Ruffin is attacking his training methodically. Don’t miss his big return to the stage sometime next year as we await his next move!
RELATED: Bodybuilder Terrence Ruffin Shares How to Avoid Common Mistakes That Kill Back Gains
Watch the full video from Terrence Ruffin’s YouTube channel below:
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