“The Beast” is crafting his bodybuilding back.
As one in every of the best strongmen of all time, former 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Eddie “The Beast” Hall has probably earned the proper to try his hand at almost any competitive enterprise. As such, with Hall now preparing to make a foray into bodybuilding sometime in late 2024, he appears to be looking out for any contingency plan.
On Feb. 19, 2023, Hall posted a video to his YouTube channel where he worked through a fast-paced back workout that was bodybuilding-oriented. The training session and next step in his competitive ambitions follow a late January 2023 back workout with International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League member Jamie “The Giant” Christian. Hall had his son Max readily available as he worked through this latest routine.
More from Breaking Muscle:
Here’s an summary of Hall’s latest bodybuilding back workout.
Deadlift
Understandably, Hall begins his routine with a staple compound lifting movement: the deadlift. Nonetheless, in orienting it more toward bodybuilding, Hall didn’t use the everyday heavyweights some could be accustomed to seeing him lift. Within the interest of keeping his muscles under tension for longer, the athlete as a substitute warmed up with two 20-kilogram (44-pound) plates on either side of his barbell and just a few working sets with three plates on each end using a slow eccentric (lowering phase) on each repetition.
Hall explained his modified rationale in a really matter-of-fact fashion.
“I like moving weights as hard as physically possible,” Hall said. “Unlike strongman where you only move the load from A to B. And also you win competitions, you win numerous money. No, no, no. In bodybuilding, you’ve got to maneuver the load as slow and as painfully as possible. And you’ll be able to still win a great deal of money, in order that’s good.”
Lat Pulldown/Machine Pulldown
To essentially get after his back muscles and round them out from different positions, Hall implemented two variations of the lat pulldown in a superset. He began with pulldowns on an ordinary cable pulley and alternated with a machine-based pulldown that worked each arm independently. Hall performed three sets and 10 reps of every respective movement.
Incline Row/Seated Row
For the following portion of his workout, Hall worked in one other superset, this time performing incline rows and seated rows. The athlete did three sets each while using a slow and controlled motion for added tension.
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
After ending off the important back portion of his workout, Hall decided to throw in some biceps movements, turning the session right into a combined back and biceps workout. He began with dumbbell hammer curls and performed 4 sets.
Machine Biceps Curl
To complete off his productive day, Hall isolated his biceps muscle on a strict curl machine. A pad on the machine elevated the arms to chest-height while restricting the overall movement of the arms, forcing the biceps to do many of the work. Hall would complete an prolonged drop set — decreasing the load after every few repetitions — for an undisclosed total variety of reps before finally wrapping up.
More from Breaking Muscle:
With Hall’s bodybuilding debut still many months away, any progress he makes within the interim is probably going positive. As he continues to dip his toes into bodybuilding-oriented training, it appears evident Hall is willing to drag out all of the stops to make his next athletic endeavor productive.
Featured image: @eddiehallwsm on Instagram