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Mike Mentzer Mr. Universe Back Workout

Mike Mentzer placed second to Kal Szkalak at the 1977 IFBB Mr. Universe contest, he decided he would leave nothing to chance in his preparation for the 1978 Universe. He had been told his back was a weak point, not so much in muscle mass, but in the fine details and his muscle control.

Mike Menzer Back Routine

Here is The exact high intensity back workout routine that Mike Mentzer used to win the 1978 IFBB Mr. Universe contest with a perfect score.

Mike designed a back workout that would work all the areas of his back, including the following exercises.

Nautilus Pullover

This exercise works the lats without the use of the biceps and pre fatigues the lat muscles, he did one set of eight reps and then his training partner would help him for two to three more forced reps.

Close Grip Underhand Pulldowns

He would do this exercise immediately after the pullovers, "zero rest time". He pulled the bar down to nipple level rather than stopping at the chin, he did one set of eight reps with his training partner then helping his with a few forced reps followed by a few negative only reps.

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows

This exercises helped him target his middle back and lats. He did two sets of eight reps to failure.

Heavy Barbell Rows

He finished with rows, to work the rhomboids and other upper back muscles. He did one heavy set of eight strict reps, followed by four cheat reps, jerking the weight up a bit, but lowering slowly.

He did all these exercises as heavy as possible while also adhering to strict form and a full range of motion, he lifted and lowered the weight slowly and used peak contraction holding the fully contracted position for a count of at least two seconds.

He worked his back twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.

After his back workout he would practice flexing and holding the contraction in all his back muscles to be sure the judges could see all the details in his back come contest day.

The Results?

Mike Mentzer won the 1978 IFBB Mr. Universe with a perfect score from the judges, meaning they saw no weak points that day!

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