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“The Beast” is crafting his bodybuilding back.
As one of the greatest strongmen of all time, former 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Eddie “The Beast” Hall has probably earned the right to try his hand at almost any competitive venture. As such, with Hall now preparing to make a foray into bodybuilding sometime in late 2024, he appears to be on the lookout for any contingency plan.
On Feb. 19, 2023, Hall posted a video to his YouTube channel where he worked through an 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 on hand as he worked through this latest routine.
Here’s an overview of Hall’s latest bodybuilding back workout.
Deadlift
Understandably, Hall begins his routine with a staple compound lifting movement: the deadlift. However, in orienting it more toward bodybuilding, Hall didn’t use the typical heavyweights some might be accustomed to seeing him lift. In the interest of keeping his muscles under tension for longer, the athlete instead warmed up with two 20-kilogram (44-pound) plates on each side of his barbell and a few working sets with three plates on each end using a slow eccentric (lowering phase) on each repetition.
Hall explained his changed rationale in a very matter-of-fact fashion.
“I love moving weights as hard as physically possible,” Hall said. “Unlike strongman where you just move the weight from A to B. And you win competitions, you win lots of money. No, no, no. In bodybuilding, you’ve got to move the weight as slow and as painfully as possible. And you can still win loads of money, so that’s good.”
Lat Pulldown/Machine Pulldown
To really 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 a standard cable pulley and alternated with a machine-based pulldown that worked each arm independently. Hall performed three sets and 10 reps of each respective movement.
Incline Row/Seated Row
For the next portion of his workout, Hall worked in another 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 finishing off the main back portion of his workout, Hall decided to throw in some biceps movements, turning the session into a combined back and biceps workout. He began with dumbbell hammer curls and performed four sets.
Machine Biceps Curl
To finish 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 total movement of the arms, forcing the biceps to do most of the work. Hall would complete an extended drop set — decreasing the weight after every few repetitions — for an undisclosed total number of reps before finally wrapping up.
With Hall’s bodybuilding debut still many months away, any progress he makes in the interim is likely positive. As he continues to dip his toes into bodybuilding-oriented training, it appears evident Hall is willing to pull out all the stops to make his next athletic endeavor productive.
Featured image: @eddiehallwsm on Instagram