Justin Compton's 2015 Arnold Interview | Plus Back Routine
Justin Compton: 2015 Arnold
"I Will Be 12lbs Heavier Than Last Contest"
PM: You’re entering the Arnold Classic in Columbus on March 7th. (This will be Compton’s first contest since his winning outing at the Europa Show of Champions in Orlando last April. A performance that made the 26 year old the breakout athlete of the year and promoted speculation that he is a looming Olympia contender.) How’s your prep been going?
JC: It's gone better than I thought in terms of gains. After Orlando I thought a gain of eight quality pounds was possible, but I didn't put any cap on it. I was 244 pounds in Orlando so I was planning to show up at the Arnold at 252 or so. I thought my off-season high would peak at around 282 but in fact I hit 290. The thing is I didn't slow down or kick back after Orlando, and am now confident about being contest ready in Columbus at about the 254 to 256 mark -- 10 or 12 pounds heavier than Orlando. But you know my focus has not been on reaching a certain bodyweight, I’ve focused solely on making quality gains. Bodyweight is irrelevant in comparison to being in shape. In the line-up we have Dexter who is probably going to be the lightest guy in the show in the mid to upper 230s and Evan and Cedric hovering around 270, and all the other guys in between. Each of us has just as much chance of hitting our peak and beating the others come game day regardless of what the good ole scale reads. But I will be 100% contest ready.
Where will the most noticeable size improvements be?
My legs will be bigger, but primarily I put a lot of focus into improving my back and hamstrings.
So what was your general plan to improve your back?
With back, I was after overall improvement: That means width, thickness and detail. I don’t really have a problem with my traps and rhomboids, so I haven't had to do too much direct work on them. It’s greater width and thickness that I’m after so I really concentrated on attacking the lats and lumbar area. The aim was to create a more dramatic sweeping taper, with deeper thickness and definition. I’m pleased with how the plan worked.
What was the main thrust of executing your strategy?
I concentrated more than ever on using absolutely proper form, so all the stress possible was going on the area of the back I was working at the time. I also used more intensity techniques like forced reps, drop sets, supersets to lengthen a set and extend the time the muscle was under stress. I’ve been working back twice a week for about two years now and it really did improve. My belief is if something works keep doing it.
Are the two back workouts you do each week the same?
No, they’re different. In the first workout I will do more pulling movements than rowing movements and in the second I’ll reverse that figure. I change the exercises around a lot, but it's still all the standard stuff, like pulls, T-bars, rows, pullovers. I also mix the rep range up and kick in, as and when, with drop sets, forced reps and supersets.
Are there any traditional back movements you keep away from?
Deadlifts. When I started training 11 years ago I got good results from them, and I feel beginners and intermediates should definitely use them as a foundation early on. But it got to the point where I was using such heavy weights that I thought there was a risk of thickening my waist, and that's the last thing I would want to do.
Anything else we should look for when you walk out for the Columbus prejudging?
Well, another aspect where I'm challenging myself to improve is on my level of conditioning. Orlando was by far my best ever condition, but I'm still not satisfied with it. I think I was at about 95%. I can do more in that area. In the two weeks before Orlando I think I actually took my foot a little bit off the gas, because I thought I was ready at that point. I think the scale got to me. I saw my weight falling quickly so I slowed up a little. This time I'm pushing myself harder and going for 100%. To achieve that I gave myself two extra weeks of contest prep to prepare for the Arnold; for Orlando it was 10 weeks, this time it was 12 and I've been flat to the boards all the way into the show. I guess I had to learn to suffer a bit more.
JUSTIN’S BODYPART SPLIT FOR COLUMBUS
Sun: Chest, abs
Mon: Back, calves
Tues: Delts, abs
Wed: Chest, calves, hams
Thurs: Back, abs
Frid: Arms, calves
Sat: Quads, hams
Notes
a) Justin trains arms and delts only once a week because he feels they are his most dominant and easy-to-respond bodyparts, and he doesn’t want them to overpower his chest. A balanced physique is his goal.
b) He says he would do quads twice a week if he could but has found in the past that when he works them twice his patellar tendons and knees get inflamed. Thus he settles for once for once a week so as not to exacerbate the problem.
c) In the 12 weeks before the 2015 Arnold Classic he trained seven days a week: meaning an astonishing 84 straight days. He trained for 70 straight days before the 2014 Europa contest. He found that training every day allowed him to burn off fat more efficiently while reducing his cardio program. And doing less cardio gave him more energy with which to attack his workouts.
TYPICAL BACK WORKOUT
Lat Pulldowns 1 20 *
Lat Pulldowns 3 10-15
Close Grip Pulldowns 3 10-15
Cable Rows 3 10-15
One Arms Machine Rows 3 10-15
Barbell Rows 3 6-8
* Warm-up set
Justin incorporates a mixture of forced reps, drop sets and supersets. Sometimes it will be the last set of an exercise; sometimes it will be for all sets of an exercise. There is no set pattern of when he employs them, he invokes them instinctively as he sees fit as the workout proceeds.
BACK BLACKLIST
Justin says, “The biggest mistake I see is guys with free weights using a jerky kind of motion to move the weight rather than using proper technique. You must use proper technique in order to force the muscle to do all the work. If you do the exercise right you will get optimal benefit from the exercise rather than having to arrange an ER visit to check out a joint or muscle injury. By not moving the weight from A to B in proper form you’re missing out on huge gains. I also see a lot of guys not pulling their elbows back far enough on rowing and pulling movements. By stopping short they not getting the full muscle building benefit of the exercise. With these movements the key to growth is to pull your elbows back as far as possible.”
JUSTIN’S SUGGESTED ROUTINES FOR BEGINNERS
Cable Rows 4 12-15
Lat Pulldowns 4 12-15
JUSTIN’S SUGGESTED ROUTINE FOR INTERMEDIATES
One-Arm Rows 3 12-15
Close Grip Pulldowns 3 12-15
Hyper-Extensions 3 To failure
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