• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
BarBend

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Whey Protein Powders
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
News

Watch Brett Wilkin Train Back With Bodybuilder Martin Fitzwater Before the 2022 Texas Pro

Fitzwater will attempt to score his highest professional placing at the 2022 Texas Pro on Aug. 12-13, 2022.

Written by Maximilian Angle
Updated by Phil Blechman on August 2nd, 2023

Men’s Open bodybuilders Brett “The Butcher” Wilkin and Martin “The Martian” Fitzwater hit a full-back workout together at Destination Dallas Gym in Dallas, TX. They filmed their session together when Fitzwater was nine days out from competing in the 2022 Texas Pro on Aug. 12-13, 2022.

In the video published to Wilkin’s YouTube channel on Aug. 8, 2022, the bodybuilding duo grappled with a grueling back workout where Fitzwater set the pace, and Wilkin brought the intensity. Check it out below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_EkyuWzJU&feature=youtu.be

[Related: Chris Bumstead Smashes Off-Season “Injury Prevention Leg Day”]

Wilkin & Fitzwater’s Back Workout

Check out the full workout session details below:

Assisted Wide Grip Pull-ups

Fitzwater and Wilkin started their session with some assisted wide grip pull-ups. Wide Grip pull-ups are great for building mass and chiseling out that muscular conditioning that Fitzwater is chasing. They’re an excellent warm-up for the joints to prepare the body for heavier movements.

When you get to Wilkin and Fitzwater’s size, a little assistance is needed sometimes. Pull-ups are a great compound movement for the back. Both bodybuilders powered through several sets to near failure.

Single Arm Stiff Arm Lat Pulldowns 

The second movement was the stiff-arm pulldown — an excellent isolation movement for the lats. Both athletes opted for a single-arm variation to work both sides of the back equally. Unilateral movements help to eliminate imbalances and add extra detail to rear lat poses on stage. According to a 2018 review in Sports Medicine, bilateral training “may produce the greatest comprehensive strength adaptations,” but “utilizing single arm movements can offer more motor recruitment resulting in greater muscle fiber activation.” (1)

You’re taking grip out of the movement, so you can keep tension on the lat.

Wilkin demonstrated a variation he used at his home gym to Fitzwater. Wilkin uses a cuff instead of a handle to puts more of the load on the muscle being worked.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Martin “The Martian” Fitzwater (@martfitzh2o)

[Related: Retaining Muscle During a Cut: Jeff Nippard’s Take on Volume Versus Intensity]

Wide Grip Pulldowns

Fitzwater and Wilkin performed wide grip lat pulldown, which can help Fitzwater show additional detailing in his back when he flares his lats to a greater degree on stage.

At this phase of Fitzwater’s prep, every workout is focused on detailing his musculature. Due to his caloric deficit, his strength isn’t where it usually would be. Lower calories could also make him more prone to injury. He adjusted his training accordingly by moving to higher reps and lighter weight.

Chest Supported T-Bar Row

Fitzwater and Wilkin moved on chest-supported T-bar rows. Laying prone against a near-upright weight bench, bracing is removed as a limiting factor, so all of the power output can derive from the working muscle.

The bread and butter for rows.

They were working their way up a relatively heavy top weight of four 45-pound weight plates, which is impressive with Fitzwater only nine days out from the 2022 Texas Pro.

We want to slow down, get the full stretch. More time under tension here.

Starting with explosive reps, both Fitzwater and Wilkin finished with slower reps to focus on the stretch through the full range of motion to work the lower lats and mid-back.

Seated Row Machine, Seated Cable Rows & Single Arm Hammer Rows

Both bodybuilders headed to a seated row machine with a wide grip to target the upper back, traps, and rhomboid. Fitzwater and Wilkin hit squeeze sets, focusing on contracting at the top of the movement.

For Fitzwater, it’s all about detail, detail, detail, volume, and detail.

In another seated row variation, for some more lat detail, Fitzwater and Wilkin hit the seated cable row with a MAG grip attachment to allow for more emphasis on the muscle itself. They followed with a supported hammer row with a neutral grip.

We want to finish here with low lats…not a lot of guys have low lats.

The age-old adage in bodybuilding is “shows are won from the back.” Fitzwater continues to improve his lower lats to step on stage with a first-place worthy back. Fitzwater and Wilkin finish the workout with active stretching by hanging from a pull-up bar.

A lot of blood in there, a lot of volume, feel good, really pumped and soaked.

It is imperative, especially for bodybuilders mid-prep, to stay limber. Fitzwater wants to step on stage with the flexibility and mobility necessary to effectively showcase the physique he sculpted this season.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Martin “The Martian” Fitzwater (@martfitzh2o)

[Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son, Joseph Baena, Looks Just Like His Dad While Hitting a Classic Bodybuilding Pose]

Full Back Workout

Below is each exercise in the order performed by Fitzwater and Wilkin during their session:

  • Assisted Wide Grip Pull-Ups 
  •  Stiff Arm Lat Pulldowns
  • Wide Grip Pulldowns 
  • T-Bar Rows
  • Seated Row Machine 
  • Close-Grip Cable Rows
  • Single-Arm Hammer Rows
  • Hanging Wide-Grip Pull-Up Stretch

2022 Texas Pro

The knowledge and motivation Wilkin passed on to Fitzwater could help him chisel the remaining details in the last few sessions before the 2022 Texas Pro. Fitzwater’s awareness of muscle imbalances and drive to push through his current low-energy state could improve the package he brings to the 2022 Texas Pro on Aug. 12-13, 2022.

References

  1. Suchomel, T. J., Nimphius, S., Bellon, C. R., & Stone, M. H. (2018). The Importance of Muscular Strength: Training Considerations. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 48(4), 765–785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0862-z

Featured image: @martfitzh2o on Instagram

About Maximilian Angle

Maximilian is a native Pennsylvanian located out of Bloomsburg, Pa passionate about nature, especially gardening and nature conservation, natural bodybuilding, and being a full-time Dad. He is certified through ISSA as a freelance Personal Trainer.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

Best Cyber Monday Weight Bench Deals (2023)

International Association of Trans Bodybuilders & Powerlifters 2023 Full Results

Do All High-Carb Diets Lead to Weight Gain?

Dana Linn Bailey’s 4 Meal Prep Tips for Beginners

Enahoro Asein (83KG) Decimates IPF Raw World Deadlift Record With 380 Kilograms

Latest Reviews

Redwood Thermowood Panorama Sauna Review

Redwood Outdoors Yukon Cold Plunge Tub Review

Redwood Outdoor Thermowood Garden Sauna Review

Future App Review

Bells of Steel Hydra Rack Review

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2023 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap