At just 27, Martin “the Martian” Fitzwater finished a remarkable fourth at the 2024 Mr. Olympia competition, shaking up the field in a big way in his first outing.
- Fitzwater credits the pull-up, along with its many variations, as the back exercise that helped turn his back from a weak point to a strong suit at the “O.”
“It took my back from one of my worst body parts to one of my best,” Fitzwater said on Nov. 10, 2024. Here’s how Fitzwater used pull-ups to force his way into the limelight.
Every Mr. Olympia’s Favorite Back Exercise, Apparently
Fitzwater didn’t break new ground by going to bat for the pull-up. “If you want to build crazy-wide lats, you’ve got to stick to your pull-ups,” four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler said earlier in 2024.
Many of the world’s best bodybuilders endorse pull-up variations for back width — specifically, development of the lower lats, which contribute greatly to the coveted v-taper aesthetic. Here’s Fitzwater again:
- “By using different grips, you can attack your back from different angles,” Fitzwater continued.
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He’s right; here’s how it works. Your many back muscles attach to your arm and shoulder. Most of these muscles run diagonally, so changing the angle of your arm when you perform back exercises will bias the muscle fibers best suited to pulling against the load.
- For Lats: Go for an overhand or neutral grip, and pull with your hands relatively close together. (1)
- For Upper Back: Widen your grip and flare your elbows to target your upper back muscles during the pull-up.
- For Strength: If you care most about pulling big weights, choose a neutral or underhand grip and keep your hands close together. (2)
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If you can’t do a regular pull-up, Fitzwater says there’s no harm in using the assisted pull-up machine. In fact, you can gradually reduce the amount of assistance provided by the machine and count that as a form of progressive overload.
As you work your way “up” the plate stack, you’ll increase the challenge provided to your lats. Once you can perform 15 or even 20 unweighted pull-ups, consider going for weighted pull-ups to continue driving progress.
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References
- Signorile JF, Zink AJ, Szwed SP. A comparative electromyographical investigation of muscle utilization patterns using various hand positions during the lat pull-down. J Strength Cond Res. 2002 Nov;16(4):539-46. PMID: 12423182.
- Andersen V, Fimland MS, Wiik E, Skoglund A, Saeterbakken AH. Effects of grip width on muscle strength and activation in the lat pull-down. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Apr;28(4):1135-42. doi: 10.1097/JSC.0000000000000232. PMID: 24662157.
Featured Image: @martinfitzh2o / Instagram
