BACK WORK BY SHAWN PERINE TOP AMATEUR BODYBUILDER MARK DUGDALE ON THE BUSINESS OF BUILDING BIG-TIME LATS The M.O. is familiar – for the big-time, hardcore competitive bodybuilder, nothing comes before his sport. Training, eating, sleeping, contest prep – they all share the top spot in terms of priorities. Everything else is a distant second. A very distant second. That includes such niceties as fulfilling relationships, a stable home life and a good job. After all, this is the only way one can possibly hope to make it in the ultra-competitive world of elite bodybuilding, right? “Honestly, if my wife didn’t go to the gym with me and we couldn’t share that time, I’d have to give up bodybuilding,” confides big-time, hardcore competitive bodybuilder Mark Dugdale. Second runner-up in the intensely competitive light-heavyweight class at the 2003 USA Championships, the 28-year-old is the perfect contradiction to age-old bodybuilding stereotypes. DIG DUG Despite his world-class muscularity, Mark is clearly no musclehead. He’d just as soon talk about his wife Christina, their three daughters (Madison, 4; Lauren, 2; Julia, 1) or Garden Fresh Foods, the produce supply company he co-owns, as he would pumping iron. In fact, had he not been so successful at the USAs, he might not be talking bodybuilding at all. “Going into the USAs this year I told my wife, ‘If I don’t make the top five, I’m going to quit competing,’” says Mark. “Not because I don’t like bodybuilding. I love to be onstage, but my passion is training. I hate the dieting and the time it takes to prepare for a contest, especially the time it keeps me away from my family. But this was the first year [his fourth national-level competition] that I felt like I really do have a chance to turn pro someday.” A good chance, judging from the package he presented in Vegas last July. With broad shoulders, a trim waist and hip line and proportionate development from traps to soleus, he looked as if he was born to be a bodybuilder. And as it turns out, he nearly was. “I always lifted weights,” Mark explains. “My parents bought me one of those plastic weight sets when I was 13, and I bought my first bench from my science teacher who supposedly won the NPC North American a long time ago.” He continues: “Then I went to my first show at 18, to watch my uncle compete in the master’s division of the Emerald Cup Classic, which is a big event up here. As it happened, Dorian Yates was the guest poser at the show, and when he came out onstage, I was just blown away. After seeing him I decided to try my hand at competing. So I entered and won my first show, the teenage division of the 1993 Northwest Natural. By this point I was hooked, for better or worse.” Over the next 10 years Mark would slowly but steadily transform himself from a 143-pound teenager into a 195-pound man, competing in – and for the most part winning – a show a year. With an annual lean mass gain of about 5 pounds since he first waded into competitive waters, Mark’s improvements have been as measured as the philosophy behind them. “In bodybuilding everybody wants to see gains overnight. But I’ve never had the attitude that I need to put on X number of pounds, no matter what. It’s more about consistency and watching how you eat and how you train and how you rest, 24/7,” he says. “It’s a lifestyle, and if you can’t live the lifestyle, you’re probably not going to get to where you want to be.” Equally important, Mark believes, is having the ability to look at yourself pragmatically to map your own personal bodybuilding course. “I’ll probably never be 250 pounds. I just don’t have the kind of structure to support that mass. Plus, I’m concerned with maintaining my health, and putting on 30 pounds a year probably isn’t too healthy anyway,” he reasons. “So I aspire to the Shawn Rays of the world. That’s the type of physique I’m looking to develop.” BENDING RULES Interestingly, Mark has managed to achieve his classically proportioned physique while breaking with conventional bodybuilding wisdom on two counts. For one, despite his focus on refinement, he’s adopted a training style more typically associated with guys whose hallmark is staggering mass. “I like to train really heavy and intensely for short periods of time, kind of like the way Dorian and the late Mike Mentzer trained,” he states. His second break with tradition puts him well out of sync with the current vogue regarding contest preparation. “I’ve never had a guru,” he admits. “We don’t have any pros or coaches up here in Seattle. My training partner is my wife, and my contest preparation diet comes from Championship Bodybuilding, a book by [m&f contributor] Chris Aceto [available at nutramedia.com]. I must have read his book 100 times by now,” he jokes. “In fact, right after I won the L.A. Championships [1983 Mr. Olympia] Samir Bannout came up to me and said, ‘You look great! Who got you in shape?’ I said, ‘I did.’ At first he didn’t believe that I could have done it alone, but when I told him I used Chris’ book as my reference, he understood. He knows how good Chris is.” Three healthy daughters, a supportive wife, a successful career and a physique that has put him on the cusp of bodybuilding stardom – Mark Dugdale doesn’t just have it all, he’s managed to balance the elements of his life with the skill of a Flying Wallenda. Possibly even more amazing is the fact that he’s got all of his ducks in a row by an age when many of us are still searching the lakes. So what does the future hold? After a moment’s consideration Mark responds: “Well, now that I’ve placed in the top five at a national show, I will definitely return to the USAs next year and try to win the whole thing. If I can pull that off, then who knows? You might even see me on the Olympia stage in five years. “One thing’s for sure though,” he muses. “If I make it to 80, I’ll still be lifting weights. They’ll probably be little weights, but I’ll be lifting them.’” Don’t worry, Mark. No matter what the weight, it’s a safe bet that you’ll always have your family right by your side to help you carry it. GET BACK BY MARK DUGDALE >> While I generally train other bodyparts very heavy, I’ve actually found that my back responds better when I lighten the weight. When it comes to training back, it’s very important to contract and squeeze the muscles throughout the movement. If you go too heavy, you’ll wind up putting too much effort into just getting the weight from point A to point B. >> Although my lower-back development has always been pretty good, I don’t specifically train this area. When I was starting out, I did deadlifts like everyone else. But I’ve found that between heavy squats on leg day and bent-over rows, I get all the lower-back work I need. >> I make sure to stretch my back between sets to keep the muscles limber and to help prevent injury. >> I’ll often do only two working sets per exercise but will go to complete failure on those two sets. I always make sure to warm up thoroughly before really hitting my back. For example, I like to start with seated pulley rows, which are a great thickness-builder. I’ll start with a light weight and do 2–3 sets just to get the blood flowing and the muscles warm. At least half of the sets of my first exercise are done in preparation for the last two. >> My second exercise is reverse-grip lat pulldowns, for developing the lats. I’m already warmed up from the seated rows, so I just jump into my two working sets. I like the underhand grip; I feel like I can get a better contraction in my lats this way. Again, I don’t go too heavy on these — not over 200 pounds — otherwise I don't really feel it. I try to hold the bar at the bottom of the movement and tense my lats for a second before letting it go back up. >> Barbell bent-over rows are a good basic movement for lat thickness. As with all of my back training, I concentrate on feeling the contraction of the muscles when doing these, especially through the negative part of the movement. >> I finish up with behind-the-neck lat pulldowns for width and definition. You need to go really light on these; I don’t use more than 120 or 130 pounds. Also, try to get as close to the weight stack as possible, so you bring the bar straight down and up. It takes a little practise to get it right, but when you do, you’ll feel it throughout your entire back and especially down the middle, which is a difficult area to isolate. SEATED CABLE ROW START: Sit facing the weight stack and place your feet on the platform with a slight bend in your knees. Bend forward at the hips and grasp a parallel-bar attachment. EXECUTION: With your torso upright, pull the handle to your navel, making sure to pull with your lats rather than your biceps. As you near full contraction, stick out your chest while squeezing your lats. Slowly return to the starting position, arms fully extended. REVERSE-GRIP LAT PULLDOWN START: On a lat pulldown machine, grasp a straight-bar attachment with a shoulder-width underhand grip. Begin with your arms fully extended above you. EXECUTION: Arch your back, stick out your chest and lean back slightly as you pull the bar down to your upper chest in a smooth, controlled manner. Hold the bottom position for a count as you squeeze your lats. Slowly return to the start position. BENT-OVER ROW START: Hold a barbell overhand with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, with rigid but slightly bent knees. Bend over slightly from the hips, keeping a straight back, and start with your arms extended toward the floor. EXECUTION: In a smooth movement, lift the barbell to your midsection, keeping your elbows out and angled slightly backward. Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top to contract your back muscles, then return to start. BEHIND-THE-NECK LAT PULLDOWN START: On a lat pulldown machine, grasp a long straight-bar attachment with a wide overhand grip (hands about 6 inches out from each shoulder) and your arms extended. Keep your back straight and perpendicular to the floor. EXECUTION: Pull the bar straight down and behind your head. At the bottom of the movement, contract your lats and hold for a second. Slowly return to the start position, feeling the stretch at the top of the movement. The depth to which you can lower the bar will depend upon your personal structure and flexibility. M&F Shawn Perine is a writer and graphic designer who lives in New York City. He publishes the bodybuilding website ironage.us.

Home