BACK IN BUSINESS

For the better part of their sport’s 100-year history, bodybuilders were, for the most part, a “forward” thinking bunch. Classic bodybuilding photos often depict guys hitting a variety of poses showing off their frontal development – double biceps, side chest, archer’s pose – but rarely a back shot.

It’s not that back development wasn’t appreciated by bodybuilding’s founding fathers, but a heavier premium was put on developing showier muscles, such as biceps and pecs, rather than on lats and lumbar regions.

Then came Sergio Oliva who, in the late 1960s, redefined back development with an unprecedented combination of lat width and thickness and a host of poses to show it all off.

In the ’70s, Arnold Schwarzenegger wowed audiences with his signature 3⁄4-twist rear double-biceps shot, which revealed middle-back detail. Franco Columbu upped the ante still further when he introduced us to a rear lat spread best described as resembling a cobra’s hood.

In the 1980s, Samir Bannout brought back awareness to a new level when the term “Christmas tree” was coined specifically to describe his deeply etched spinal erectors. Then Lee Haney solidified the need for an outstanding back in pro bodybuilding once and for all by presenting a rear view that showed greater depth and detail than many of his competitors’ front sides. His heirs to the Olympia throne – Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman – have followed suit, each man in his time having rightfully laid claim to being the possessor of the world’s greatest back.

As a new generation of pro bodybuilders begins to emerge, there’s no sign that this back-story is about to end any time soon. At the forefront of back development is a man who many predict will rapidly rise to the top of the bodybuilding pack: Richard Jones.

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