Al Auguste Sets His Comeback Sights On PBW Championships in Tampa
Winning from the Back
Al Auguste Sets His Comeback Sights On PBW Championships in Tampa
One of the major storylines for this weekend’s (August 7th and 8th) upcoming PBW Championships in Tampa is how Al Auguste will fare in the 212 division after two years out of competitive action. Dubbed “The Hybrid”, because for many his physique is a blend of Flex Wheeler and Ronnie Coleman, Auguste earned his pro card by winning the light heavy division at the 2010 USA Championships. This was after being runner up at three pro qualifiers (2007 USAs, 2008 and 2009 Nationals). He won his pro debut by taking the 2011 PBW Championships in Tamps and had a stellar year in 2012 winning three 2112 pro shows and topped it off with 5th place at that year’s Olympia showdown. He instantly became front-runner in any 212 contest, but in 2013 his results did not equal his 2012 form. This was due to a long-term knee injury (he was quite the soccer player in his youth) and finally in early 2014 he had to submit t surgery, which kept him out of competition until now. He’s working with contest prep advisor A.J. Sims who’s gaining a fast growing rep really accomplished at getting guys in shape.
The Haitian Creation
Al was born on December 3, 1980 in Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince, where he lived until his family emigrated to Florida when he was 14. Though he studied martial arts for two years, it was soccer that Auguste excelled at, playing it from the age of eight all the way though his junior year of college in Indiana. Becoming a pro star like Pelé or David Beckham was his dream, but it was not to be. During a game in his freshman year, Al jumped up for a header and landed very badly when his leg got caught in the grass, tearing his ACL. He only played a few games in his sophomore year due to recurring pain, but by his junior year that was no longer the issue. "I was fine to play by then, but I was not as strong or fast as I had been before— I had gone from an excellent soccer player to just above average."
After college, Al returned to Orlando and joined a local gym to stay fit. "I'd been an athlete all my life and had done weights for football, soccer, and cross-country, so I kept up my training regimen with those." Al had always been aware of bodybuilding and liked the look, but had never considered anything like competing himself. Though he wasn't a big guy by any means, Auguste had always been naturally lean and muscular, and was really just a smaller version of what you see today. In other words, the shape and potential were there for anyone with an eye for physiques to see.
Contests Are Won From the Back
As he prepares to somewhat resurrect his career by returning to Tampa, the scene of his winning pro debut four years ago, to recapture or exceed his 2012 form here’s the exercises Auguste employs in the gym to fill out and beef up that rugged wingspan of his.
1) (Very) Wide-grip Pulldowns to Front
Most bodybuilders do lat pulldowns, but the grip is rarely much wider than the point where the bar bends on each side. Because Al wants to focus on building more inner back thickness, he sets his hands closer to the very ends of the bar. On all his back exercises, Al pyramids up in weight over 4 sets as the reps follow a progression of 20, 15, 12-15, and 8-10. "Not only does that prevent injuries by gradually warming-up to the heaviest weights, but it also hits different types of muscle fibers than you do when you just stick with 8-12 reps all the time," adds Al. It's tougher to handle heavy weights with such a wide grip, but Al routinely works up to using the entire 260-pound stack in the off-season.
2) Barbell Rows
Auguste has been doing barbell rows for years, but some time back he adopted a wider grip on the bar to again hit more of that mid-back. "Just like it's not so common to see great backs in general, you see even fewer with that nice thickness right around the spine, dead center in the back," Al notes. He pulls the bar up into his abdomen and crunches his scapulae together, flexing the mid-back for all it's worth.
3) T-bar Rows
Once in a while Al will do T-bar rows instead of standard barbell rows. When he does, it's hardcore “corner T-bar rows” with one end of the barbell jammed into a corner and some plates stacked on it. "I can go up to six plates on that exercise, but I'm not really a big fan of it," confides Al. "For me, the barbell row just feels right."
4) Dumbbell Rows
Another occasional choice for his free weight row is the dumbbell version, which he tends to do closer to a contest when his strength is starting to ebb.
5) Seated Cable Rows
Cable rows are a staple in Al's back routine, as he feels they are a perfect complement to barbell rows. "Once I have done my heavy barbell rows with a wide grip, I can hit the lats differently on the cable row using a more narrow grip like the standard attachment most guys use," he observes.
The ironic thing that I have only really figured out myself in recent years is that a wide grip on back exercises actually works the inner section of the back better, despite the long-standing myth of doing wide-grip movements to improve width. So it stands to reason that a narrow grip will target the outer, flaring region of the lats.
"One thing I always do on cable rows is to keep my torso pretty upright the whole time," Al tells us. "When you start leaning forward with the stretch and backward with the pull like a lot of guys do, you lose range of motion and you don't get the same deep contractions in the lats."
6) Close-grip Pulldowns
One way Al likes to finish his back off, about every third workout, is with a variation on close-grip lat pulldowns, sitting with his back to the weight stack and thus not anchored under the roller pads. "This changes up the angle and lets you hit the smaller muscles in the upper back like the rhomboids, teres major, and teres minor," he explains. "Those can make a real visual impact in your rear double-biceps pose." It's not meant for heavy weights, and Al typically stays with the same weight for 4 sets of 15 reps, aiming for a sick, full pump in his upper back to put the final touch on the workout.
Typical Back Workout
Wide-grip lat pulldowns 140 x 20, 200 x 15, 230 x 12, 260 x 10
Barbell rows 135 x 20, 185 x 15, 225 x 10, 315 x 8
Seated cable rows 135 x 20, 185 x 15, 210 x 10, 230 x 8
Wide-grip pull-ups Bodyweight, 3 x 15, 13, 12
Stay tuned to musculuardevelopment.com to see how Al does in Tampa this coming weekend. Plus continued updates, previews, interviews, play-by-play and wrap-ups of the 2015 PBW Championships. The prejudging for pro 212, FBB, MPD, WPD, Masters (WPD, WPD, takes place at 12-noon local time (EST) on Friday August 7th, with the finals scheduled for 6.00pm (EST) the same day. The prejudging for pro men’s bodybuilding, Fitness, Bikini and Masters Bikini takes lace at 12 noon (EST) Saturday, August 8th, with finals at 6.00pm (EST)