Veteran bodybuilder Dex Jackson he chose longevity over massive build and has lost several pounds in the past two years. However, she still belongs to the top 1% of the population in terms of fitness. The former Mr. Olympia recently showed how he maintains his massive arms in retirement.
Jackson’s IFBB Pro career spanned nearly 22 years. He competed in the Mens Open division and peaked in the 2000s. He is hailed as one of the greatest competitors in the history of the sport. The 53-year-old has presented several obstacles to dominant champions such as Ronnie Coleman AND Jay Cutler. His resume includes five Arnold Classic titles (2005, 2006, 2008, 2013 and 2015).
The greatest achievement of Jackson’s career is winning the Mr. Olympia title in 2008 by defeating Cutler. Since he retired from the sport after a ninth-place finish in the Olympia 2020Jackson’s potential return has made several rounds in the sports media. However, he devotes himself to his health and family, having no interest in wearing shorts again.
Jackson has become quite active on the internet in recent months and regularly posts his workouts on his YouTube channel. He introduced his arm workout to fans in the latest video. So let’s take a look at how “The Blade” holds his huge arms.
Dexter Jackson does an arm workout
Jackson originally intended to train his chest the day the video was recorded. However, she experiences recurring pain in her wrists. It usually lasts for a couple of weeks and prevents him from lifting heavy weights during this time.
“It went on for about 10 years of my life. So we’ll change things up. We’re going to go forward with the arms instead of the chest,” Jackson explained.
As a result, he chose to train his arms instead of his chest, as arms typically respond to moderate weights and higher volume, putting less stress on Jackson’s wrists.
Drag Curl
Jackson considers drag curls one of his favorite arm exercises. Drag curls are a variation of straight bar curls, and Jackson explained the correct technique for performing them.
“The reason I call them drag curls is because you want to drag the bar across your stomach, okay? And you’re doing curls like this (with the bar very close to the front of the body)… The elbow is as far back as possible. You’re Squeezing It Up Want that good peak exercise? This is right here,” she said.
She maintains a range of 8 to 12 reps for each of her sets and busts out four sets of drag curls to work her biceps.
Seated cord over head curl
Jackson then resumes the cable machine variation of bicep curls. Cable machines keep your muscles tensed throughout your full range of motion. This helps determine hypertrophy more effectively. This is especially beneficial for bodybuilders as hypertrophy and muscle gain are the primary goals. Additionally, working the biceps in the overhead position places more emphasis on the short head of the biceps, which results in epic weapons. (1)
Again, Jackson does about four sets of this exercise and then resumes dumbbell hammer curls after that.
Dumbbell hammer curl
Hammer curls are an excellent way to work on the overall girth of your biceps. A very simple variation of standard dumbbell curls, this exercise works the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis elbow flexors in the arms. (2)
Jackson concludes the biceps segment of his workout with four sets of dumbbell hammer curls as he shifts his focus to his triceps.
Quad Set: Cable Triceps Pushdown, Seated Dip Press, Dip Machine Assisted Pushdown, and Rope Triceps Pushdown
Jackson has been following this method of training his triceps for nearly a decade to get a good pump, and as it turns out, it’s undoubtedly benefited him. Jackson performs a series of all four exercises in quick succession. He repeats this circuit three or four times, depending on how he feels on a particular day.
It begins with cable triceps dips and follows up with seated dip presses on a Matrix selector machine. After this, Jackson does triceps pushups on an assisted dip machine. He uses the knee pad of the dip press machine as a handle and pushes it down to stimulate his triceps. The final exercise in the quad set is the triceps rope pushdown.
Jackson suggests twisting your wrists outward as you push the weight down to create the full elbow flexion necessary for triceps activation. He repeats this circuit three times to finish the arm workout.
Overall workout:
Biceps
Triceps
Jackson is living his retirement life happily and has all but given up drug assistance to build and maintain his physique. He enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and he focuses on staying healthy at this stage of life. During this workout, Jackson reiterated that he would not return to competition under any circumstances.
“I would never go on stage again. People think your body is back on shit again. And I’m like, no TRT, no HRT, none of that crap. I’m just limiting my meals to about three meals a day. Anything more and my butt will gain weight. I’ll settle for just two. But if I want to do it two (meals a day), my weight will go down. I’m between 200 and 205. Perfect weight, feel good and look good.
A lifted physique forms a huge part of a bodybuilder’s identity and self-image. As a result, many retired bodybuilders have a hard time letting go and getting down to an average size, even if it means health and longevity. Jackson is one of the few men who made that transformation and set a positive example for other bodybuilders to follow after hanging their trunks in the pose.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Dexter Jackson’s YouTube channel:
References:
- Overhead Cable Curl – Variations, Benefits, Shape and Techniques (Author – Dr. Malik, Tom Miller CSCS)
- Hammer Curls: Instructions and Variations (Author – Travis Edwards, PT, MPT, Medical Review by Jake Tipane CPT)
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