Tribute to the TOP 6 backs of 2010s

[Soforak]

Hi,

Before I even start this, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this. I've been inactive due to studies and exams and what have you, and it kind of feels weird writing back here again. Anyway, backs have always been something impressive and respected in the bodybuilding world. The old saying ''shows are won from the back'' isn't always accurate but certainly expresses the importance of having a great back development up on stage. We fans have seen many bodybuilders come and go and few have had the memorable back development that keeps us in awe, therefore, I decided to create this list. Now, you may wonder, what's so special about this list? What's going to be interesting here that wasn't in other lists?

Well, to start off, this list will NOT include the same old top 3 from the past (Haney, Coleman and Yates) as they are almost always a lock for any list, and that, to be honest, was fun the first few times I read it in the magazines and articles but its no longer something unique. We don't need a list that tells us that Ronnie had a sick back or that Yates's x-mas tree pose is the greatest of all time because we already know this. And if you don't, seriously, where have you been ;P ?

So anways, this is the list of the top 6 backs of 2010 and up until present time. I'll include some honorable mentions at the end but probably won't include pictures. Hope you enjoy and thank you once again for tuning in

6) Juan Morel

Now, when I say back, Im not including the hams or glutes, simply the upper body structure (sorry if it disappointed you), and should I have, Juan wouldn't be here as he isn't really the greatest from the waist down. But looking at his back development, looking at it's graininess and the thickness, it's very very hard to deny that the guy has a phenomenal and BRUTAL back development. Is it a Mr Olympia caliber back ? No. at least not quite yet. He has great full delts, the thickness in his traps and deep back muscles that go all the way down his back just POPS in the rear lat spread. To be fair, I put him in solid 6th and the reason for that is because he still lacks a small amount of lower lat thickness that simply comes with maturation.



5) Dennis Wolf

Currently my favorite bodybuilder on stage, the big bad Wolf has transformed his much critisized back into a Sandow-worthy, moster truck, country mile piece of meat hanging behind him. Sure, when Dennis isn't full, his lats in his lower back vanish and We've seen that in 2012, but let's be real here, it's freakin hard for a tall dude to keep fullness, trust me, even for a top 3 Olympian. But slowly but surely he is getting that fixed. His back is just wide, wide and more wide. His teres majors and infraspinatus and traps are among the greatest and most beautiful of all time and when he hits that back double bi, the crowd goes NUTZ for the amount of detail and thickness he got up there. His lower back isn't the greatest when he is not full, but Dennis is still young and is still developing. Dennis is also, like Morel, SOLID in 5th due to high lat insertions and lack of detail in the lower back when compared with the next 4 guys.



4) Kai Greene

OH HELL NAH, HOW COULD YOU!? Yes guys, I don't think Kai's back is all that great and the reason is simple: IT'S NOT COMPLETE. Kai is the opposite of Dennis, his lower back is thicker than his upper back, which is really really unique. Unlike Dennis, Kai's back goes ALLLLLLLLLLL the way down to his waist much like Lee Haney and Ronnie (matter of fact, his physique reminds of a smaller Ronnie). Kai's weak point which was especially obvious in 2012 Olympia, is his trap development. It's simply mushed away into the rest of the musculature and is not as thick when compared propotionally to his lower back. When he hits the rear lat spread, the width is obvious, but the trap thickness is not. And it's even made worse when he stands next to a full reigning, bubbly Mr Olympia that has peaks in his back.. regardless of all that Im saying, Kai will go down in history as having one of the most beautiful and shizzled backs of all time and it shouldn't be a suprise to anyway if we are talking about his back 10 years from now as one that can rival the likes of Yates and Coleman.



3rd Place: David Henry

Let the excretion storm be initiated. Yes, I thick DH has a BETTER back development that Kai. When I saw pictures of David in the 2014 Arnold 212, my jaw dropped. Never have I seen such complete back development with every muscle visible and popping like the way DH's did. His back flares out from all angles and just thick and detailed all around. Even beating Kai in the trap department. His musclebelies in his back are full and shredded. If Im going to say anything regarding it's total development, I think he should tweak the rear lat spread better to showcase more width. But ay, Im no expert, just a fan. The reason DH recieved the bronze medal is because the next two are complete from top to bottom with both back poses taken into account. And this is what makes the list fun, the requirements I've had in mind was that the both the rear lat and the BDB should be as complete as possible.



2nd Place: Mr Olympia Phil Heath

This is an interesting placing for me when I was sorting out the placings. At first, I thought I'd easily put Phil in 1st, I mean sure, he doesn't have the best width to the back structurally and I don't think he really can get any wider.. Yet, something about his back poses that is just PERFECT, Im not sure what it is, could be the way he excutes the poses. But just his shape and detail, the roundness, the fullness in his back. BTW, although I wasn't into BB before 2010, I've seen from old videos how much critisizm he'd recieve for lack of width and detail in his back. Yet, even in MDB's @THIS_is_Bodybuilding list on instagram, it was just obvious that Phil's back was simply a manner of maturation adn development and NOT a genetic weak point. Phil has transformed his back from ''sure his back looks great'' to ''Oh look, a turtle shell!'' and it's now officially complete from top to bottom with maching thickness and detail, ofcourse, being 4X Mr Olympia doesn't hurt him either and just confirms the guy's hard work. Placing him 2nd was hard, and I know a lot of people are fans of Phil, but the next guy is simply oustading and has just too much on Phil IMO. hint: the guy is not even a top 6 Olympian ;D



..and now, the winner of this list... the recipient of the best backs of 2010 award (IMO).. is..........



1st Place: Johhnie O. Jackson!!

The winner of the worlds strongest bodybuilder title, JOJ is a POWERHOUSE. His back development is just plain monsterous, nothing in his back looks normal, NOTHING. I've sometimes even found myself wondering ''****, does he have some inplants in his back??'' That's how freaky and thick his back is. JOJ was a former powerlifter and that probably explains the freakin mountains he has in his back. His traps start right next to his ears and runs all the way down until they meet up with the erector spinae muscles of his lower back. I mean seriously, he doesn't even need neck pillows for god's sake. I do have to say this though, we've seen JOJ perfectly ON a few times and with everytime I see him on stage, Im just in complete AWE of his back, regardless of his conditioning. His back just POPS all around, his back poses, his rear lat spread and his relaxed rear pose always gets the crowd screaming! Everything in this guys back is all around complete, mature, thick, dense, crazy, wicked, sick(ening) and just disgusting. And that's why he wins the list. I could Flip flop him and Heath, but JOJ has 1 thing over Phil, the natural WIDTH of dem lats.

Side not: JOJ is currently competing for the Dallas Pro title against Steve Kuclo and that's where I got the idea to make this list ;D



Some honorable mentions:

Big Ramy, great back, widest ever I believe. On the way to maturation, much like Phil, his back isn't a genetic weak point. He is just young in the sport and is still a work in progress. Not the best back detail but he is certainly on his way as the potential is there.

Dexter Jackson, would have easily flipped him with Morel or even Wolf for that matter and would love to have had him in this list if I were able to put more that 6 pictures. Great mature back, has an X-mas tree in the RLS, his teres pops like crazy, much like Kai's do, his traps are thick and he is pretty much complete from top to bottom. Lacks a small amount of width in the lat spread, but the POP and X-mas he has on there pretty much makes up for that. As I stated earlier, I could have flipped flopped him with Morel but Morels Brutality simply overpowers Dex's aestethics (as much as I hate that word)

Cedric McMillan, one of my all time favourites. His back reminds a little of that of DH. I don't know really, I've never seen Cedric fully perfectly in shape to determine if it's one of the greatest or NAH. He has beautiful detail in his back (which he showcased in 2015 AC), great shoulder and trap development and the RLS is one of the best in the world currently. Why he didnt make it on this list, well, 2 reasons, Morel's Brutal thickness and Dexter's maturity. Cedric's back is Lee Haneyish in the making, but unless he comes in shape and tops that of the 2015 AC, I wont acknowledge his back as one of the best of the current era.

I hope you enjoyed this tribute, please, let me know waht you think. I know someone disagrees with me so let's get a discussion going!
Thank you so much for tuning in and have a great day

[Meshuggah]

There's no way Morel's back is better than Dexter's.

[Iceman1981]

Hi,

Before I even start this, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this. I've been inactive due to studies and exams and what have you, and it kind of feels weird writing back here again. Anyway, backs have always been something impressive and respected in the bodybuilding world. The old saying ''shows are won from the back'' isn't always accurate but certainly expresses the importance of having a great back development up on stage. We fans have seen many bodybuilders come and go and few have had the memorable back development that keeps us in awe, therefore, I decided to create this list. Now, you may wonder, what's so special about this list? What's going to be interesting here that wasn't in other lists?

Well, to start off, this list will NOT include the same old top 3 from the past (Haney, Coleman and Yates) as they are almost always a lock for any list, and that, to be honest, was fun the first few times I read it in the magazines and articles but its no longer something unique. We don't need a list that tells us that Ronnie had a sick back or that Yates's x-mas tree pose is the greatest of all time because we already know this. And if you don't, seriously, where have you been ;P ?

So anways, this is the list of the top 6 backs of 2010 and up until present time. I'll include some honorable mentions at the end but probably won't include pictures. Hope you enjoy and thank you once again for tuning in

6) Juan Morel

Now, when I say back, Im not including the hams or glutes, simply the upper body structure (sorry if it disappointed you), and should I have, Juan wouldn't be here as he isn't really the greatest from the waist down. But looking at his back development, looking at it's graininess and the thickness, it's very very hard to deny that the guy has a phenomenal and BRUTAL back development. Is it a Mr Olympia caliber back ? No. at least not quite yet. He has great full delts, the thickness in his traps and deep back muscles that go all the way down his back just POPS in the rear lat spread. To be fair, I put him in solid 6th and the reason for that is because he still lacks a small amount of lower lat thickness that simply comes with maturation.

Juan Morel at 6? really? I respect your opinion, but there are other bodybuilders from the 2010's to now with a better back than Juan Morel.

Victor 2011 Sheru Classic

[BigStew]

Where is Flex Lewis

Come on Son

[flangmasterj]

Far better backs out there but cheers for the effort you put in OP.

[jaredmus]

Eduardo corrrea is a freak

[deathmetal1992]

pretty solid list by OP

my top 6:
6.David Henry
5.Victor Martinez
4. Phil Heath
3. Johnnie Jackson
2. Kai Greene
1. Cedric (perfect)


edit: I can't do a top 6 list, all I know is that Cedric is my favorite. Other notable backs: Dexter and Ramy, Dennis Wolf, Bonac, Alex Fedorov, Correa,Daniel Toth, Peter Molnar (not an IFBB pro but imo his back is amazing). Feel free to add to this list.

[NVious]

JOJ/Cedric/Kai/Phil


Everyone else

[Soforak]

Actually after making this I kind of regret putting Morel in 6th, but I'm not disregarding Ced nor Dex in anyway though. Both got siiick backs!