The bodybuilding duo showed that their strength lies in numbers.

Written by Stephen Sheehan, CPT Last updated on October 4, 2023

After an impressive performance in Dubai that secured him a place in the 2023 Mr. Olympia squad, Terrence Ruffin has the chance to remind everyone why he is considered one of the top competitors in the Classic Physique class. The winner of the 2022 Arnold Classic has officially earned a trip Orlando, FL by taking home the Classic Physique title at the Dubai Pro 2023 on September 24, 2023, putting him on track to walk across the stage on the weekend of November 2-5.

While Ruffin faces an uphill battle to prevail four-time champion Chris Bumsteadhe took a step in the right direction by teaming up with someone who had already reached the top of the mountain: Brandon Curry. Ruffin shared highlights of his shoulder-focused training session with the 2019 Mr. Olympia Men’s Open champion in a vlog posted to his YouTube channel on October 4, 2023.

Both bodybuilders are trying to recover from disappointing performances at the Mr. Olympia competition 2022 (Curry finished fourth in the Men’s Open while Ruffin finished sixth in Classic Physique), the session included both Exercises to build muscle and insightful discussions that showcase the physical and mental strength it takes to compete at the highest level.

After a brief greeting, their training begins at the :20 mark of the video.

One-armed side pulley bent forward

Curry began the shoulder-based session with bent-over cable side raises. He maintained a neutral spine and a slight bend in the knees, emphasizing staying with the arm as long as possible during the movement. After several warm-up sets on each side, Ruffin and his training partner increased the intensity.

Coach Amer Kamra pushed both bodybuilders to complete sets of 15 reps each, which helped them maintain a full swing. During this first exercise, Curry emphasized that most delt movements do not fully stretch the muscle, which limits muscle growth potential. At one point, Kamra had Ruffin train with a lighter load – a programming decision he explained later in training.

“We start with the rear deltoids: two warm-up sets, then we do two upper sets,” Kamra explained. “If he doesn’t make the first top set, we reduce the weight and do back-off sets.”

Single Arm Rear Delt Machine

After working on the cable on their first exercise, Curry and Ruffin moved on to the hamstrings. Instead of sitting with their chest against the pad, the bodybuilders sat sideways, which provided more freedom of movement to build what Kamra called “3D” shoulders.

Ruffin’s muscular endurance was tested during this time. He completed sets of 12 to 15 repetitions that forced him to stretch and tense his hamstrings until they almost failed.

Lateral lifting machine

Next, the Olympic duo targeted the obliques lateral lifting Machine. This exercise particularly highlighted Curry’s shapely shoulders.

But even the former Mr. Olympia winner faced the painful reality of repeatedly performing side raises after finishing one of his sets and quickly leaning on a nearby machine to catch his breath. Ruffin finished with a final set that put significant strain on his obliques and trapezius muscles.

Seated shoulder press

As the group moved on to the plate-loaded shoulder press machine, Kamra told Curry and Ruffin that they needed to do three “regular” sets, followed by a drop set. Starting with a 20-kilogram plate on each side, the IFBB pros went through several sets of this top class shoulder-forming Exercise.

Ruffin got a bit of a rude awakening from this part of the training. After completing 12 reps with 80 pounds on each side, he performed a drop set that humiliated him to say the least.

“The first day I got back they beat my ass,” Ruffin said.

Curry demonstrated his impressive combination of strength and endurance by working with a significantly heavier load to complete this portion of the session. Kamra pushed the Nashville native to complete 15 reps with what appeared to be a 200-pound load on each side, followed by a 12-rep drop set with 40 pounds.

Front lifting with cable rope

Returning to the cables for rope front raises gave Curry and Ruffin another chance to round out their shoulders. In addition, it gave them the opportunity to talk about life outside the city Bodybuilding. Working at a more relaxed pace, they completed rounds of this front-shoulder-focused movement while discussing how to achieve balance between bodybuilding and attending to family and other commitments.

“The more you understand that these difficult times will come, we live in reality, we try to plan appropriately,” Curry, 40, explained. “If you have these false expectations or this perfect reality that’s not going to happen, then you’re going to run into obstacles.”

Kramer brought things back into focus by asking the bodybuilders to complete five sets of lighter weight before moving on to the final exercise.

Dumbbell lateral raises

The workout ended with a classic bodybuilding move: dumbbell lateral raises. Both Curry and Ruffin initially used lighter weights to achieve huge upper body pumps. Kramer then had each man complete three consecutive sets of 10 reps with increasingly heavier reps dumbbells.

Olympic level shoulder training

If you’re going for the boulder-for-shoulders look, this workout is a great incentive. Working in the 12-15 rep range and using drop sets can produce effective results, especially when you combine this type of training protocol with one Muscle building diet.

• One-armed side pulley bent forward
• Single Arm Rear Delt Machine
• Lateral lifting machine
• Seated shoulder press
• Front lifting with cable rope
• Dumbbell lateral raises

Although their 2022 Olympic experience didn’t go as planned, Ruffin and Curry appear poised to perform better when they take the stage at the Orange County Convention Center. Based on her post-workout, after all to pose Both men boast impressive physiques that make them worthy candidates for the 2023 Mr. Olympia show in their respective categories.

Featured Image: Ruff Diesel / YouTube