文章基本信息

标题：Lean back: IFBB pro Darrem Charles is known for his calm, collected demeanor, but his back workout is anything but
作者：Gary Cohen
期刊名称：Muscle & Fitness
印刷版ISSN：0744-5105
出版年度：2005
卷号：July 2005
出版社：A M I - Weider Publications

Lean back: IFBB pro Darrem Charles is known for his calm, collected demeanor, but his back workout is anything but

Gary Cohen

BY THE TIME THE AVERAGE man turns 36 years old, he has started to settle down a little bit. At first glance, Darrem Charles is no different. He's a dedicated family man who works hard at his job so he can support his wife and 15-year-old son. He likes to wind down by watching movies with his family or relaxing at the beach. Recently, he even moved into a nice, large house in a distant suburb of Miami.

Of course, one look at IFBB pro Darrem Charles' shockingly defined musculature and it's easy to see that he's in no way your average man. His dynamic posing routines and rock-hard, symmetrical frame have been exciting audiences at bodybuilding competitions for longer than he'd care to admit. But in the last year and a half, the native Trinidadian has started to make waves on the professional circuit. In 2004, Darrem nabbed two first-place finishes and three seconds, and he hopes to improve on that record in 2005.

"I think the best is yet to come," Darrem says from his Coral Springs, Florida, home. "I'm really peaking now, and my body is really responding, so we'll see."

DON'T JUDGE A BOOK ...

Darrem is about as unassuming as a 5'9", 230-pound statue of slate-hard muscle can be--he's polite, soft-spoken and respectful. But don't let the easygoing facade fool you. Underneath it all, Darrem is a fierce competitor.

"Oh yeah, I want to win really bad," he says with an intensity that belies his typically cool exterior. "I mean, this is what I do. This is my profession. This is what I work hard for. I've gotten a lot of raw deals in the past, and everybody knows it. So I always feel that I've got to be not just good out there but twice as good."

Darrem's famously laid-back demeanor actually comes from a confidence born of his tremendous work ethic. He does not believe in giving less than 100% in anything he does. As a result, his training regimen is both relentless and exacting. When it comes time for competitions, he doesn't leave anything to chance.

"It's all about knowing that I did my homework," Darrem explains. "That I didn't cheat on my diet. That I trained the way I was supposed to train. I know I'm totally ready, and I'm standing out there, confident. I'm standing out there with no regrets. When you know you've done all you can, then it's up to the judges."

IT'S ALL IN THE PRESENTATION

Regardless of what the judges think, Darrem has become a fan favorite over the years due to his dynamic and inspired posing routines. He begins his preparation several months before a competition so he can present his muscle as effectively as possible onstage. He's always on the lookout for something that inspires him--from television commercials to movies to songs on the radio--and will elevate his performances to new heights. Anything that grabs his attention is fair game.

"I spend hours and hours trying to find something that really hits me and that I think will be good for the audience," Darrem comments. "Once I find that inspiration, a lot of hours are spent putting the posing routine together. I put in lots of time for that little 2-3 minutes onstage."

Although he's widely respected on the IFBB circuit, Darrem feels he has been at the losing end of some questionable (to put it mildly) calls in past competitions. He freely admits that his mellow persona might have been partially to blame.

"Now I try to come off a little more aggressive onstage, which isn't really my personality," he says. "If you're too laid-back, the judges are going to take it that you don't want it bad enough. It shouldn't be that way--it should just be about your body and how well you present it--but they want to see [the competitive fire] sometimes."

ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY

Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Darrem is that he had the best year of his career in 2004 at 35 years old, an age at which most professional athletes are on the downward slope of their careers. Of course, this is no fluke. Bodybuilding is a cumulative effort, and Darrem has steadily added mass to his exceptionally lean physique every year. He went into this year's Arnold Classic--an event where he placed a respectable sixth--at 230 pounds. That's 10 pounds heavier than his competition weight just a few years ago. Like fine wine, his physique just seems to get better and better with age.

But Darrem acknowledges that, because of his age, he can no longer be frivolous with his training, joking that his "wheels" already have at least a good 100,000 miles on them. A self-professed sports nut, Darrem grew up playing soccer and basketball. But he no longer fantasizes about being Michael Jordan or Pele. He's grown more comfortable in his own skin, and these days his dreams consist solely of beating the likes of Dexter Jackson and Chris Cormier at the Olympia.

"I'm a bodybuilder now," says Darrem. "I've grown to realize that in the last couple of years. And you know what that means? It means you don't screw around, because I'll tell you what ... I can lift 1,000 pounds, but if I just bend over to move a mat too quickly, without being careful, I can throw my back out."

Darrem may be considered one of the old men of the bodybuilding world, but he still has no plans to slow down anytime in the near future. He's scheduled for three more competitions this year--the New York Pro, on May 21, and the Toronto Pro, on June 4, (both of which he plans to win, by the way) and the Olympia. After that, who knows? Darrem loves bodybuilding, and he's confident that he has a good 4-5 years of serious competition left in him. "There's always the Masters," he says.

With Darrem's meticulous preparation and "slow but steady wins the race" philosophy, it's a good bet he'll be oiled up and under the lights for years to come.

RELATED ARTICLE: A BLAST FOR THE BACK

1 One of the most important things to remember when training your back is to always keep your chest out as the weight approaches you. This brings your shoulder blades in toward each other, which is how you get that full contraction of the lats and rhomboids.

2 Minimize the involvement of your biceps and forearms in back exercises. You'll always feel them to a certain extent, but the key is to target the back muscles by keeping your mind focused on them 100%.

3 With pull-ups and lat pull-downs, I use a wide grip almost exclusively because those are the only two exercises that really work your upper lats and help develop width in your torso. Almost all other movements, like any type of row, work your middle back and lower lats. The wider your grip, the higher up on your lats the move works.

4 Work unilateral movements (one arm at a time) into your back routine as often as possible, preferably every workout. One-arm dumbbell rows are great, but you can do cable rows unilaterally, too--just attach a D-handle. Unilateral movements are good because they don't allow your stronger side to overpower the weaker; this results in better overall development and symmetry.

5 Experiment with different grips and attachments to change your workout and muscle emphasis. Even a subtle change in grip can alter the angle of movement and shock your back into greater muscle growth.

6 Don't neglect your lower back. Although I didn't perform any in this workout, I routinely incorporate movements like low-back extensions into my routine. Eithen do these as part of your back workout or with your ab training.

WIDE-GRIP PULL-UP

Hang from a bar using a slightly wider than shoulder-width, overhand grip. Aim your chest toward the bar and pull up your body by squeezing your shoulder blades together, arching your back and focusing on pulling with your lats. More advanced athletes can use a weighted belt to increase the level of difficulty.

DARREM'S TAKE: "I like to do this or wide-grip lat pull-downs first in my workout. Pull your chest as close as possible to the bar, and always keep an arch in your lower back."

WIDE-GRIP LAT PULLDOWN

Take a wider than shoulder-width, overhand grip on the bar. Arch your back and squeeze your shoulder blades as you pull the bar down behind your neck. Hold for a count. Release the bar, allowing your arms to straighten and your shoulders to rise before dropping them to pull the bar back down. [Ed's note: The shoulder position during this exercise can lead to injury, so perform it no more than every other back workout, alternating it with pulldowns to the front.]

DARREM'S TAKE: "When you work behind the neck and you're sitting straight up, you work the area straight across the upper back more, from the upper lats, to the rear delts, and so on."

T-BAR ROW

Sit or stand on a T-bar row apparatus. Using a wide grip on the handles, lift the weight toward your body with your back by squeezing your shoulder blades together and pulling your elbows back. Bring the weight up as high as you can or until it touches your chest. Your elbows should point up and slightly out as you lift. Return the weight to the starting position in a slow, controlled manner, fully extending your arms and allowing your back to stretch.

DARREM'S TAKE: "This [seated variation] helps take stress off the lower back, unlike the traditional T-bar row. It's really important not to pull your chest off the pad--that's the reason the pad is there."

ONE-ARM DUMBBELL ROW

Grasp a dumbbell with an overhand grip and your palm facing your body. Rest your opposite hand and knee on a flat bench. Your supporting leg should be slightly flexed with your foot on the floor. Keeping your back straight and parallel to the floor, pull the dumbbell up in a straight line all the way to your lower ribs. Focus on pulling your shoulder blade back and keeping your elbow close to your body. Slowly lower to a full stretch, then repeat for reps.

DARREM'S TAKE: "I try to keep my shoulders as parallel as possible to the floor. When the weight approaches my chest. I push my chest into the weight. That's going to help you get the full contraction in your back and keep it nice and flat."

THE ROUTINE

EXERCISE                SETS     REPS

Wide-Grip Pull-Up        3    12, 10, 8
 (weighted)
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown   3    12, 10, 8
 (behind the neck)
T-Bar Row                3    12, 10, 8
One-Arm Dumbbell Row     3    12, 10, 8

TRAINING SPLIT

DAY  BODYPARTS TRAINED

1    Quads, calves
2    Chest, hamstrings
3    Back, calves
4    Shoulders, abs
5    Biceps, triceps
6    Off
7    Off

BY DARREM CHARLES

Gary Cohen is a freelance writer and actor who lives in Chicago. E-mail him at gacohen@ameritech.net