Addressing his back, Seid explained, “What was once one of my strongest muscle groups slowly faded into a lagging area. This was mainly because I relied on genetics and focused my attention elsewhere.” In the field of genetics, Seid was dealt an enviable hand. The former All-American wrestling champion was also touted to have a bright future in football before ACL injuries turned him to bodybuilding. The young start-up would become the youngest ever IFBB professional at the time, at the age of 19, and has amassed millions of social media followers inspired by his message about being a lifelong natural bodybuilder. In 2024, Seid won the Men’s Physique Natural Olympia title, and in 2025 he also qualified as an INBA PNB Men’s Classic Physique competitor.
“Lately I’ve been focusing on thickness, rather than width,” Seid wrote alongside his workout demo. “I train twice a week again and see good progress.”
Here’s how to try it yourself.
Jeff Seid’s ‘Back Thickness’ workout
- Cable sweater: 2 sets x 8 to 12 reps
- Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 2 sets x 8 to 10 reps
- Smith Machine Reverse Dumbbell Row: 2 sets x 6 to 8 reps
- Dumbbell rows: 2 sets x 10 reps
- Seated cable rows: 2 sets x 8 to 10 reps
- Halter shrugs: 2 sets x 8 to 12 reps
Jeff Seid’s back workout
Building muscle thickness requires moving heavy weights and this is Seid’s premise. “I do 1 to 2 work sets to failure, and my warm-up sets don’t count,” he explained, noting that he lowered his volume to go all out in these sets. “I do longer rests these days (3 to 4 minutes) and really try to pull heavier weight with good form.”
First came the cable sweaters. In case you’re wondering, the difference between pullovers and pulldowns is related to the shoulder movement. Pullovers move the weight in an arc, requiring shoulder flexion, while pulldowns are a more vertical movement and require less shoulder mobility. You’ll primarily work the lats, but you’ll also recruit the triceps, pecs, and deltoids for a stacked upper body. Moving on to wide grip lat pulldowns, the lats get another hammering here. Note that a wide grip, with your hands almost at the end of each handle, places more load on the upper portion of the lats, and also uses the biceps, rear delts and the rhomboids between your shoulder blades. This approach isn’t just about width; a full, round back is created.
For his third exercise, Seid sweats it out with reverse-grip dumbbell rows. Performing this move on the blacksmith machine makes it less about stabilizing his body and more about isolating his target muscles. The reverse or underhand/supination grip helps you keep your elbows close to the body, pulling the bar toward the lats in a fluid motion and working the entire back. Then the natural bodybuilder repeats with dumbbell rows, targeting his lats and upper back but also requires his core, biceps and lower back. When attempting this yourself, make sure the arms are not pulling the entire load with your arms and make sure your back is activated.
For his penultimate back pain, Seid sat down for cable rows, a move that works both the upper and lower back, in addition to your arms. Using the time under tension with cable work, slowly pull the cable toward you and then hold the contraction before repeating this exercise. Finally, Seid concluded his back-thickening session with the dumbbell shrug, an isolation move that adds mass to the upper back and shoulders. Shrugging can seriously increase falls. The key is to squeeze hard at the top of the shrug and then slowly lower the dumbbells back down.
Building a thick and round back requires variety to target key muscle groups, so this is a great workout to win the battle against a lagging back. “Make sure you hit all parts of the back,” says Seid enthusiastically. “No weekly points bro bro.”
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