Men’s Open bodybuilder Brett “The Butcher” Wilkin is coming off a 2023 bodybuilding season where he withdrew from the 2023 Mr. Olympia due to digestive issues. For the 2024 season, Wilkin intends to bounce back in a big way through a new split.
Brett Wilkin’s 2024 Shoulders & Triceps Workout
Seated Reverse Cable Flyes
Bent-over Single-Arm Cable Kick-outs
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Seated Machine Lateral Raises
Machine Shoulder Presses
Alternating Cable Front Raises
Single-Arm Cable Triceps Pushdowns
Single-Arm Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions
On Jan. 26, 2024, Wilkin showcased the shoulder and triceps workout featured in his updated training split. Check it out below:
[Related: Nick Walker Will Enter the 2024 New York Pro Bodybuilding Show]
Brett Wilkin’s 2024 Training Split
Wilkin’s new workout structure kicks off each week with shoulders and triceps training. The following day is quad-focused, followed by chest and biceps on day three, back day on day four, and hamstring-focused on day five.
Wilkin’s five-day split enables him to return to the schedule while training symmetrically. Eventually, Wilkin plans to adjust his split based on his body’s needs. His current volume fully fatigues fatigue each muscle group on training day and allows for enough recovery before training the same muscle group the following week.
Rear Deltoids
Similar to a reverse pec deck, Wilkin and his bodybuilding coach, Nick Gloff, began on the cable machine to attack shoulders. Wilkin extends the cables outward by contracting his rear delts, squeezing the upper back until the rear delts are fully shortened.
Wilkin ended with a trio of pause sets of 10 reps, with a 10-second hold on each set’s final rep. Wilkin credits coach Joe Bennett for this particular shoulder exercise, which trains the delts without placing the smaller stabilizers in compromised positions.
Moving to the pulldown machine, Gloff explained that Wilkin “keeps his hands as close to straight pronated as he can” while maintaining a comfortable shoulder position. Wilkin keeps his “shoulders elevated and retracted,” driving the elbows out while pinching his shoulders like performing a shrug.
Wilkin’s movement is fluid and considered, especially on eccentrics, to optimize time under tension to promote hypertrophy. Wilkin fatigues his delts via cable kick-outs with firm stability and absent momentum.
Medial Deltoids
Wilkin performed lateral raises at the dumbbell rack. He maxed out with 45-pound dumbbells before a drop set to 30-pound dumbbells, then to 20-pounders, then to 10-pounders. Each set comprised 10-15 reps with partial reps to close.
Swapping free weights for machines, Wilkin further isolated his medial delts on the lateral raise machine. The swap allows him to sit straighter to place more stimulus on his delts.
Anterior Deltoids
Wilkin has prioritized shoulder presses for a decade and a half. As a result, he doesn’t feel sufficient benefits from dumbbell variations anymore and prefers machines for the control and stability they offer. He’s loaded 180 pounds on each side.
Wilkin ended his shoulder training with alternating cable front raises. By alternating, Wilkin maintained constant tension throughout the exercise while correcting strength imbalances.
Triceps
Wilkin concluded his workout with two rounds of two triceps exercises. The first is a single-arm triceps pushdown on the cable machine. He’s pushed the handle with his palm to better isolate during the concentric and get a long stretch in the triceps during the eccentric.
The second and final exercise is a triceps overhead cable extension. Wilkin’s upper arm was positioned so that when he fully extended his elbow, his entire arm was aligned with the cable. This protects his elbows from unwanted stress while moving the weight overhead.
Wilkin is excited to compete during the 2024 season. If he scores gold at any IFBB pro show, he will earn qualification for the 2024 Olympia.
Featured image: @brett_wilkin on Instagram
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