Bodybuilding never ceases to amaze us with the possibilities of transforming our own body. Throughout the history of this sport, we have seen many titans, but the successes of some of them make a huge impression. It's about an athlete like Dexter Jackson, and in this article you will learn all about the biography, training systems and personal life of this great bodybuilder.
Anthropometric data:
- Athlete's height - 168 cm.
- Competitive weight - 102 kg.
- Off-season weight - 108 kg.
- The volume of the biceps is 55 cm.
- The volume of the chest is 136 cm.
- Waist Size - 70 cm.
Athlete's childhood and youth
The future Mr. Olympia was born on November 25, 1969 in Jacksonville, Florida. From early childhood, Dexter Jackson was fond of sports, while he tried himself in many of its forms. In his youth, the champion achieved great results in sprinting, and he was prophesied great fame in this sport. After all, Dexter could run 40 meters in just 4.2 seconds, and this is almost a national record. But that all changed when Jackson met his first true love.
Early adulthood
Like many other teenagers, Dexter dreamed of entering a higher educational institution and continuing his favorite sport there. But his dreams were not destined to come true. His girlfriend became pregnant, and Jackson had to urgently look for work to support a young family.
Hard days were waiting for the future champion, because having no education, he could not get a good and well-paid job, and therefore he interrupted by periodic earnings. But soon the black line in the athlete's life ended, and he got a job as a cook in a small local restaurant. Despite the difficult life situation, Jackson did not stop playing sports. It was at this time that he became interested in bodybuilding.
First successes
The banal lack of funds did not allow the athlete to provide himself with proper and balanced nutrition, and even more so pharmacology. Despite this, Dexter Jackson quickly gained weight and achieved excellent results in the shortest possible time. After listening to the advice of friends, the athlete decided to speak in a small bodybuilder tournament, because he had long dreamed about it. Preparation for the competition took only three weeks, but during this time Jackson was able to bring his form to perfect condition and become a winner in his first tournament.
An easy victory only spurred the ambitions of a young bodybuilder. Already in 1994, Dexter went into middleweight and won the championship in the competitions of the southern states. The following year, he becomes the undisputed heavyweight champion among non-professionals, and the 1998 victory at the North American Tournament inspires him, and Dexter decides to switch to professionals.
Way to Olympus
The professional podium was not so supportive of the athlete. It is scary to imagine how old Dexter Jackson had to go to his first league title. Speeches did not bring him the coveted victory for five whole years. And at the same time, if you look at Dexter's standings, you can see that he never fell below fifth position, but this was not enough for worldwide recognition. Only in 2002, Jackson won the championship title at the “Grand Prix of England”, beating such titans as Dennis James and Chris Carmier. After this, victories rained down, as if from a cornucopia. In the period from 2003 to 2008, he performs 18 times at various competitions and in 12 of them he becomes the absolute winner.
Peak career
Of course, the most significant victory was the title of champion in the competition for professionals "Mr. Olympia - 2008". In this tournament, bodybuilding stars such as Phil Heath, Tony Freeman, Jay Cutler and Dennis Woolf competed with him, but all of them were easily beaten by titanium Dexter Jackson, whose height reached the most favorable proportion. The athlete achieved no less impressive results at the Arnold Classic competitions. Jackson became the champion in this tournament 4 times: in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2013.
Now Dexter is considered one of the brightest stars of bodybuilding. Long gone are the days when he did not have enough money for the necessary things. Now Dexter lives on a grand scale. The athlete’s cabinets are bursting with things from eminent designers, and his four children do not know anything about failure. Although recently, not everything is so joyful in his family life: Dexter Jackson's wife, Carol, recently packed up and moved to live separately. The couple has not yet filed for divorce, so maybe this is just a temporary disagreement.
Dexter Jackson Training program
Like any bodybuilder, Dexter carefully monitors his physical form. He chose the perfect training program for himself and is happy to share secrets with everyone. The athlete’s split system is divided by day, and a specific muscle group is loaded into each of them:
- 1st day: quadriceps.
- 2nd day: study of the calf and pectoral muscles.
- 3rd day: back.
- 4th day: load on the biceps of the thigh and deltoid muscles.
- 5th day: study of the biceps and triceps of the hands, as well as the calf muscles.
- 6th day: rest.
It should also be noted that after each strength training, the athlete is engaged in cardio: a bicycle, a treadmill or a stepper. The average duration of aerobic exercise is 30 minutes. Sometimes an athlete is not too lazy to do cardio twice a day, probably this is what helps him to keep his body in such a tone. But everything is exactly the opposite, if you decide to gain weight. In this case, the athlete advises to temporarily abandon aerobic exercise.
For each muscle group, a different degree of exercise is needed. According to the athlete, the muscles of the thigh, back and chest should be worked out with 4-6 repetitions per approach, and the muscles of the shoulders and arms - 6-8. Dexter Johnson pays particular attention to his calves. For one approach, the athlete spends up to 30 repetitions. But the bodybuilder offers abdominal muscles not to strain so much, of course, if you do not have an excess layer of fat.
Biceps training
Powerful and beautiful hands are exactly what Dexter Jackson can be proud of. The bodybuilder attaches great importance to the development of biceps and highlights several basic exercises:
- "Hammer".
- Lifts on Scott's simulator.
- Concentrated climbs.
- Sitting exercises.
According to the athlete, the weight you use when training your biceps is not so important . Much more important is the quality of exercise. In order to “hear” this muscle group as much as possible, the athlete recommends lifting the light dumbbell and turning the hand outward in the final exercise. This technique reduces muscle to the maximum.
To work out the internal bicep bunches, the athlete recommends lifting on Scott's bench using the EZ-neck: grab a narrow grip on the projectile in a sitting position and, straining the target muscle, pull the barbell to the chest. Make sure your biceps muscles are as tight as possible before straightening your arms. The maximum effectiveness of this exercise can be increased if you divide the number of repetitions into three parts and each of them is performed with a different amplitude. But avoid too much working weight.
A good alternative to the previous exercise is concentrated lifts: sitting on a bench, lean forward slightly, picking up the angle at which the load on the biceps will be maximum. The free hand should be supported sideways and the hand with the dumbbells straightened towards the floor. Keep your head in line with your spine. Lift the projectile to the shoulder and slowly return to the starting position.
Exercise “Hammer” will help to work out the brachioradial and brachial muscles. Stand up straight and hold the dumbbells along the body. Now bend your arms alternately, lifting the shells to your shoulder. To increase the effectiveness of the exercise, this technique will help: at the peak of the last repetition, turn your palm to the bottom and in this position return it back to the hip.