Week One-A lesson in pain!
Let’s get this week off on the right foot, and introduce
you to the experience that is 8 weeks to bigger pecs part deux!
Exercise one: Flat
Bench Dumbbell Press
You’ll be doing 4 total sets. With the rep scheme (a
rep scheme just means a plan that you will use to dictate the
general range of reps you want to hit with each set)
To
better illustrate what a rep scheme (plan) is I’ll lay the rep
scheme out for this first exercise.
Set
one – 10 reps
Set
two – 8 reps
Set
three – 6 reps
Set
four – 6 reps
Here
are the special instructions for this exercise. You will follow
this protocol for the first and last set of this
exercise.
We
will be utilizing the partial reps principal and the static
hold principle for the 1st
and 4th set.
So,
after you reach failure on your last rep, keep your arms at the
top of the range of motion on your last rep. From there, lower
the dumbbells a few inches and press back up. Continue in this
manner until you can no longer move your arms even 1/16th
of an inch! I mean keep doing these partial reps until your arms
won’t budge! This is going to burn on your chest like crazy, but
you have to keep it going until your arms will absolutely not
move at all. This should feel similar to the pain of doing partial
reps on your calves!
Now
hold the last partial rep in the fully contracted position at
the top of the range of motion for 10-30 seconds.
You
will feel a monstrous burn in your middle chest when you do this!
Remember the longer you can hold the static hold the more
muscle growth it will induce! Aim for at least a 10 second hold.
If you can’t get that high that’s OK, but make sure you drop the
weights because of true failure and not just the pain. There is
a HUGE difference between these two. This static hold is going
to feel like someone lit a match and set it on your chest, especially
after the partial reps. Your job is to hold it until your arms
give out and not because of the pain!
Exercise 2: Lying Cable Low incline Flys
To
do this exercise, simply set a flat bench between two low cable
pulley stations. Make sure the bench is evenly in the middle of
the two low cables. Now adjust the bench so that it is at a low
incline. Go for 15-30 degree incline. The choice is up to
you. I personally like a 25 degree angle, but it can vary by individual.
Now,
simple grab each cable, lie down on the bench, and perform the
same movement as you would a dumbbell fly. Keeping your elbows
fixed and “hugging” the weights together for a peak contraction.
This is going to give you the best pump in your chest! Hold the
peak of each rep for a few seconds, and really fight the negative
hard on these. Remember on these to really contract against the
stretch! It will make all the difference!
Go
with a rep scheme of 12, 10, 8
As
soon as you finish a set, do some intense fascia stretching with
the method of your choice. I personally like stretching my chest
between a squat rack; however my advice is to go with your preference
for stretching. Really you should select the one that is most
uncomfortable! I find the more pain the stretch causes the more
gains you will get from the fascia stretching! And for those who
are wondering if this method of stretching works…do three sets
like this with a 30 second stretch immediately afterwards and
you’ll be believers!
Follow the 30 seconds of stretching with intense flexing
and squeezing of the pecs. You may find it hard to do 3 sets like
this at first, but lower the weight if you have to. The main focus
of this exercise is to get a strong burn in your chest and contract
against the stretch.
Exercise 3 - Decline
Barbell Bench Press
Finish off with 3 sets of Decline Barbell Bench Presses,
with a rep scheme of 6, 8, 10, 2.
Do
the first two sets contracting against the stretch (you’re
going to get sick of hearing me saying that by the end of this,
but I keep emphasizing it because I hear so many guys saying they
can’t feel their chest or they can’t feel their lats. Not finding
the stretch then contracting against it is the reason why!).
However on the last set, I want you to go super heavy,
and take a power lifting mentality on it. Make sure to give yourself
a 3 minute break before attempting this so you will be rested
enough for it.
Do
whatever it takes to get 2 reps. If you have a partner do
forced reps. I recommend asking someone in the gym to spot you
if you don’t have a partner. But if you work out a home use rest-pause
to get 2 reps. You can also use the cheat rep principle I discussed
in the “Shock yourself out of the comfort Zone article” to help
cheat out a rep, just use safety with this method!
Rest Period
Exercise 4: Machine flat press
For
our last chest exercise of week 1, we will use the machine flat
press. I prefer Hammer Strength machines, but if you don’t have
access to that equipment use whatever flat bench press machine
you have at your gym. Use the rep scheme of 8, 8, 6.
There
are no shocks here, just controlled heavy presses. Make sure to
flex your pecs hard at the end of every rep!
- Now slug down a
shake, go home, eat and sleep!
Week Two - Sore just took on a new meaning
As I
explained in the “Method to the Madness” article, dips can literally
etch your pecs out of stone! In this workout we will use dips
to force our chest into extreme soreness!
Exercise one: Non-Peak
Flys
We’re
going to be using some non-peak flys for a little pre-exhaustion
work. This will ensure our chest is coming total failure when
we proceed to dips.
For
all 3 of these sets, go just short of failure. Aim for the reps
I give, but concentrate more on feeling your pecs. Go at a medium
pace and squeeze your chest hard when you come to the end of the
range of motion, and resist the negative at a slower pace.
Go with
a rep scheme of 15, 12, 10. Remember you’re not going to failure,
just pre-exhausting the chest. You’ll need the energy for the
next exercise!
Exercise 2: Forced
Dips
Make
sure to review the article to ensure proper execution of this
exercise. You need to go to total failure then aim for 3 forced
reps after initial failure.
Go deep
enough that you feel your chest being stretched then contract
against that stretch. By your failure rep, your chest should really
be tightened up, and struggling to bring you back up! I find this
exercise is the most painful of all chest exercises, so I just
want to warn you again, not to quit because of the pain, but because
of failure of the muscle to contract on the positive portion of
the lift.
Remember from “Shock Yourself Out of the Comfort Zone
Part I” that failure during the positive portion of the lift doesn’t
mean that all strength in a muscle is gone. You still have negative
and static strength left after positive failure has occurred.
The forced dips will use that principle to our advantage for the
sole purpose of inducing hypertrophy! Make sure on the forced
dips to go ultra slow on the negatives (at least a 5 second descent),
and hold the peak contraction for a good 3 seconds before proceeding
with another forced dip.
Go for
4 total sets of forced dips. I’m not going to give a specific
rep range here. This will depend upon your fitness level.
I recommend
not going above 12 and preferably aim for a rep range of around
6-10. If you can easily do 12, it’s time to strap on extra weight.
If you can only do a few or none at all, that’s fine. However,
you can still do the forced dips. If this is the case, go as slow
as you possibly can on the negative, and go for at least 3 forced
reps.
Exercise 3: Smith
Machine Flat Bench Press
The
smith machine is an excellent piece of equipment to follow up
with after a heavy stabilizer movement. After those forced dips
your stabilizers will bet completely thrashed! In fact your delts
and tris will probably be so pumped you’ll look twice as big as
normal!
So we’ll
be finishing off with the smith machine flat bench press.
There
are no special techniques here. Just go heavy, all the way down,
and to failure. If you are alone don’t be afraid to go heavy on
these. Experiment with your power on this machine. The theme of
exercise three is heavy, so I want you to go with a scheme of
6, 6, 4.
Power
is the key here. On the last set go for 4 reps, power lifting
style. If the weight is to heavy and you only get 2 reps, don’t
worry about it. The key here is to go for the heavy feel. Training
super heavy like this will stimulate your nervous system. As you
progress with training the nervous system, it will learn how to
better adapt to heavy weights and all your lifts will go up.
Rest Period
Exercise 4: Incline
Barbell Press
After
the rest period finish this week off with incline barbell presses.
This
exercise is perhaps the most effective for developing the upper
pectoral region. This is an area that is often overlooked, but
in desperate need of attention. A developed upper chest makes
your pecs 100 times more 3D from every angle! Especially side
chest poses.
This
is definitely an exercise that you need to contract against the
stretch. The angle this exercise puts your body at places
direct emphasis on the upper region. Use that angle to your advantage,
by finding the stretch it produces on your upper chest, then resisting
against that stretch. Bring the barbell all the way down until
it brushes against your upper chest, and then push it back up.
Try to flex your pecs hard at the top of each rep, and concentrate
especially on feeling the upper portion of your chest straining
under the weight.
As soon
as you finish a set, do some intense fascia
stretching.
Incline
Pressing + Fascia
Stretching = Insane
separation in the upper chest region.
This
technique brought my upper chest up almost over night! When done
properly I’m convinced no other method will bring out the upper
chest any better!
It really
helps bring out the upper pec/ shoulder tie in-s, and carves out
that line across the upper chest that is really hard to target.
Go for
a rep range of 12, 10, 8. I also highly recommend a spotter on
this exercise, as a few deep forced reps will really increase
the pump and make the stretch more effective!
Week Three- Superset Ferocity
Supersets are perhaps the greatest shock technique of
all time! The sheer viciousness they put the subjected muscles
under is enough to be considered “cruel and unusual punishment”,
by legal standards.
The
secret to supersets is the taking of the muscle far beyond initial
failure by rapidly changing the angle at which the muscle is being
exposed too.
The
angle of the body at the moment it is focused under resistance
plays a huge role in the way you can mold it. As I stated earlier
a muscle either stretches or contracts. However, by changing the
angle of an exercise a muscle group will contract and stretch
harder in different regions of the muscles, depending upon the
angle.
Body
building is literally Geometry in action!
And
Supersets are literally like SuperGeometry.
This
is the reason supersets are so awesome! When you are performing
a superset you are literally taking a muscle to failure with one
angle, then rapidly changing angles and taking it to failure again!
This produces a huge shock on the muscle! It contracts and stretches
it beyond the normalcy of regular resistance training. Not to
mention a pump that is off the charts!
With
all that in mind, let’s tackle some mind-numbing chest supersets!
Exercise 1: Incline
Dumbbell Press supersetted with Incline
Barbell Press
All
I can say is you’re going to love this one! It’s one of my favorites!
Go for
a rep range of 6-9 on the dumbbells. And on the barbell
aim for a weight that you fail at 10, 8, 6.
If you
don’t get those rep numbers perfectly on the barbell it’s no big
deal. Just aim to go to failure in a descending rep scheme.
In other words if you get repetitions of 9, 7, 4 on the barbell
portion of the superset don’t think you messed it all up. The
point is that you gradually put up heavier weights on the barbell
as you progressed through the set and you went to total failure
on both portions of the superset.
The
main concern is that you don’t come to failure at the same number
of reps on the barbell on every set, but that you got increasingly
heavier.
Again
this is a superset I recommend grabbing a spotter to get a few
deep forced out reps, especially on the barbell portion.
Exercise 2: Machine-fly
movement supersetted
with Machine Press
For
this exercise the choice is up to you! Select your least favorite
fly movement first! What do you mean “least favorite”? You know
those exercises you avoid because they are uncomfortable and painful!
What I really mean by dislike is uncomfortable!
Some
examples could be the cable crossovers lying on a decline bench
or a type of machine fly like the pec deck. The choice is up to
you. I personally dislike Cybex’s fly machine! Not because
it doesn’t work well but because it hurts so freakin’ bad!
Next
pick your least favorite Machine Press. This could be the smith
machine or a piece of equipment like the Incline Hammer Strength
press, or any type of cable/machine press.
Ultimately your choice in the equipment for this superset
is up to you.
The
deal is I want you to pick the one that is the least uncomfortable
to you, and therefore the one you probably never do! Or if by
some rare means you like them all, pick the one you rarely ever
do, and flourish on it for this week.
Remember the Golden Rule of shocking your body:
The mentality of being uncomfortable
is the primary driving mechanism in shocking your body!
This
superset of uncomfortable-ness will shock your socks off!
However for this shock to be effective means you have
to take that uncomfortable-ness and thrive on it! Tell yourself
you don’t care how much it hurts only that you will push each
set as hard as your body can go at all costs and by any means
possible! That is the mindset of a body builder!
Go for
a rep range of 10-12 on the fly movements and 6-8 on the machine
press movement.
Exercise 3: Decline
Barbell Press supersetted
with Incline
Barbell Press
We’re
going to finish this week off with an iron onslaught!
This
super set is going to attack your chest from every angle!
Start
with the decline press and aim for a rep scheme of 6, 8, 10. And
a rep range of 6-9 on the incline barbell press! Again with the
rep scheme on the decline press follow the same protocol as exercise
one of this week in regards to getting the exact reps I prescribed.
The only real difference with this one is we are doing an ascending
pyramid rep scheme in exercise 4 instead of a descending pyramid
rep scheme like in exercise 1.
Rest Period
Exercise 4: Pause-press flat dumbbell press supersetted with neutral grip
non-peak flys
Pause-press flat dumbbell presses are one of my favorite
chest exercises. The concept is simple. Do a standard flat dumbbell
press. The key is at the bottom of the range of motion; you will
go as deep as possible and pause for two seconds before going
back up.
When
you are in the bottom position you should be feeling a real intense
stretch across your chest. You need to go really deep here.
I’m
talking as far down as you can. Now hold that stretch for two
seconds, and then fire back up contracting the chest hard. Also
be forewarned you will have to use lighter dumbbells than you
normally use for flat dumbbell presses. Pausing at the bottom
like this will really strain your pecs hardcore.
One
key point I want to make here. As you are in the stretched position
of the exercise don’t think about the ascent. If you do you’ll
take your mind off the stretch. Keep focused on the stretch. Once
you feel the pull and hold it for a 2 count, then concentrate
on the push. Keep that in mind because when you get into the bowels
of the stretch your first instinct will be to push out of it.
You really need to stay in the stretch and hold the weight there.
After that you can focus on the positive portion.
Immediately after you complete your pause-press reps,
grab two lighter dumbbells and perform 2 or 3 reps of neutral
grip flys. Stretch your arms out far on these and go slow on the
descent. The first rep is really going to be a killer. Don’t come
all the way to a peak on these either. The main concept of these
is to stretch the pectorals from a different angle. The idea behind
these exercises is that we are super setting an over-emphasized
pressing movement then topping off the super stretch with a over-emphasized
fly movement. This will stretch your chest from every angle. I’m
not going to candy coat this at all. You’re in for some serious
pain with this superset. But the pump is incredible and so are
the results it will produce!!
Go for
a rep scheme of 10, 8, 6 on the pause-press dumbbell presses and
only like 2 or 3 reps on the flys. Believe me 3 reps on
the flys is all you’ll need!
Week Four-T-Rex Pecs
Week
four is all about power of the pecs! The following exercises are
going to test your mental stamina to the core of your very being!
Get ready to take a test in pain! If you want bigger pecs, don’t
settle for anything less than an A+ on this
exam!
Exercise one: Dumbbell
Pullovers
This
exercise is better known as the sultan
of stretching when
we’re referring to the chest. The only exercise that rivals the
stretch it provides is dips.
This
exercise places a pull on your chest that is unique to its range
of motion. The pullover will build mass especially well on the
tough to target upper chest, and as a genuine all purpose torso
mass builder, it’s hard to beat.
There
are two important things to remember if you want the pullover
to be effective in targeting your chest. The closer you keep your
elbows the more stress your chest will take in the pull. The wider
your elbows the more the back comes into play. So
keep your elbows in.
Also
keep your hips low and stationary throughout the set. Raising
them up and down steals from the movement as momentum takes the
brunt of the load. So, in summary of executing a pullover for
chest emphasis…elbows
in, hips low and stationary.
I have
found the easiest way to transfer the weight from a stationary
position to the beginning position of the exercise is to first
place a 10 lb. plate on the edge of a flat bench. Now, rest the
end of the bolt of the dumbbell in the center hold of the 10 lb.
plate. This will keep it motionless and will prevent the dumbbell
from ripping the bench padding.
Now,
you can get into position for the exercise. Once you are in place
and ready to go, simply lift the dumbbell and drag it onto your
shoulder. If you can’t do this, then that’s a good sign the dumbbell
is too heavy. Now, keeping your elbows in and hips low and stationary,
let the weight slowly go back along its range of motion. You should
feel a nice pull on your chest at this point.
Next,
pull the weight back over until it is right above your eyes. As
you are pulling try to think of the range of motion as trying
to pull the weight over and up. Your arms should be just short
of lockout at the top of the range of motion. At this top point
you should be feeling a hard contraction on your pecs. It should
feel like a searing pain. The kind of pain that is inducing muscle
growth!
As you
proceed back down, your hips will naturally try to rise up. You
have to fight that urge and keep them planted! Keep going with
that strict technique for the rest of the set!
I went
into some detail on the execution of the pullover for good reason.
It is definitely in the top three all-star chest exercises.
In fact I’d do this over a flat bench press any day of the week!
You
should make an extra effort to master it. It will take your chest
to the next level when you start getting into real heavy poundages!
You’ll
be doing 4 total sets, with a rep scheme of 10, 8, 6, 4. I won’t
lie here; this 4 rep range is really going to hurt. Your chest
will be really fired up by now, and the real heavy dumbbell pullovers
will produce a super stretch. Keep this rule in mind.
Heavy dumbbell pullovers = Heavy Stretch on the pectorals.
This
is why they work so darn well!
Remember I said that contracting against the stretch
is the ultimate way to induce hypertrophy? (How could you forget
right?). Well this exercise takes that principle to the max! When
you start getting into the big boy dumbbells you’ll be surprised
how fast your pecs grow!
Exercise 2: Smith
Machine Incline Press
This
is an excellent way to top off the upper pecs. The pullovers will
really target this area, so we’ll use the incline smith machine
presses to finish them off with a bang!
Go about
the 3 sets in this fashion:
Set
1: Set
the bench up at 45 degrees and aim for 6-9 reps.
Set
2: Set
the bench up at 40 degrees (or lower 1 notch on the bench), and
aim for 6-9 reps.
Set
3: Set
the bench up at 35 degrees (or lower 1 notch on the bench), and
aim for 6-9 reps.
By going
through three different angles we will be sure to stretch the
upper pecs from a variety of angles, and ensure that the upper
chest region has been fully stimulated.
Exercise 3: Supinating
dumbbell flys
This
variety of dumbbell fly is in a word, awesome. They target
the entire chest in one foul swoop, and really nail the inner
pecs.
See
the “Method to the Madness” article to read how to properly execute
this exercise.
Make
sure at the top of the range of motion, your chest is supinated
and you are flexing it hard at the top. The harder you flex you
chest at the top of this exercise, the more shaping power you
are giving it. Also, on the last rep of every set, hold
the dumbbells in static contraction for 10-30 seconds.
Rep
range: 15, 12, 8
Rest Period
Exercise 4: Decline Dumbbell press
The
decline dumbbell press has to give one of the best chest pumps
ever. It really makes the lower pecs flex supernaturally hard!
These also provide a great burn.
Just
make sure to push the dumbbells up so that they are inline with
the angle of your chest. In other words don’t go straight up and
down. Bring the dumbbells down to your lower chest, and push off
at an angle that is aligned with your lower chest.
This
will ensure maximum firing of the lower chest!
Go for
a rep scheme of 10, 10, 6
Instructions for weeks
5 through weeks 8
Week Five- Repeat
week one
Week six- Repeat
week two
Week seven- Repeat
week three
Week eight- Repeat
week four
I suggest
logging your weights and reps for weeks one through four, for
comparison to weights and reps completed in weeks 5-8.
I personally
log the weights and reps I use for any muscle I am prioritizing.
I don’t usually log all my workouts or muscle groups, but if I
am imploring the prioritization principle I do as I feel it offers
unparallel advantages to setting goals in my mind.
I recommend
that you do the same. It will help you organize the workouts better
in your mind, and help you set higher goals for yourself during
the next 4 weeks.
I wish
you luck during these workouts!
Just
remember you reap what you sow! So sow the seeds of conquest and
pain and reap the reward of a bigger fuller chest!
Yours in sport,
-Old School
OldSchool@abcbodybuilding.com
