February 11, 2009

My Chest Workout

I’m deciding to get a little bit more personal with my readers and share a few of my workouts with you guys. The following is the chest workout I do, that works for me, currently. I will likely be adding or changing altogether this workout in a few weeks to keep myself fresh and stimulate my muscles, but for now, this is what I do.

I rotate Workout 1 and Workout 2 on a two week rotation.

Workout 1

Bench Press – 3/4 sets – 8-12 reps; 40-60 secs rest

Incline Bench – 3/4 sets – 8-12 reps: 40-60 secs rest

Cable Fly – 3/4 sets – 8-12 reps: 40-60 secs rest

Workout 2

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press – 3/4 sets – 8-12 reps: 40-60 secs rest

Incline Bench Dumbbell Press – 3/4 sets – 8-12 reps: 40-60 secs rest

Flat Bench Dumbbell Fly – 3/4 sets – 8-12 reps: 40-60 secs rest

I will likely start doing pyramids in two weeks after I finish my two week rotation of Workout 1, since I’m just finishing a rotation of Workout 2. If you remember my blog on workout goal setting, you will know why I’ve chosen the sets, reps, and rest that I have because I’m building toward a certain body. I stick with one weight for a week and move up 5-10 lbs the next week. I also rotate the exercises from day to day just to add a little variety.

I only do 3 exercises so I don’t overtrain myself. This workout takes less than 20 min to complete. It gives you a good pump and completely tires the muscle out if you do it correctly. I carry a stopwatch to the gym with me to keep my rest between 40-60 secs and I don’t let people “jump-in”. You can do this with a partner if you two are serious about getting on the bench and not doing a lot of chatter. I generally workout alone though.

Doing this workout and being disciplined about my rest, my 4 sec tempo (either 3:1 or 2:2 – that is 3 secs down and 1 sec press or 2 sec down and 2 sec press) has seen significant growth in my chest girth. I will report back next week to see if my bench press has increased as my goal 1MR is 250 by Apr. 4.

Mitchell

P.S. I did the new workout today and I found something interesting about the bench press especially when it pertains to me. This is where you have to learn the Art of Lifting as it relates to you. My max may be 230ish, but I can’t do 3 sets of 8-12 with 40s rest working with 80% of my max (180′s). That rest period just doesn’t allow it. So I’ll have to break it down to 70% (160′s) and work with that. Again, the emphasis is on the form and successful completion of exercise so you get the maximum benefit. Even experiencing growth, the gym still finds a way of humbling us, lol. Check your ego at the door!

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