Come on, One More…

Ok, now that I have some food it in me for the first time today, I’m in a better frame of mind. I really am a hateful bastard when I get hungry. I forgot to mention earlier it is cold and rainy here today. Oh yeah! The rain is back. For a city that never gets rain, we’ve had enough to last us all fraking year.

Trying to get my mind off more depressing thoughts, I thought I’d share something completely narcissistic. I’ve had several requests for info on my workout routines. And since, I haven’t finished my “Body by Moby” updates yet, I thought I’d interject one here.

I have the hardest time getting my chest muscles to grow. I’ve realized in part because I’m not burning the muscle out before reaching an overall state of exhaustion. In an effort to remedy that I decided to merge two routines into one. I’m pushing heavy weight w/lower reps primarily. The twist, I’ve added one or two more sets on each bench but dropping the weights to really finish off the muscle. And while my routine isn’t really for beginners, it can be adapted as such. I work chest and triceps together as they are complimenting muscles. Meaning you can’t do chest presses w/o calling your triceps into play. Spot training is so 80’s and has been shown to be less effective than training muscle groups. I’m strong for my size so the numbers, while sounding impressive, aren’t really that exciting for me. Oh and proper form is essential. It doesn’t matter how much weight you’re pushing, if you aren’t using good form, you are wasting your time. The ‘burn’ comes from pushing the muscle to exhaustion. Part of that is keeping the focus ON the muscle.

Bench 1
Incline Chest Press – 5 sets of 8 reps each – 225lbs
(2 – 45’s each side, plus 45lb bar)
I get 3 full sets of 8 reps each w/3-4 minute break between each. The last two sets, I drop the weight to 200lbs and then 175lbs. On the last two sets I only take enough of a break to drop the weights and then I hit it.

Because I’m pushing such heavy weight, I like to work a tricep set in between the chest ones. This allows me to finish all my chest sets w/heavier weight.

Bench 2
Tricep Overhead Extension – 50lb dumbell.
(1 arm straight up over your head w/dumbell in hand. Bend the arm down at a 90% angle) This is an extremely hard exercise and you should always start w/very light weights.)
4 full sets at 8 reps each. 1-2 minute break in between each.

Bench 3
Chest Press – 5 sets 8 reps each – 245lbs
3 full sets of 8 reps each, 4th set I’ve only been able to get 5 reps in so far. After set 4, I skip the break and lower the weight to 200lbs for 8 more reps. (only getting 6-7 currently)

Bench 4
Tricep Pushdown 5 sets of 8 reps each.
(Using the correct pulldown bar, I can only do 110lbs.)
4 sets at full weight.

Bench 5
Decline Chest Press – 5 sets of 8 reps each – 270lbs.
(I seem to be overly strong on this bench, most guys are)
3 sets, 8 reps each.
4th set down to 240lbs.
5th set down to 210lbs.

Bench 6 (If I’m not completely worn out by now)
Chest – Seated Fly’s – 5 sets 8 reps each – 110lbs
3 sets 8 reps each
4th set down to 90lbs
5th set down to 70lbs

There you have it. I solid workout routine that is guaranteed to kick your ass and leave you begging for momma! On days when I’m under time constraints, I usually focus on the chest routines as my triceps grow like mad so neglecting them isn’t a problem for me.