I remember the first training articles I looked at when I was just 12 years old. All I wanted to try was Schwarzenegger’s workouts. When he described his training, he visualized his pecs as mountains. His chest was one of the most developed and perfectly proportioned at the time and he had the strongest (esthetically speaking) in Mr. Olympia’s competitions.
Over the years, I have learned that not only is the chest one of the easiest parts to develop (IMHO), it is the result of a structural balance and several well orchestrated programs. Too often, we want to develop a certain body part at all cost, but we forget that the antagonistic muscles have a very precise function. The muscular coactivation (agonist / antagonist muscle) is useful to impose a given amplitude of movements and to increase the precision and control. When this phenomenon is poorly managed, for example when an agonist muscle is hypertrophied or the range is limited, there is a risk of ligament damage.
The most common mistakes.
I see plenty of beginners doing series after series of benchpress without doing as much pulling, as in pull or chin ups. Only training what you can see can leave you with a posture worthy of the hunchback of Notre Dame.
In your training plan, would you do more Biceps than Triceps? As a specialization phase, absolutely but not indefinitely. It’s exactly the same problem for one who would only work on his chest without making a back. In addition, the back acts as a decelerator and stabilizer of the shoulder during benchpress variations. If these muscles, not only the back but also the rotator cuff, are weak, injuries are inevitable.
There are those who do not use full amplitude. A bit the same problem as the previous one because they inhibit the activation of some stabilizing muscles, at least their complete actions, and create limitations. On the other hand, working certain points of the strength curve intentionally is a completely different and very useful tool, which we will develop later in this article.
It is also proven that to gain muscle mass, you have to repeat the work on the muscle. As it is also possible to overtrain muscles, you must still have a minimum of 36 to 48 hours of rest between workouts. The volume of training must be a bit different than a traditional training of bodybuilder. If you repeat the muscle every 48 hours, 6-8 sets of chest work per day will be enough compared to the 12 -15 sets that bodybuilders sometimes use but only once every 5-6 days.
Without further ado, here are some bodybuilding training options and how to manipulate them to maximize results in hypertrophy.
21
The famous method of 21 was very popular with the arms, especially the biceps.
This method consists of 7 repetitions in the first top half of the movement, followed by 7 repetitions in the bottom half (90 degree elbow flexion to chest) and finish with full the full range.
A1 flat benchpress top half x 7
A2 Flat benchpress bottom half x 7
A3 flat benchpress full range x 7
Mechanical advantage
This method uses the manipulation of angles with a specific order. The most difficult angle is used first because the muscle is at it strongest, and you will finish with the easiest angle (flat) when the muscle is under extreme fatigue but still able to go. In summary, you go from the hardest to the easiest while the muscle is at its strongest to finish at its weakest.
Here is the program in question
Exercise Series Reps Tempo Rest
A1 incline db press 60 ° 4 x8-10 3020 15s
A2 incline db press 45 ° 4 x8-10 3020 15s
A3 incline db press 30 ° 4 x8-10 3020 15s
A4 Flat db press 4 xMax out 3020 120s
Low pin benchpress
The most difficult part of the benchpress is obviously to take off the bar of the chest. A very effective way to work this weak point is to place the support bars where the bar touches the chest. You must now perform the lift starting from the chest. In fact, you start in the portion where you are the weakest of the curve of strength, then you will have to adjust the weight accordingly to perform this technique correctly.
Planning for advanced progress.
One of the most common mistakes I see in hypertrophy training is that everyone seems to think that a micro cycle should last absolutely 7 days. It is not because everyone works on Mondays that your workouts must also start on Mondays.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | sunday |
| Day1 Chest Back shoudlers | Day 2 legs | off | Day3 Arms abs | off | Day1 Chest Back shoudlers | Day 2 legs |
| off | Day3 Arms abs | off | Day1 Chest Back shoudlers | Day 2 legs | off | Day3 Arms abs |
This method will make you repeat the workout 6 times in 4 weeks, since the cycle is repeated over 5 days, compared to those who do it only once in 7 days. One of the general rules of training that must never be forgotten is that the amount of training is never more important than the quality. You must never neglect one for the other.
Have a good workout!
Coach Eric
