Training Chest and Shoulders...to the EXTREME!Click to buy your vitamins at WHOLESALE COST!

NOTE:  Remember what I write in any and all of my training is not "weight lifting or training law" it's just something that I've used for my own training and hopefully you will be able to utilize the same training or else find something useful to use in your own training.  The training you are about to read is very hard core and you must use caution if you so choose to implement it in your own training.  Use your best judgment and have fun!!!

When utilizing the training listed on this page be EXTREMELY cautious of pushing yourself to far to soon!  Anyone can do this type of training as long as you use COMMON sense and be aware that you can injure yourself  if you are not 100 percent focused on what you are about to take on.  I like to start thinking about what I'm going to do in the gym anywhere from 6 hours to one full day prior to stepping through the gym doors to push myself harder than I did last time I hit this type of training. DO NOT do this style more than two times in a row so that your body can recover without risk of injury.  You have to let yourself rebuild before you can achieve something even greater than you did in your last routine.  This can be implemented not only in the following training, chest, but for all other muscles as well.  Keep in mind if you do it for legs you will need a heck of a lot more time to recover!  Oh, and for those of you that are really wacked when it comes to training the legs keep a puke bucket near by. ;)

Flat Dumbbell Press:  Take the heaviest weight you feel comfortable with without warming up and do as many as you possibly can with it.  But for those of you who believe it is necessary to warm up first bust out a set of push ups to get your body ready without taking away any strength.  Now for the work sets ----> What I shoot for is a minimum oof 20 reps on the first set...keep in mind that you have three to four more sets following this initial set.  The style I like to use here is starting with the palms facing my feet and as I push the weight up I will turn my hands so that when I get to the top of the movement my palms will be facing each other as the weights touch.  Do your best to keep proper form throughout the movement and you will definitely want to have a spotter.  BUT NO FORCE REPS!!!  Push the weight until you just can't get another one up and at that point stop and put the weights down, rest.  You want to avoid that kind of damage to the muscle because it will defeat what you are after.  Keep in mind that you will not be using the same weights as I do.  You will have to decide and through trail and error find the correct weight for you.  My goal is to be able to go a minimum of 5 to 10 lbs heavier on the fourth work out I do like this which will be within the next 10 weeks.  So you will do four to five hard core training sessions like this...spread out over a 10 week period so that you can work some less intense training into the mix.  Basically, what I'm looking for is to increase the weight by the end of this training.  So, if things work the way I want it to I will be hitting the 120 lb dumbbells for the same amount of reps within the next 11 weeks.  Hope that gives you an idea of what to look for in your training.

Dumbbell Press:  (Flat)  The following weight and reps are what I achieved on 06/26/03.

Set #1:        110 lbs        Reps:    19        Rest:    120-150 seconds
Set #2:        110 lbs        Reps:    16        Rest:    120-150 seconds
Set #3:        110 lbs        Reps:    13        Rest:    120-150 seconds
Set #4:        110 lbs        Reps:    12        Rest:    180 seconds before you move on to the next exercise

                                        Total:  60 reps

My goal for those four sets is a minimum of 55 reps and my ultimate goal is 58 to 62.  Sometimes I might throw in a 5th set with a lighter weight.  Usually I will cut the weight by 30 to 40 lbs and push to failure but it's not often that I find it necessary to do that...since I know I still need strength to continue the work out.

Single Arm Overhead Press:  I prefer single arm press instead of utilizing both arms because I find it easier to focus on intensely on that shoulder and arm.  I like to use a bench with a back pad so that I can keep my body in the correct form.  I start with the palm facing in towards my shoulder and as I push the weight up I will turn the palm so that it faces the mirror, while watching my form the entire way.  You can either place your free hand in your lap or grasp the side or back of the bench to hold yourself in position.  You will notice that your body is going to incorporate many other muscles than just the shoulder to push that weight up or should I say to keep your body in it's proper position.  Focus and control is of utmost importance!  The shoulder can very easily be injured so don't let your ego or the thought that you have to use a heavy weight to get something out of the movement get in the way.

Single Overhead Press w/dumbbell:

Set #1:        60 lbs        Reps:    16        Rest:    90 seconds
Set #2:        60 lbs        Reps:    14        Rest:    90 seconds
Set #3:        50 lbs        Reps:    failure   Rest:    120 seconds before moving on to the next exercise

Super Set Pec Deck and Side Laterals:  I like to do three sets of each exercise supersetted together...the only rest you will get between the two exercises is the amount of time you will take to move from the pec deck to the side laterals.  I will take the dumbbells that I want to use for the side laterals and place them right in front of the pec deck so that I can move right into the next exercise.  When doing the pec exercise keep the hands open and fingers pointed out away from the body.  As you bring the hands forward start bringing the elbows down so that when your hands come together your elbows will be pointed down towards the floor...squeeeeeeeeeeeeze and repeat.  Now, for side laterals try not to lean forward and do your best not to swing the weights up.  Start with the palms facing the body and a slight bend in the elbows and keep that slight bend throughout the movement.  Raise the weight to either forehead level or just above and turn the hands as if you were going to pour water from a pitcher.  Don't let your hands come forward, do you best to keep them back.

Pec Deck:    Set #1:        180 lbs        Reps:    12 to 14        NO REST
Side Lateral:                    20 lbs       Reps:     14 to 16        Rest:    90 seconds

Pec Deck:    Set #2:        160 lbs        Reps:    12 to 14        NO REST
Side Lateral:                    20 lbs        Reps:    14                 Rest:    90 seconds

Third set not necessary unless you feel you really really need to rip your pecs and shoulders to shreds!

Dips:  This movement is pretty much self explanatory so I'm not going to go into it.  Other than it's up to you to include this movement into your training program only if you have something left to give.  I like to do two to three sets here of just body weight dips.  Just make sure you get a full range of motion...don't cheat yourself by doing quarter reps.  You can substitute bench dips so that the weight is cut by almost three quarters.  When utilizing bench dips the emphasis is then placed more on the triceps rather than split between the pecs, shoulders and triceps.

Set #1:        body weight        Reps:    30 plus        Rest:    120 seconds
Set #2:        body weight        Reps:    failure          Work out is COMPLETE!!!

Now, if you desire you can bust out some abs at the end...totally up to you.  YEAH RIGHT...time for a freaken SHAKE!!!!!  Time to recover!!!

Note:  To make this training even more intense you could start out with the Pec Deck and Side Laterals to do a bit of prefatigue on the chest and shoulders.  Of course this will affect the level of weight that you will utilize on the flat dumbbell press so keep that in mind.  You will probably have to cut the amount of weight for the dumbbell press by 15 to 20 percent.  Or, you could start with dips and then move on from there.  As you can see it is quite easy to change your training up by simply moving the exercise order around.