| Training the Chest and Supporting Muscles | |
Flat or Incline Press w/Dumbbells: Ok, this will sound a bit strange and/or awkward but the benefits will far surpass any misconceptions you or anyone else may have about training in this manner. Now, what you need to do is warm the chest and shoulders up, perhaps do a set or two of push ups or some light dumbbell presses. Once you feel as though you can start your work sets grab a weight that you know you can do for 12 to 15 reps in one hand and then cut that weight by 30 to 40 percent in the other hand. For example, grab a 60 in your left hand and a 40 in the other hand. This type of training has been around for quite sometime it's just that many people do not incorporate it into their training because they simply don't know how beneficial it can be and/or why. I have been utilizing this training off and on for over two years now with great success. I currently can utilize a 110 lb dumbbell in one hand and a 55 in the other. Basically, I have the lighter weight for is to balance myself so I don't go flippen off the side of the bench. You are going to feel support muscles that you normally would not feel when doing a normal dumbbell press. A couple of great ways to press the weight is to start with the palms facing the mirror or towards your feet and as you push the weight up turn the palms in and bring the weights together at the top and simply reverse that on the way down. Another way is to simply keep the palms facing in towards the body throughout the entire movement and either bring the weights together at the top or keep them at shoulder width at the top which will give you a different feel. Finally, you can just keep the palms facing towards the mirror or your feet the entire time which is the way most people press dumbbells without any change at all. REMEMBER...change equals results. This style can be utilized on either the flat or incline bench but I don't recommend doing it on the decline because of the danger of injury to the shoulder. Better to be safe than to do something that really doesn't have all that great of a benefit to the body...meaning off set dumbbell decline press. I do like to incorporate barbell decline into my training but again please be very mindful of the shoulders. When doing this type of training keep in mind that when you switch the heavier weight over to the arm that first used the lighter weight you MAY NOT be able to complete as many reps. I know that may not sound good or like something you would rather avoid but the simple fact is that arm/chest may not have enough energy to hit the same amount of reps. One way to avoid this from happening is to utilize enough rest between sets to accomplish the same amount of reps with the second arm doing the work set. Sometimes I like to move right into the second set without or as little rest possible so that I CAN'T achieve the same amount of reps as the first arm but I will do all I can to push myself so that I will come within two or three reps. Hope I'm not confusing you but if I am please feel free to email me with any and all questions you may have about this or anything else I have posted in my site. The following is an example (w/generic weight numbers) of what the sets and reps may look like.
Off Set Dumbbell Press: (flat or incline, your choice)
Set #1:
Right Hand: 80 lb
Left Hand: 50 lb
Reps: 14-16
Rest: 90 seconds -- switch weights
Set #1:
Right Hand: 50 lb
Left Hand: 80 lb
Reps: 14-16
Rest: 120 seconds
Set #2:
Right Hand: 90 lb
Left Hand: 55 lb
Reps: 12-14
Rest: 90 seconds -- switch weights
Set #2:
Right Hand: 55 lb
Left Hand: 90 lb
Reps: 12-14
Rest: 120 seconds
Finishing Set:
Set #3:
Both Hands: 60 lb
Reps: failure
Rest: 120 seconds
Note: Now you can continue on with what you would normally do on a chest day or you can follow what I will be listing here. Also, if you choose to do incline for the previous listed exercise then you can manipulate your training even further by changing the angle for each set. I would not utilize anything greater than a 45 degree angle for this movement. So, I would use a 45 degree angle for the first set and then at 35 degrees on the second set. As you can see I have the sets listed as; set #1 twice and set #2 twice which means set 1 and 1 equals one set and set 2 and 2 equals one set. Hope that makes some kind of sense.
Bench Dips or Full Body Dips: (prefer full body dips)
Set #1: Weight:
body + 40 lb Reps:
15 + Rest:
60 seconds
Set #2: Weight:
body + 40 lb Reps:
15 + Rest:
60 seconds
Pec Deck: (hands open and elbows up)
Set #1: Weight:
160 lbs Reps:
12 + Rest:
90 seconds
Set #2: Weight:
140 lbs Reps:
failure Rest: 120 seconds
Military Overhead Press: (w/machine)
Set #1: Weight:
140 lbs Reps:
18 + Rest:
120 seconds
Set #2: Weight:
150 lbs Reps:
15 + Rest:
120 seconds
Set #3: Weight:
160 lbs Reps:
failure Rest: 120 seconds
Side Lateral:
Set #1: Weight:
15 lbs Reps:
20 + Rest:
90 seconds
Set #2: Weight:
15 lbs Reps:
15 +
* The following is another choice of exercises to do after completing the off set dumbbell presses.
Incline or Flat Barbell Bench Press: (depending on which style you utilized for the dumbbells press, do the other)
Set #1:
Weight: 165 lbs
Reps: 15
Rest: 90 seconds
Set #2:
Weight: 185 lbs
Reps: failure Rest:
120 seconds
Dips: (either w/body weight or add some weight utilizing a dip belt)
Set #1:
Weight: body weight
Reps: 18
Rest: 120 seconds
Set #2:
Weight: body weight
Reps: failure Rest:
90 seconds
Dumbbell Pullover: (utilize a 'good' stretch on this movement)
Set #1:
Weight: 60 lbs
Reps: 12 Rest:
90 seconds
Set #2:
Weight: 70 lbs
Reps: 10 Rest:
90 seconds
Tricep Press: (w/rope, flair the hands out to the sides and squeeze at the bottom of the movement)
Set #1:
Weight: 100 lbs
Reps: 14 Rest:
90 seconds
Set #2:
Weight: 110 lbs
Reps: 12 Rest:
90 seconds
Set #3:
Weight: 100 lbs
Reps: failure