Build a Bigger Chest in 3-4 Workouts or Less
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.comIf your pecs are a weak body part, or, if you’ve simply hit a progress
plateau in your chest development, then this high intensity chest training
program will pack slabs of muscle mass on your chest after just 3-4
workouts - and I guarantee it. This is a high intensity bodybuilding
workout for advanced bodybuilders only. (Beginners don’t even think about
it...)
I’m currently on workout 3 of 4 in this pec routine and the results have
been so impressive that I decide to write it up for you before I even
finish the final workout next week.
Considering I’m on a calorie deficit in a cutting phase, I’m especially
impressed with the increase in my chest size and development after 3
workouts. You’re not going to gain much if any muscular body weight if you
are in a caloric deficit, but NO DOUBT, you can improve the development of
a muscle group even while cutting up. This is a perfect example. I’m going
to return to this program again for sure on my next mass phase. This
program is called…
Multi-Angular Rest Pause With Pump Finisher
Here’s how it works. You select two exercises. For exercise one (the main
course), I chose a basic pec mass exercise that can be done at any angle
from steep incline to flat bench. Thats the primary exercise you stick
with for all 4 workouts. Incline Dumbbell Press was the natural choice. I
set up on a fully adjustable bench that allows multiple angles of incline.
For exercise two (dessert), I chose an isolation exercise for a pump
finisher, and it changes with every workout.
Here’s the sequence:
A1 Incline Dumbbell Press - steep incline - about 65-70 degrees
6 reps
rest 10 seconds
A2 Incline Dumbbell Press - medium (regular) incline - about 45 degress
6 reps
10 seconds
A3 Incline Dumbbell Press - low incline - about 20-25 degrees
6 reps
10 seconds rest
A4 Dumbbell Press - flat bench
6 reps
Now rest 2 - 3 minutes.
That’s one "set." Technically of course, that is FOUR SETS, done in rest
pause fashion, so lets call it one “round” for clarity’s sake.
Yes… that was round ONE. Now do it two more times.
Note: It helps a lot if you have a training partner change the bench angle
so you can stay seated and keep the dumbbells in your hands. Doing it
alone is slow and cumbersome.
For poundage, you are going to have to go MUCH lighter than usual. Although
I don't train heavy pecs anymore, last time I did, I was doing 6 reps with
125s on the incline. So for this program I took about 50-60% of that; 70
lbs on workout 1, 75 lbs on workout 2,and 80 lbs on workout 3. On the last
one, I had to drop to the 75s to finish all 3 rounds and even then I
needed some forced reps towards the end.
You may need to decrease the weight on the 2nd or 3rd round, but if at all
humanly possible, do NOT reduce the weight during each round. Doing all
four angles at the same poundage is the whole idea.
What may happen, especially if you even slightly overestimated your
starting poundage, is that reps may drop with each angle change within a
round. First angle - 6 reps is easy. second angle, a little harder, but
still no problem. Third angle, you might only squeeze out 5 reps or hit
honest failure on the 6th rep. 4th angle (flat), you might hit total
failure on the 4th or 5th rep.
Now this is also where a training partner comes in. This routine should
not be attempted without a spotter. Sorry, but you are a dork if you try
to do this without a spotter. This program causes HONEST muscle failure
(I’ll explain that in more detail shortly), so you need the spotter for
safety, but moreover, you will need a spotter’s assistance to complete
forced reps, at least on the final round or two, if not the first round.
In general, forced reps should not be overused, but they play an important
part of this program.
Ok, where were we? Oh yeah, you just finished your 3rd round. You might be
finished! Yeah. some people will be DONE, KAPUT, ZONKED, BONKED, NUKED,
GAME OVER, after 3 rounds of that (think about it - that was 12 sets,
disguised as 3 sets!) However, for those who want the full course…. come
with me and lets finish off those pecs with the pump (oh, you thought were
already pumped… heh.. just wait…you’ll see what a pump is!)
The second exercise (exercise B) is going to be an isolation exercise..
ie., DB flye, cable crossover, machine flye (pec deck), etc., and you will
perform 20-25 reps, non stop in piston-like fashion. use a steady quick
tempo, but not so fast that you use momentum.
This isolation /pump exercise will change with every workout:
B1 Workout 1: standing cable crossover
2-3 sets, 20-25 reps
B1 Workout 2: machine flye or pec deck
2-3 sets, 20-25 reps
B1 Workout 3: decline dumbbell flye
2-3 sets 20-25 reps
B1 Workout 4: flat bench cable flyes in cable crossover machine
2-3 sets, 20-25 reps
That’s it! That’s the whole program. Three rounds of multi-angular rest
pause, then finish your workout with 2-3 sets of 25 reps on a pumping,
isolation movement.
This routine is performed within a standard bodybuilding type of split, so
it should be done once in 5-7 days, no more. You would probably do another
body part after chest,such as biceps or triceps, depending on how you
organize your split routine.
I would recommend advanced bodybuilders use this program a couple times a
year if and when they need a boost in chest development. This is not the
type of program you would use all the time. You would burn out and
overtrain.
There’s one more very important part of this routine - progression.
On the Incline Dumbbell Presses, you will increase the poundage with every
workout. Keep in mind, you will not be able to complete all 3 rounds at
all 4 angles for 6 unassisted reps. Its going to get harder each time,
even as you get stronger. You may have to use a spotter more with each
progressing workout. You may also find that on workout 1 or workout 2, you
can complete all 3 rounds with the same dumbbells, but on workout 3, by
the 2nd or 3rd round, you have to drop the weight or you’ll barely be
getting 2 or 3 reps.
Now let me re-emphasize the importance of a spotter. Theres something
thats going to happen when you do this routine that does not happen often.
You will hit what my training partner and I call “HONEST FAILURE.” This
means that your muscles literally fail, or give out right underneath you.
Mind you, this is not something you would usually aim for, but that’s just
the nature of this program and this is only a 4-workout high intensity
“shock” type of routine.
When I say your muscles will give out, I mean that literally. On the last
rep or two of 3rd or 4th angle, of the 2nd or 3rd round, your arms may
literally buckle underneath you. That’s honest failure.
You see, there are several types of failure… First there is “sissy
failure”.. that’s when there is a lactic acid burn or a fatigue in the
muscle (you’re tired) and because it hurts or youre tired, that causes you
to stop. Thats sissy failure (sarcasm).
Then you have positive failure. This is where you can no longer push the
weight up in a concentric motion, but you are still able to lower the
weight and exert an upward force against the weight. For example, you’re
bench pressing and you hit the “sticking point,” but you are holding that
bar at the sticking point (its not coming back down), and you’re still
exerting force to push the bar upward, but the bar simply isn't moving up!
Then you have honest failure. This is where the muscle simply gives out..
it buckles. you have reached concentric and eccentric failure. This type
of failiure is rarely discussed. In fact I don’t recall anyone ever
writing about it except for Arthur Jones and Ellington darden and the rest
of the High Intensity Training (HIT) camp.
Rarely does any bodybuilder tread in this territory, and for good reason,
as it is really not necessary and can be dangerous for anyone but a
veteran who knows what the heck he is doing - and all the kidding aside
for a moment, Im serious about this. Its no joke if your chest and arms
give out from underneath you and you dump a 70 or 80 pound dumbbell on
your face. (you do like your teeth, don’t you?)
However, as a technique you use on rare occasion for a shock routine that
breaks through progress plateaus, that untrodden territory is there… for
those who dare. There is something about this particular program (multi
angular rest pause) that takes you there. You've been warned! Train hard,
but be safe!
Now, go out there and get jacked!
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Lifetime Natural Bodybuilder
www.BurnTheFat.comAbout the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and
freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The
Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements
using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn
how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting:
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