The following details my primary chest, shoulder and triceps workout from Monday night at Kirkland Gold’s Gym.  The workout was designed by my coach, John Meadows, and I trained alongside my bride.  I made a couple modifications to the program, but here is exactly what we did…
Banded Hammer Decline Press

 

John called for Hammer Strength flat bench, but my gym is not equipped with that piece of equipment so I opted for decline instead.  I attached one of these bands to each handle to facilitate a better peak contraction: https://www.elitefts.com/shop/bars-weights/bands/pro-mini-resistance-band.html.

 

Set 1 x 15 reps with bands only

Set 2 x 10 reps with 1 plate + bands

Set 2 x 8 reps with 2 plates + bands

Set 3 x 6 reps with 3 plates + bands

Set 4 x 6 reps with 3 plates + bands

Set 5 x 6 reps with 3 plates + bands

Set 6 x 6 reps with 3 plates + bands

 

*Avoid allowing your elbows to go back beyond 90 degrees to prevent shoulder injuries.  Drive to ¾ lockout and train explosively.  I counted this as 4 working sets.

 

Flat Bench Press

 

It’s now been 6 years since I partially tore my pec, but I still don’t go too heavy on flat bench.  The pauses help from a safety standpoint, but adjust your weight wisely as flat bench is the most notorious for pec tears – FYI.

 

Set 1 x 8 reps with 225lbs

Set 2 x 8 reps with 245lbs

Set 3 x 8 reps with 265lbs

Set 4 x 8 reps with 275lbs

 

*The key here is to lower the weight slowly, pausing with the bar touching your chest, maintaining tension for a 1 second pause, and then drive the weight up to ¾ lockout as forcefully as possible.

 

Incline Dumbbell Press

 

I used a slight incline here – FYI.

 

Set 1 x 8 reps with 100lbs

Set 2 x 8 reps with 100lbs

Set 3 x 8 reps with 100lbs -> drop to 75lbs x 8 reps -> drop to 55lbs x 8 reps

 

*Ensure a weight in which you have a couple reps left in the tank at the end of 8 reps.  Do this weight for 3 sets and finish with a double drop set.

 

 Superset: Key Press & Stretch Push-ups

 

John called for 3 sets of stretch pushups, but I wanted to try the Key Press I read about on T-Nation.  I decided to superset the Key Press with Stretch Pushups, but only did the superset for 2 rounds of 4 working sets total – FYI.

 

Key Press x 8 reps with 55lbs

Immediately followed by…

Stretch Pushups x failure

 

*The idea on the Key Press is to use a decline bench and supinate your hands at the bottom while rotating them to a neutral position as you hit the peak contraction at the top.  As you will see in the video below I struggled to achieve full supination, but liked the feel of this exercise nonetheless.  Go directly to stretch pushups to failure.

 

Here is a video:

 

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrVb1FziLVY]

 

Dumbbell Bent Over Rear Laterals

 

Set 1 x 35 reps with 20lbs

Set 2 x 35 reps with 20lbs

Set 3 x 35 reps with 20lbs

 

*Nothing fancy here, just high reps to make your rear delts burn like fire!

 

Dumbbell Side Laterals

 

Set 1 x 15 reps + 5 partials with 40lbs

Set 2 x 12 reps + 5 partials with 45lbs

Set 3 x 10 reps + 5 partials with 50lbs

Set 4 x 6 reps + 5 partials with 55lbs

 

*I progressed up in weight and down in reps adding partials once my form suffered too badly.

 

Smith Machine Over and Backs

 

Set 1 x failure (6-8 reps) with 135lbs

Set 2 x failure (6-8 reps) with 135lbs

Set 3 x failure (6-8 reps) with 135lbs

 

*The key here is to bring the bar down to chin level in the front, drive the weight up over your head, bring it down to about ear level behind your head, drive it back up and bring it down again to the front.  Over and back counts as 1 rep, so go until you fail aiming for about 6-8 over and back reps.

 

Here is a video:

 

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0DZ0sLlSLg]

 

V Bar Pushdowns

 

Set 1 x 15 reps with 160lbs

Set 2 x 12 reps with 185lbs

Set 3 x 10 reps with 195lbs

Set 4 x 8 reps with 205lbs

Set 5 x 6 reps with 215lbs

 

*A simple heavy pyramid on these today for 5 working sets.

 

Bent Over Rope Extensions

 

Set 1 x 15 reps with 100lbs

Set 2 x 15 reps with 100lbs

Set 3 x 15 reps with 100lbs

 

*Now that your triceps should be fully pumped and fatigued, focus on the stretch.  In the stretched position with elbows high, flex your biceps for a 1 second count to force the stretch before extending the rope to ¾ lockout.

 

That concluded this primary chest, shoulder and triceps workout.

 

Train hard!

Mark