The following details my primary chest, shoulder and triceps workout from my vacation in AZ. Christina and I trained together at LA Fitness is Mesa. The workout was designed by my coach, John Meadows, and here is what it included…
Smith Incline Press
I did a couple low rep sets to get warmed up - FYI.
Set 1 x 25 reps with 155lbs
Set 2 x 20 reps with 185lbs
Set 3 x 15 reps with 205lbs
Set 4 x 10 reps with 225lbs
*The key here is to get a massive pump via high reps. I brought the bar to about an inch above my chest and drove to ¾ lock-out.
Incline Barbell
Set 1 x 5 reps with 245lbs
Set 2 x 5 reps with 265lbs
Set 3 x 5 reps with 275lbs
Set 4 x 5 reps with 285lbs
Set 5 x 4 (failure) reps with 295lbs
*John wanted a little heavier weight than last week on this exercise, but the Smith inclines really fatigued my chest and last week I did reverse banded incline presses. At any rate bring the bar down to a couple inches from your chest and drive to ¾ lock-out. Move up in weight aiming for 5 sets of 5 reps.
Barbell Bench Press
Set 1 x 8 reps with 185lbs
Set 2 x 8 reps with 205lbs
Set 3 x 8 reps with 205lbs
Set 4 x 8 reps with 205lbs
*The key here is to perform pause reps with the bar on your chest for a 1 second count before driving up explosively. This exercise caps off a lot of pressing so select your weight carefully. These are intended to be explosive so don’t go so heavy that they turn into grinding reps.
Machine Side Laterals
Set 1 x 10 reps with 120lbs
Set 2 x 10 reps with 120lbs
Set 3 x 10 reps with 120lbs
Set 4 x 10 reps with 120lbs
*I used a Matrix Machine as per the picture at the beginning of this training log. The goal is to hold the weight at the top for a 1 second count and then perform a 3 second eccentric on every rep. Make these burn!
Rear Delt Reverse Cable Crossovers
The rear delt machines were in use so we opted to do these in the cable crossover - FYI.
Set 1 x 25 reps with 20lbs
Set 2 x 25 reps with 20lbs
Set 3 x 25 reps with 20lbs
Set 4 x 25 reps with 20lbs
*Control the rep speed and maintain a slow tempo to ensure continuous tension on the rear delts. Go for 25 reps even if you fail to get full range reps and resort to partials towards the end.
Free Motion Shoulder Presses
Set 1 x 6 reps with 110lbs
Set 2 x 6 reps with 110lbs
Set 3 x 6 reps with 110lbs
*John called for seated dumbbell presses, but we opted for a Free Motion Machine.
Triceps Dip Machine
This exercise and the rest of the workout was not part of John’s program - FYI.
Set 1 x 10 reps with 240lbs
Set 2 x 8 reps with 250lbs
Set 3 x 6 reps with 260lbs
Set 4 x 5 reps with 250lbs
*Flex hard in the contracted position for a 1 second count and do a 3 second eccentric. I chose this exercise because of the angle (pressing downward) after all the incline, flat and shoulder presses.
Free Motion Unilateral, Supinated Triceps Extensions
Set 1 x 8 reps with 60lbs
Set 2 x 8 reps with 60lbs
Set 3 x 8 reps with 60lbs
*I leaned forward slightly to create a larger range of motion, kept my palms facing up (supinated), elbows pinned to my sides and held the contraction in the flexed position for 1 second on each rep. Here is a picture of Christina performing her set to give you an idea of the set-up:
Overhead Extensions
Set 1 x 12 reps with 120lbs
Set 2 x 12 reps with 120lbs
Set 3 x 12 reps with 120lbs
*I did these mainly for the stretch, pausing for a second in stretched position and extending just short of locking out.
That concluded this primary chest, shoulder and triceps workout.
Train hard!
Mark