The following details my chest, shoulder and triceps workout from Wednesday night at Kirkland Gold’s Gym. Christina was in AZ with two of my daughters for spring break so I trained alone. Here is what I did...
Dumbbell Press
Set 1 x 8 reps with 60lbs
Set 2 x 8 reps with 70lbs
Set 3 x 8 reps with 90lbs
Set 4 x 8 reps with 110lbs
Set 5 x 7 (failure) with 130lbs
*Start with a lighter weight and do sets of 8 going up in weight until you fail to get 8. Press just short of locking out.
Incline Barbell Press w/Chains
I used the following equipment for this exercise:
Carabiners: https://www.elitefts.com/carabiner-4-pack.html.
Chains: https://www.elitefts.com/eliteftstm-pair-of-5-8-chains.html.
EZ Load: https://www.elitefts.com/ez-deadlift-strap-loader-pair.html.
Set 1 x 10 reps with 135lbs (feeder set)
Set 2 x 10 reps with 155lbs (feeder set)
Set 3 x 6 reps with 155lbs w/1 pair of chains
Set 4 x 6 reps with 155lbs w/2 pairs of chains
Set 5 x 6 reps with 155lbs w/3 pairs of chains
Set 6 x 5 reps with 155lbs w/4 pairs of chains -> remove chains x 6 reps
*I used chains on this exercise to facilitate explosiveness and because I didn’t have a spotter. Lower the weight slowly and drive it up hard on the concentric. I couldn’t go to absolute failure, but did a drop on my final set by removing the chains.
Incline Dumbbell Flyes
Set 1 x 12 reps with 40lbs
Set 2 x 10 reps with 45lbs
Set 3 x 8 reps with 50lbs
Set 4 x 6 reps with 55lbs
*I used a utility bench with a slight incline here. Lift your sternum and really control the negative. Also, don’t bring the dumbbells completely together at the top to ensure you don’t lose tension on your pecs.
One Arm Low Pulley Rear Delts
I used a rope attachment here - FYI.
Four sets of 20 reps with 25lbs
*Hold the contraction briefly in the flexed position and take short rest breaks while alternating from one side to the next. It’s okay if you lose some reps on your way to 4 working sets. Pump the rear delts with blood!
Cable Side Laterals
Three sets of 15 reps with 20lbs
*Allow the cables to cross behind your back and crank out sets of 15 reps with perfect form.
Here is a video from a previous workout:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vYg9znzBy8]
Superset: Close Grip Bench & Machine Triceps Extensions
Close Grip Bench x 8 reps with 135lbs
Immediately followed by…
Machine Triceps Extensions x 10 reps with 85lbs
*The key on the close grip bench is to flare your elbows, pause when your elbow joint is at 90 degrees and press the weight up flexing as hard as possible for a 1 second count at the top. Move straight to a machine triceps extension and get 10 perfect reps. Do this superset for 4 rounds.
That concluded this chest, shoulder and triceps workout.
Train hard!
Mark