The following is a snapshot of a typical depletion workout for chest, shoulders and triceps. I performed this session Monday night at Kirkland Gold’s Gym alongside my bride. I specifically program depletion workouts similar to my secondary/pump sessions, but with a little higher reps, no intensity techniques and ensure I leave a few reps in the tank on each set. Basically, pump the muscle and deplete it of glycogen while in the de-carb phase of my pre-contest diet. Here is what I did…
Dumbbell 1.5’s w/Twist Press
Set 1 x 14 reps with 40lbs
Set 2 x 14 reps with 40lbs
Set 3 x 14 reps with 40lbs
Set 4 x 14 reps with 40lbs
*The key here is to lower the dumbbells into the stretched position with a pronate hand position, press ½ way up, reverse the motion and come back into the stretch position, then finish with pressing to full extension while twisting your palms to a semi-supinate hand position. This counts as 1 rep, so you are doing 1.5 reps on each with a twist of the wrists when fully extending. This places constant tension on the pecs and really burns.
Here is a video of just the twist portion of the exercise to give you a frame of reference from one of my older workouts:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4fYZhpXyj0]
Pronate Incline Flyes
Set 1 x 15 reps with 30lbs
Set 2 x 15 reps with 30lbs
Set 3 x 15 reps with 30lbs
Set 4 x 15 reps with 30lbs
*These are the same as incline flyes, but you keep your hands in a pronate position the entire time vs the typical neutral hand position.
Here is a video from an older workout so you can see the form:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzH_N6s_GwE]
Tri-Set: Dips, Reverse Cable Flyes & Over-and-Backs w/Band
This finished off chest and began the pump and depletion of shoulders - FYI. This is the band I used: https://www.elitefts.com/shop/bars-weights/bands/pro-mini-resistance-band.html.
Dips x 10-15 reps with bodyweight
Immediately followed by…
Reverse Cable Flyes x 15-20 reps with 20lbs
Immediately followed by…
Over-and-Back w/Band x 10 reps
*Don’t go to failure, but perform this tri-set for a total of 4 rounds.
Here is a video of one of my tri-sets:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4I1q4y_cSU]
Superset: Face Pulls & Cable Upright Rows
Face Pulls x 15 reps with 110lbs
Immediately followed by…
Cable Upright Rows x 12 reps with 120lbs
*I used a rope for the face pulls and held the contraction for a split second on each rep. On the cable upright rows focus on leading the movement with your elbows and do not bring them any higher than shoulder level. Perform the superset for 3 rounds.
Dumbbell Side Laterals
Set 1 x 15 reps with 20lbs -> drop to 15lbs x 15 reps -> drop to 10lbs x 15 reps
Set 2 x 15 reps with 20lbs -> drop to 15lbs x 15 reps -> drop to 10lbs x 15 reps
Set 3 x 15 reps with 20lbs -> drop to 15lbs x 15 reps -> drop to 10lbs x 15 reps
*I basically burned out my delts with three rounds of drop sets here.
Close Grip Bench Press
Set 1 x 20 reps with 95lbs
Set 2 x 20 reps with 95lbs
Set 3 x 20 reps with 95lbs
Set 4 x 20 reps with 95lbs
*Don’t fully lockout on these to maintain constant tension on the triceps and pump out 20 reps on each set.
Superset: V-Bar Pushdowns & Overhead Extensions
V-Bar Pushdowns x 15 reps with 140lbs
Immediately followed by…
Overhead Extensions x 12 reps with 120lbs
*Perform the pushdowns and then turn around and use the same attachment to pump out the overhead extensions while focusing on the stretch. I did this superset for 3 rounds.
That completed this chest, shoulder and triceps depletion workout. I’ll do something similar, but with different exercises on Thursday as my last workout before Saturday’s competition.
Train smart!
Mark