The following details my secondary chest, triceps, abdominals & calves workout from Sunday morning at Eastside Gym in Redmond. I’m going back to hitting all major body parts twice/week from now until my next competition in June. I trained alone and here is what I did…
Machine Flyes
Set 1 x 12 reps with 120lbs
Set 2 x 12 reps with 120lbs
Set 3 x 12 reps with 120lbs
*The key here is to hold the contraction and flex your pecs as hard as possible for a 2 second count on each rep. Drive a ton of blood into your pecs.
Bench Press
I used a fat bar like this: https://www.elitefts.com/american-fat-bar.html.
Set 1 x 5 reps with 225lbs
Set 2 x 5 reps with 225lbs
Set 3 x 5 reps with 225lbs
Set 4 x 5 reps with 225lbs
Set 5 x 5 reps with 225lbs
*I normally shy away from barbell presses on secondary workouts, but my goal here was to simply train explosively without heavy weight. The key is to stop short of lock-out to save your elbow joints and take only 45 second rest breaks. Focus on controlling the weight down to your chest and then driving it explosively to ¾ lock-out.
Pronate Grip Dumbbell Flyes
Set 1 x 12 reps with 30lbs
Set 2 x 12 reps with 30lbs
Set 3 x 12 reps with 30lbs
*Focus on a good stretch across your upper pecs by keeping your palms in a pronate position the entire time.
Superset: Cable Rear Delts & Stretch Push-ups
Cable Rear Delts x 15 full & 15 partial reps with 15lbs each side
Immediately followed by…
Stretch Push-ups x 15 reps with bodyweight
*Hold the contraction for a split second on the first 15 reps on the cable rear delts and then pump the remaining even if they become partials. I performed the stretch push-ups with my feet elevated while pressing between two benches so I could sink down and get a good stretch. Adding rear delts just makes the pump that much better. Perform the superset for 3 rounds.
Superset: Triceps Pushdowns & Rope Crunches
Triceps Pushdowns x 20 reps with 110lbs
Immediately followed by…
Rope Crunches x 10 reps with 160lbs
*I used a straight bar for the pushdowns and focused on contracting hard in the flexed position until my form was compromised, at which point I pumped out the remaining reps. I alternated with rope crunches because it’s a good way to get in some abdominal work while stretching my triceps in the process. I did the superset for 3 rounds.
Seated Overhead Extensions
I used an older Paramount Machine here – FYI.
Set 1 x 12 reps with 170lbs
Set 2 x 12 reps with 170lbs
Set 3 x 12 reps with 170lbs
*The key is to keep your elbows back to allow for a good stretch and then finish each set by holding the weight in the stretched position for a 15 second count.
Seated Calve Raises
Set 1 x 20 reps with 2 plates
Set 2 x 15 reps with 3 plates
Set 3 x 10 reps with 4 plates
*Pause for a split second at the bottom and the top (stretched and flexed position) on each rep. Finish your final set with 8 partials out of the stretched position.
That concluded this secondary chest, triceps, abs and calves workout.
Train hard!
Mark
Did you find what you were doing previously was a bit too much frequency? Just wondered as I have been considering trying the version you are doing now as I wanted to see if the secondary workouts actually help my joints and aid in recovery. At 53, John's planning and the way he structures the lifts have helped a great deal with my beat up joints and years of wear and tear. But I have stayed with the version 1 workouts with 4 days per week as it seemed to fit my joints with recovery. So just wondered if you found the "pump" workouts to help you with recovery. Appreciate all you do, Mark.
Take care,
Bill
Thanks for the question. Yeah, at 42 I need to listen to my body much more than I did in my 20's. To answer your question I feel like the secondary/pump workouts aid my recovery from a muscle standpoint. I will caution that you need to ensure the secondary days are very joint-friendly or you will see inflammation flare up.
I was recently doing John's program where one body part saw 3 training sessions/week, but the rest of the body was only trained once. The high frequency body part was rotated every 4 weeks or so. I think it may be a consideration for someone doing 1 primary and 1 secondary for all body parts per week. That said, I just switched back to my standard 1 primary and 1 secondary for each body part/week from here until my competitions in June and July.
I hope this helped answer your questions.
All the Best,
Mark
Excellent! Thanks again for your time.
Bill