My Training Regime: Chest Day
There is a lot about my training that can leave anyone’s imagination guessing. So many people have been curious and asked me exactly how I manage to train my whole body with so much intensity, as they have preconceived notions about what someone in my situation can and cannot do.
I’m here to tell you that you can achieve anything if you just put forth the effort and determination and if you are willing to go through the pain barrier in the process.
In this blog, I will explain a typical training session for me that leaves everyone asking, “How do you do that? That seems impossible to do.” As I explained in my first post, nothing is impossible if you just believe in what you are doing! It begins with belief.
Here we go. Are you ready?
I first start with a 45 minute run on the treadmill. Yes, I run! All I need to do is hold on to the side rails for balance and stability. I set the incline all the way up to level 15, which is the highest it can go. I start my speed at 2.5 mph for about two minutes of warm up, then gradually increase it to a maximum of 4.5 mph.
This may not be a sprint speed for some people, it’s more like a slow jog speed, but it’s a good pace for me and keep in mind I still have the incline set at 15 and it will remain there until the end! Try it and see for yourself what that’s like.
Once my cardio is finished, it’s time to hit the weights! Today was a chest workout. I did three major exercises and hit them with enough intensity that it might make some people get sick!
The first movement was the bench press. All guys seem to love to bench press as it builds those “T-shirt muscles” and they say it impresses the ladies! Actually, it’s not a good idea to train for your ego or train to impress others, but there is no doubt this is an effective, enjoyable and satisfying exercise to perform.
By the way, I hold the New York State Bench Press record of 300 pounds. Of course, lots of people who are serious lifters have bench pressed 300 pounds, but to put this in perspective, I did it while my body weight was only 130 pounds (I benched 2.3 times my bodyweight!)
For today’s session, I performed 4 sets of bench press in total: 2 sets @ 185 lbs for 15-20 reps, then down to 165 lbs for 1 set of 25 reps. On the last set, I dropped drop down to 135 lbs for 30-40 reps.
It may seem unusual that I go so high in reps, but over the years, even after spending a lot of time doing power lifting and low reps, and comparing results from both, I have found that high reps is what my body responds to the best for bodybuilding purposes.
It may be the standard “rule” to perform 8-12 reps on every exercise, but if you only follow everyone else’s rules and don’t experiment to find out what works best for you, then you will never know, will you? My body thrives on high reps and I love this kind of training.
The next exercise was incline dumbbell presses. I did not go heavy on this movement, as my goal on this was to try to shape the muscle, more than build mass. I like to have good muscle separation, and although muscle separation and definition comes mostly from dieting off the body fat, I am convinced that training is also a big part of it getting good muscle separation.
I performed three total sets, with very strict form, squeezing and flexing with every rep, starting with 40 lbs for 15-20 reps, then I moved it up to 45 lbs for 15-20 reps, and then back down to 40 lbs for 20-25 reps. By this time, my chest was on fire.
My final exercise is flat bench dumbbell flyes. I usually do 3 total sets. I start with 40 lbs for 20-25 reps, then up to 50 lbs for 15-20 reps on my last set I like to do something crazy so I bump to 65 lbs on my last set for about 15 reps. At this point my chest was exploding!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I don’t rest more than 15 seconds between sets. That always seems to blow everyone’s mind when they hear it!
My training may seem unconventional with the high reps and low rest periods, but it works for me and I enjoy this type of training the most.
This is just the beginning, too. Next time, I will explain my “crazy” shoulder workout. Thanks for visiting today. I’ll see you again soon!
1 comment November 5th, 2006