Chest & Triceps
I’ve decided to wipe all my old posts from this blog, and start anew with greater focus on my workouts.
So let’s jump back to last Friday, Jan 29. I’ll just drop all the numbers, then explain my notation after. My bodyweight going into this workout was right around 150 lb.
Barbell bench press: 170 lb RP: 6+3+3 (for 12 total)
Barbell bench press: 135 lb: 12, 11, 10
Smith Incline bench press: 47.5 lb per RP: 8+4+3 (for 15 total)
Smith Incline bench press: 35 lb per: 13
Skull Crusher: 65 lb: 10 +20 press
Skull Crusher: 65 lb: 10 +20 press
Dips: 12
Chest stretch: 65 lb: 75 sec
Triceps stretch: 60 sec
When I say “RP,” that is a rest-pause set. With a rest-pause set, the goal is to get a total of 11-15 reps across 3 mini-sets separated by 15 deep breaths. So I do as many reps as I can, then take 15 deep breaths, do as many as I can again, take 15 deep breaths again, then finally do as many as I can again. With each mini-set, you do less reps because you’re still exhausted from not getting enough rest since the last mini-set. As long as you get at least 11 overall, you can technically increase your weight the next time. I like to wait until I’m getting the full 15 reps with good form though. You can see here I got 12, so I still have some work to do before I attempt 175 lb.
After the RP set, you see some regular sets. I use lower weight on these, and take a good 2-3 minutes rest between sets (instead of just 15 breaths.) Sometimes the rests are shorter if I feel like making it harder, and sometimes they are longer if someone else needs a spot on something.
On the incline smith sets, I am using a Smith machine instead of a real barbell & bench combo. The reason for this is after the flat bench, I don’t want to bother anyone to spot me. I use an incline bench for these to try to hit more of the upper pec. Whether it actually works or not is debatable. I enjoy doing them though, so I squeeze them in when there’s time. Again you see I started with a rest-pause set with 47.5 lb of weight on each side of the bar for a total of 95 lb plus however much the bar weighs. I’ve never weighed the one where I go, but they are usually 15-25 lb (less than the olympic barbell used on regular bench press.)
For the skull crusher notation, that means I did 10 skull crushers. Then without resting I immediately went into some close-grip bench press with the same weight. It’s not a lot of weight for a narrow-grip bench press, but your triceps are so exhausted from the skull crushers that the presses are still devastating anyway. After a good rest, I did 10 skull crushers again followed by another 20 presses. Finally, the dips notation is pretty simple. I did 1 set of 12 dips (just my bodyweight) on the power tower.
I finished up the workout with some extreme stretching. This is supposed to stretch the deep fascia, which in turn is supposed to allow your muscles to grow a bit easier. For the chest stretch, I lay on a flat bench with a 65 lb dumbbell in each hand, and hold them there without pressing them up so my chest gets pulled. The goal for this is 60-90 seconds. I got 75, so next time I will increase to 70 lb dumbbells. Triceps stretch doesn’t use any weight. You just have to find your own way of stretching your triceps and hold it for 60-90 seconds.