No one can deny that Arnold Schwarzenegger's peak physique is considered "the best of all time." Not only did his overall development put him apart from many other bodybuilding giants of the time, but his famous chest was one of the largest and fullest in history!
There's no better authority when it comes to creating a large chest than the seven-time Mr. Olympia champion, who emphasized the necessity of having an excellently shaped chest, despite the fact that the size of physique competitors has grown dramatically over the last three decades. Arnold worked hard and heavy to develop his chest, training three times a week and frequently mixing his chest workouts with equally hard and heavy back workouts. His no-nonsense approach to exercising paid off immediately, and his chest went from 39" to an amazing 58" only five years after he devised his chest-blasting program!
Confusion of Muscles
Arnold, as we all know, was a big lover of muscle confusion and TUT, which he got by using pause reps when working on his outside pecs with heavy dumbbell flies. He did this by lowering the dumbbell to its greatest stretch and then only lifting it back up to three-quarters of its original height, halting just before the weight reached chest level. When you watch vintage Arnold footage, you'll see that he went incredibly deep on every rep, with his upper arms nearly perpendicular to the floor at the bottom. Add in some three-quarter dips, and you'll be on your way to Arnold's famed chest fullness in no time!
Crossovers of Cables
When executing cable crossovers, Schwarzenegger made a point of squeezing his chest and flexing his pecs at the spot where his arms met, which helped him get that etched-in line down the centre of his chest. Dumbbell flyes can be performed in the same way; simply bring your hands together at the top of the exercise and contract your pecs as hard as you can.
Bench Press on an Angle
Arnold was extremely inventive with the incline bench press, the ultimate technique for emphasizing the upper chest, as with any other body part, striking the muscle from all conceivable angles is vital for its total development. He would hit his upper pecs somewhere between 15% and 50% of the way up, which targets the upper muscular fibres even more deeply — in order to shape even the tiniest muscles that most bodybuilders overlook. His meticulous attention to detail, combined with his unwavering work ethic, are credited with helping him achieve his enviable body.
Intensity
Schwarzenegger, ever the training genius, would try to spice up his chest workout in any way he could, incorporating pause reps on the bench press, alternating the range of motion from full to half or quarter, adding in 5-rep max heavy days, or using drop sets and forced reps to spice up his sessions whenever he thought his routine lacked intensity or he was approaching a plateau.
Incorporating pause reps on the bench press, alternating the range of motion from full to half or quarter, adding in 5-rep max heavy days, or using drop sets and forced reps to spice up his sessions whenever he thought his routine lacked intensity or he was approaching a plateau, Schwarzenegger, ever the training genius, would try to spice up his chest workout in any way he could.
Arnold's Traditional Chest Workout
5 sets x 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 repetitions on the barbell bench press
4 sets x 12, 10, 8, 6 reps flat-bench dumbbell fly
4 sets x 12, 10, 8, 6 reps on the weighted dip
4 sets of 15 reps with a dumbbell pull-over
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