CHEST AND BACK, Part 1: Beginner | Intermediate/Advanced
OVER THE YEARS, you’ve learned to avoid unstable situations internships in Iraq and horseloving girlfriends, for example because your life is a lot easier that way.
And you probably apply the same thinking to your workouts. That is, you do exercises such as the standard bench press with your body in a supported, stable position, in order to isolate specific muscle groups. But performing the same exercises while you’re in an unstable position so that you have to balance yourself as you lift forces the smaller, surrounding muscles to work, too. And that means a more productive workout.
Using instability to your advantage can lead to the best gains you’ve ever achieved in strength, muscle, and athletic performance. Think about when you first learned to walk. As you advanced from crawling to standing to walking, your body position became less stable. But as a result, you became stronger. That’s because your muscles had to perform better in each stage.
In this plan, you’ll give your chest and back the same advantage. By changing from stable to less stable positions, you’ll not only build the muscles you can see, but you’ll also build the underlying stabilizer muscles you’ve ignored for years. And by training your body in unstable positions, you’ll prepare it to be more stable when it counts like when it’s time to get away from that horseloving girlfriend.
THE REST OF YOUR WORKOUT
Do the chest and back exercises first in your workout in other words, do the exercises described here in Chapter Two. After that, it’s up to you how to fit in exercises for other muscle groups. Most important: Build strength and muscle size with equal effort on both sides of your body. Working the front and neglecting the back is a recipe for injury.
Some suggestions:
BEGINNER
Do a total-body workout two or three times a week. After you finish your chest and back exercises, try one set of eight to 12 repetitions of the following exercises (except where noted) :
And you probably apply the same thinking to your workouts. That is, you do exercises such as the standard bench press with your body in a supported, stable position, in order to isolate specific muscle groups. But performing the same exercises while you’re in an unstable position so that you have to balance yourself as you lift forces the smaller, surrounding muscles to work, too. And that means a more productive workout.
Using instability to your advantage can lead to the best gains you’ve ever achieved in strength, muscle, and athletic performance. Think about when you first learned to walk. As you advanced from crawling to standing to walking, your body position became less stable. But as a result, you became stronger. That’s because your muscles had to perform better in each stage.
In this plan, you’ll give your chest and back the same advantage. By changing from stable to less stable positions, you’ll not only build the muscles you can see, but you’ll also build the underlying stabilizer muscles you’ve ignored for years. And by training your body in unstable positions, you’ll prepare it to be more stable when it counts like when it’s time to get away from that horseloving girlfriend.
THE REST OF YOUR WORKOUT
Do the chest and back exercises first in your workout in other words, do the exercises described here in Chapter Two. After that, it’s up to you how to fit in exercises for other muscle groups. Most important: Build strength and muscle size with equal effort on both sides of your body. Working the front and neglecting the back is a recipe for injury.
Some suggestions:
BEGINNER
Do a total-body workout two or three times a week. After you finish your chest and back exercises, try one set of eight to 12 repetitions of the following exercises (except where noted) :
- Squat (or leg press)
- Leg curl
- Seated alternating dumbbell press
- Cable triceps extension
- Dumbbell biceps curl
- Crunch (15–20 repetitions)
INTERMEDIATE
Divide your program into two workouts, one for upper body, one for lower. Alternate between the two, taking a day off after each. So, you’d do the upperbody workout on Monday and Friday of one week and the lower-body workout on Wednesday, then the following week you’d do the lower-body workout on Monday and Friday and the upper-body routine on Wednesday.
Upper-body workout After doing the chest and back program in this installment, choose one exercise each for shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Do two or three sets of the shoulder exercise and one or two sets of the arm exercises.
Lower-body workout Choose one “hipdominant” exercise, meaning the main emphasis of the exercise is on the hamstrings and gluteals (examples include stepups and any variety of deadlift). Then choose one “knee-dominant” exercise, meaning the emphasis is on the quadriceps muscles of the front of the thigh (squats, leg presses, and lunges qualify). Do two or three warmup sets and two work sets. (A work set means you’re using the most weight you can for that number of repetitions. The warmup sets should be percentages of that weight maybe 40, 60, and 80 percent. Do fewer repetitions in each warmup set.) Add your choice of abdominal and calf exercises.
ADVANCED
Divide your workout into four parts. Do each one once a week; don’t work out more than 2 days in a row.
- Chest and back
- Knee-dominant exercises (described above), plus abs and calves
- Shoulders and arms
- Hip-dominant exercises (also above), plus abs and calves again
