YO NOTDAVE.....A separate Chest work out???

HEY DAVE......question....

Now that I've been sexified by my plasitic surgeon...lol....I want to build my chest muscles up. I've already have been doing chest 2 days a week....I lift 4 days a week in the routine I'm doing right now. I'm thinking of adding an extra day just to do different chest exercises.

In this 6 week routaition, i'm doing push ups (narrow), with flat DB fly's, I do them as part of super sets paired with back exercises...and work my biceps and triceps on the same day.

The other 2 days I work the lower body (super sets) and I either take a day off or do 1/2 hour of cardio on wed. So it's

Monday: Upper
Tuesday: Lower
Wed: off or cardio
Thursday Upper
Friday: Lower

Any suggestions? I guess i'm looking for a saturday routine, if I add more chest exercises do I need to add more back exercises ? Again I change my routine every 6 weeks or so, sometimes I break for 2 weeks from weights and just do cardio.


Scott

Scotty,

One of my favorites is the P90X Chest and Back Routine. Whenever possible, it's good to do opposing muscle groups in the same workout. Chest and lats (upper back) are considered opposing muscle groups.

What "the X" routine does is alternate a set of pushups with a set of pullups and intersperses some bent over rows.

First exercise (after a ten minute warmup) is as many regular pushups as you can do. Then rest a max of one minute and swtch to wide grip pullups. Then go to military pushups (elbow back instead of out to the side. Then do close grip pullups. Then, do diamond to chest pullups (hands make a diamond under the chest and go to the chest). Then do wide grip pullups again... Then put your feet up on something like a chair and do incline pushups. Then do reverse grip close grip pullups. Then, there's under the fence pushups (body does a crawling motion in pushup position). By now the pullup numbers will be pretty low so now you can do two close grip overhand pullups and switch right away to close grip underhand pullups.

Of course, the pullups can be replaced by a cable or rubber band.

Oh and don't forget to intersperse a few sets of bent over rows in there. That's also part of it.

If you do this, you be sure to not only fry your chest and lats, but also shoulders and arms - no need to work those for at least 48 hours after this one.

Do as many pullup and pullups as you can for each set and the bent over row weights should be something that makes it difficult to get out the last three of twelve reps.

My true recommendation is that you replace one of your existing upper workouts with this and do 90 minutes of the P90X "Yoga X" routine. Or find a comparable yoga for athletes type video to do on the Saturday. Yoga is just so completely different from other exercise, when done in combination with weights muscles pop out that you never knew you had.

Hope This Helps,

Dave

I'm going to have to order P90X...it sounds just like what I'm looking for, but I'm not recovered enough from plastics to do that kind of activity....my surgeon cleared me to do some weight lifting and some cardio, and I'm to put off any type of core work. As you know some of those moves work the core, just because you need to stablize yourself. So for now I'll have to stick to what I'm doing...maybe I'll add a day with the natuilus equipment.....or resistance bands. Did you see this months edition of Men's Fitness? With Dave Bekham on the cover? They have a guy in there that said he can make the most athletic body builder curl up in the fetal position with some resitance bands...they even have the pull out poster for the work out. The personal trainer I use to use, LOVED resistance band training...he said it worked the muscles at so many different angles that it was a good addition to free weight training.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion...hopefully I'll be ready to start some of that P90x stuff by mid to late fall.

Scott

Scott,

No, I haven't seen the mag, but I have worked with resistance bands and provided you can get the right tension, they can be killer.

If you want some interesting and often radical and bizarre exercises check out this site. Here the author's using really heavy stretch bands not provide resistance, but to TAKE IT OFF at the beginning of his bench press, so he can do lockouts with really heavy weight:

http://www.powerfultrainingsecrets.com/trial-membership/35-r everse-band-bench-press.htm

Might want to register for his newsletter if you like creative exercises.

P90X is good when you're healed. Don't want to start too soon after PS.

Best Wishes,

Dave

 

Scottie!!!!

I do
incline, decline, and bench DB presses and flies, and the pec dec 3x10

hitting the flies hard seems to give me that grove down the middle///

I went to the gym today and added some pull ups and dips....not to the P90x level, but at least some, in additon to some chest presses, and some back flies.

I think at this point I'm going to do that on my 5th day, and just try to slowly increase the weight levels on my regular days. I'm just really lazy about increasing the weight....lol. Maybe it's time to get a personal trainer for a few months again.

Scott

Scott,

That's the good thing about those exercises, you can adapt them to your level of fitness and your needs. I've gotten used to being sore 3-4 days out of 7 and am amazed at what a mixture of extreme stuff can do. I'm probably much more fascinated interesting by the experience new muscle motion and new adaptations. With the hot yoga, a lot of it of course is sweating buckets with young scantily clad yoginis! That's my kind of exercise.

Best Wishes,

Dave

hot yogins...I'm there...lol. I'm wondering about the 1200 claories burned...i'd have to start drinking sweet tea to make up for that amount lost......either that or take shorter classes.....

BTW love sun salutations.....

Scott

Russ,

You're probably where you can do Hot Yoga. This has given me the biggest cardio and musculo skeletal boost I've ever seen. It's not a big upper body workout, like the Sun Salutation circuit (see YouTube) would be, but the flexibility and cardio you get are truly amazing.

Plus 1000-1200 calories burnt over 90 minutes. I also think that repeated profuse sweating causes fat to be discharged from the skin, there's just so much liquid turnover. My skin is getting a thin, vascular look to it.

It's amazing how little is know about the benefits that come from forced adapation reponses.

Best Wishes,

Dave