Blake Hall
Those who know the human body like, um, the back of their hand (doctors, mostly), say that when you get under that big, bad bench press you’re preparing your physical temple to work the following muscles: pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis, scapulae fixers, trapezii and the triceps.
The thing is, though, some people’s pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis, scapulae fixers, trapezii and triceps are more high-powered than others. For example, take the former Naval Academy football player, Jake Zuzek, in the following clip where he successfully works his way up to pressing a ludicrous 500 pounds (which is technically a quarter of a whole ton):
Are you expected to do this? No. Few people on the planet are. But if you want to get as close as you can possibly can to this freight train-esque workload, you should make a stop at Bodybuilding.com before you do (they have a great military discount, wink wink).
And if you’re more concerned about appearance rather than your gym stats (i.e. how much weight you can brag about successfully lifting) try this proven, cutting-edge chest workout, courtesy of Ivan Blazquez and the pros at Bodybuilding.com:
The key to getting the chest ripped in my personal experience is by increasing the total work done and hitting it from every angle possible.
This involves doing more sets and reps and changing grips, body position, and arm position. Stick to rep ranges of 6-10 reps for the first of 1 or 2 exercises for chest, then gradually begin increasing the reps to 10-15, to 15-20, and then finish with 1 or 2 exercises of 50 or more reps! The workout should look something like this:
- Barbell or Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 3-5 reps
- Dumbbell or Cable Flyes: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
- Pushups: 3 sets of 20-50 reps
You can even send us your before and after photos if you want. Maybe we’ll put them on the site and make you famous?