THE BULLETPROOF CHEST WORKOUT (Sets and Reps Included)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Jeff Cavalier introduces 'The Bulletproof Body' series focusing on building a bigger chest without compromising overall health. He emphasizes the importance of a proper warm-up, strength training with barbell or dumbbell bench press, and hypertrophy exercises like incline dumbbell bench press and dips. He also highlights the significance of corrective exercises for long-term workout sustainability.
Takeaways
- 🏋️♂️ Start with a warm-up: The importance of a proper warm-up is emphasized, especially for chest workouts, to prevent injury and prepare the body.
- 🔥 Body Weight Systems Check: A deficit push-up is suggested as a warm-up to assess the status of elbows, wrists, and shoulders.
- 💪 Maximize Strength: Strength training is crucial to combat the natural loss of strength that begins in your 20s and continues with age.
- 🏋️♀️ Barbell or Dumbbell Bench Press: Either can be used for strength training, with the focus on heavy weights and controlled movements.
- 🚀 Compensatory Accelerated Training: Push the weight fast on the way up to recruit more type two muscle fibers, which are prone to atrophy.
- 📈 Hypertrophy Focus: Stretch is key in building muscle, and exercises like the incline dumbbell bench press are recommended to complement flat bench work.
- 🤔 Proper Form in Dips: Focus on shoulder blade position to avoid injury and maximize chest development, with a 1.5 rep style for better stretch.
- 🤲 Cable Crossover: Target the chest's adduction function with this exercise, emphasizing slow, controlled movements for hypertrophy.
- ⏳ Tension Sets: Use a slow concentric and eccentric movement in exercises like cable crossovers to increase muscle tension and promote growth.
- 🛡️ Corrective Exercises: Incorporate exercises like the BAM pull apart to work on rotator cuff and scapular muscles, crucial for long-term workout sustainability.
- 📚 Consistency and Precision: Emphasize the need for high intention and precision in each rep, especially in corrective exercises, for the best results.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the 'The Bulletproof Body' series?
-The main focus of 'The Bulletproof Body' series is to help build a bigger chest without sacrificing the entire body, ensuring both improved appearance and functionality, while also considering longevity in training.
Why is a warm-up important before starting a chest workout?
-A warm-up is crucial as it prepares the body for the workout, increases blood flow to the muscles, and assesses the condition of joints like elbows, wrists, and shoulders, which is essential for injury prevention and optimal performance.
What is the recommended warm-up exercise for a chest workout in this series?
-The recommended warm-up exercise is a deficit push-up, performed slowly with a 3-second lowering and a 3-second pause in the stretch position, to assess how the body feels and prepare for the main exercises.
How does the approach to strength training in this series differ from traditional bodybuilding?
-The approach emphasizes maximizing strength while maintaining safety, focusing on recruiting type two muscle fibers through compensatory accelerated training, which involves pushing the weight as fast as possible on the concentric phase of the lift.
What is the significance of performing the barbell or dumbbell bench press with speed?
-Performing the bench press with speed helps recruit more type two muscle fibers, which are prone to atrophy with age. This technique is meant to combat the loss of strength that typically begins in the 20s and continues throughout life.
Why is the incline dumbbell bench press included in the hypertrophy-focused exercises?
-The incline dumbbell bench press is included to complement the work done on the flat bench, targeting the clavicular head of the pectoral muscles and allowing for a deeper stretch, which is crucial for muscle growth.
What are the key points to consider when performing dips for chest hypertrophy?
-The key points are to keep the shoulder blades down and not allow them to roll forward, ensuring the exercise is not only effective for chest development but also safe for the shoulders.
How should the 1 and a half rep style dip be performed?
-The 1 and a half rep style dip involves lowering the body fully under control, coming up halfway, and then lowering back down for half a rep before returning to the top. This technique maximizes the stretch and effectiveness of the exercise.
What is the purpose of the cable crossover in the hypertrophy-focused exercises?
-The cable crossover is used to target the adduction function of the chest, which is essential for overall chest development and is often neglected in typical chest workouts.
Why is the BAM pull apart considered a corrective exercise and important for longevity?
-The BAM pull apart is a corrective exercise that works the rotator cuff and scapular muscles, which are crucial for shoulder health and stability. Strengthening these muscles can help prevent injuries and allow for consistent training over the years.
Outlines
🏋️♂️ Building a Bigger Chest with a Balanced Approach
Jeff Cavalier introduces a new series focused on developing a 'bulletproof body,' starting with the chest. He emphasizes the importance of not just looking better but feeling better and maintaining longevity in training. The video begins with a discussion on the necessity of a proper warm-up, specifically the Body Weight Systems check, which involves performing deficit push-ups to assess joint health and prepare for the workout. The main exercises discussed include barbell or dumbbell bench press for strength, incline dumbbell bench press for hypertrophy, and dips for a full range of motion and stretch. Cavalier stresses the importance of performing these exercises with proper form and intention, focusing on the concentric phase to recruit type two muscle fibers, which are crucial for maintaining strength as one ages.
💪 Maximizing Hypertrophy and Longevity with Specific Exercises
Continuing the chest workout discussion, Jeff Cavalier highlights the importance of exercises that promote muscle stretch and adhesion, such as the incline dumbbell bench press and dips. He introduces the concept of 'tension sets' for cable crossovers, emphasizing the need for slow, controlled movements to maximize muscle tension and promote growth. Cavalier also discusses the importance of corrective exercises, specifically the BAM pull apart, which targets the rotator cuff and scapular muscles. He advises performing these exercises with high intention and precision, focusing on each repetition to address neuromuscular dysfunctions and build a stronger, more resilient body. The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of not just focusing on muscle isolation but also on the health of joints, tendons, and ligaments for long-term training success.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Warm-up
💡Hypertrophy
💡Barbell bench press
💡Dumbbell bench press
💡Compensatory accelerated training
💡Incline dumbbell bench press
💡Dip
💡Cable crossover
💡Tension sets
💡BAM pull apart
💡Longevity
Highlights
Introduction of a new series, The Bulletproof Body, focusing on building a bigger chest without sacrificing overall body health.
Emphasis on the importance of not just looking better but also feeling better, aligning with the concept of longevity in training.
The necessity of a proper warm-up routine for injury prevention and optimal performance.
Introduction of The Body Weight Systems check as a warm-up, emphasizing the importance of assessing joint health.
Description of a proper warm-up technique involving slow, controlled movements to assess and prepare the body.
The goal of the warm-up is to increase blood flow and assess joint health without pushing to failure.
Discussion on the importance of strength training for longevity, combating the natural loss of strength as we age.
Recommendation of barbell or dumbbell bench press as a primary exercise for strength and muscle building.
Explanation of compensatory accelerated training to maximize strength and recruit type two muscle fibers.
Advice on performing the bench press with controlled speed on the concentric phase and slow on the eccentric phase.
Introduction of the incline dumbbell bench press as a hypertrophy-focused exercise, emphasizing the stretch for muscle growth.
Advice to perform the incline dumbbell press to failure for maximum effort and gains.
Inclusion of dips in the workout routine, focusing on proper form to avoid shoulder issues and maximize chest development.
Description of the 1 and a half rep style dip to enhance the stretch and effectiveness of the exercise.
Introduction of cable crossovers as a way to address the adduction function of the chest muscles.
Explanation of tension sets in cable crossovers, emphasizing the importance of slow, controlled movements for hypertrophy.
Discussion on the importance of corrective exercises like the BAM pull part for rotator cuff and scapular muscles.
Recommendation to perform corrective exercises with high intention and precision to address neuromuscular dysfunctions.
Final note on the importance of a well-rounded workout routine that considers muscle, joint, and tendon health for long-term training.
Transcripts
what's up guys Jeff Cavalier aex.com
today we kick off our brand new series
The bulletproof body and we're talking
today about chest how do you build a
bigger chest without sacrificing your
entire body along the way cuz guys we're
not bodybuilders here and it's not just
about looking better but looking better
without sacrificing the feeling better
part of the equation too and so of
course if longevity is important to you
you want to be able to train for years
to come then the warm-up is going to be
part of your routine and it's something
I learned a long time ago show and go
won't always work and if I only started
it when I was 20 I'd be a lot better off
now so what does your warm-up look like
probably a lot different than what
you're doing right now because a lot of
us spend too much time doing things that
don't actually matter towards the task
at hand today and in a chest workout
running 20 minutes on the treadmill
isn't going to cut it so what do you do
it's called The Body Weight Systems
check and for the purpose of this chess
workout is performed in the form of a
deficit push-up and all you have to do
is put up a couple mats so that you can
allow your body to sink lower than it
normally would if you were performing
this on the floor so this gives us a
chance to sort of check the status to
today of what those elbows and wrists
and shoulders actually feel like
somewhat of an auto regulation technique
where you're able to assess how do I
feel today and what's nice is if you
perform it slowly 3 seconds to lower
yourself down 3 seconds down in that
accentuated stretch position which we're
going to see is going to help us as we
prepare for some of the other exercises
for hypertrophy and then 3 seconds on
the way back up and while you'll be
putting effort into these sets the goal
is not to take them all the way to
failure you're going to stop a few reps
shy again the main goal is to get some
blood FL flow to the muscles that are
going to be used that day but more
importantly to assess those joints rep
by rep what might seem a little bit
cranky on reps 1 2 and three is I'm sure
going to go away by reps eight or nine
if you take that slow cadence to perform
them and here is where we make an
important departure from those
bodybuilding focused approaches because
it's not just about hypertrophy but we
want to maximize strength as a physical
therapist I can tell you one of the
things that we want to combat first and
foremost as we get older is a loss of
strength because guess what it's going
to start happening in your 20s and it's
going to keep happening all the way
every decade that you live so how do we
sort of get in the way of that by
actually working on our strength in the
exercise of choice here is going to be a
barbell or a dumbbell bench press now
the barbell bench press might be
something that's just not comfortable
for you and if that's the case the
dumbbells will do the job but it doesn't
mean that you're going to shift the
loads down along with it you want to
make sure that you're still maximizing
some type of heavier work to keep your
strength up and the way we perform the
exercise is actually very very important
cuz it's not just about increasing the
weights and lowering the Reps but
actually increasing the speed at which
we perform those repetitions and that's
through something called compensatory
accelerated training now what that means
is we want to push the weight as fast as
we can on the way up realizing that if
you're using appropriately heavy loads
that you're not going to be able to
really move it that fast at least
visibly to somebody that's watching you
but that's okay as long as the intention
is there you're going to be recruiting
more of those type two fibers that are
the ones that are the most susceptible
to atrophy as you age but again because
the weights are heavier and you're not
actually accelerating them very quickly
in space they're going to be safer
exercises and remember as you lower the
weight down that's always going to be
done slow and under control don't rush
that part of the lift the only part that
you want to focus on speeding up the bar
or the dumbbells in this case is on that
concentric push now of course if you
required additional sets to work up to
your working weight on this exercise by
all means take them cuz there's no point
in sacrificing again your body in the
long term in the pursuit of whatever
you're doing today and that now brings
us to the first of three hypertrophy
Focus exercises where we get to lean on
the latest research where we know that
stretch is going to be an important
factor when it comes to building muscle
but the exercise of choice here is going
to be the incline dumbbell bench press
what we're really focused on first and
foremost is complimenting the work we've
already done if we've done a flat bench
exercise where we focus on the sternal
head of the PC what do we do for that
clavicular head well an incline dumbbell
press and the reason why we're using
dumbbells is because I want to have the
opportunity to take them to a lower
position than where the barbell would
normally stop us what's there additional
stretch now as far as how far you go
here all the way you take all these sets
to failure guys rather than trying to
estimate what your effort level is in
proximity to failure and maybe coming up
short take it all the way to failure
ensure you have maximum effort and
that's where maximum gains will be the
next exercise up is actually one you
might be surprised to see in a longevity
focused hypertrophy workout but it
actually belongs here and it's mostly
because people don't do it right when
they do it we're talking about a dip and
you can do this either body weight or
weighted but the focus is getting it
right and to avoid this becoming an
orthopedic nightmare you have to do two
things you have to be focused most of
all on the position of your shoulder
blades and you can control that two
separate ways number one don't allow
your shoulders to shrug when you do a
dip keep them down even at the bottom of
the exercise a lot of us sink into our
shoulders rather than keeping them there
and simply lowering our body down
secondly don't let them roll forward
keep them pulled back if the shoulder
blades in place you're going to find the
exercise not only becomes easier on your
shoulders but more effective at building
your chest and we can make this even
better here understanding the benefits
of stretch by relishing that stretch a
little longer and we perform a 1 and a
half rep style dip that means you take
it all the way to the bottom once again
under control come up just halfway and
go back down into that stretch position
again for half a rep and come back all
the way to the top these are grueling
but they're effective and you're going
to find that whether you do a body
weight dip or a weighted dip whatever
repetition range you're normally going
to get to you're going to be cut down
about to a half or 3/4 and that's okay
okay cuz at the end of the day it's the
stimulus that you get and the benefits
you're going to get from the stretch
position that are going to Skyrocket the
gains that you see from this exercise
and that brings us to the third and
final of our hypertrophy focused
exercises and this one again a good
complement to what was already done
because if you look at the exercis we
already did all the pressing and dipping
is not doing anything about adduction
and one of the main functions of the
chest is to adduct the arm across the
body we're going to do that with a cable
crossover but we're going to do it in a
very specific way I call these tension
sets and the 10 comes from the 5 Seconds
is going to take you to do the
concentric portion of the exercise and
the 5 Seconds is going to take you to
lower the weight back down but the goal
again is slow down your repetitions if
you want to gain that you better have
gained control of the muscle you're
trying to build and we do this by going
through this slow motion repetition and
the way you want to use here is your 12
rep max on the exercise knowing that
you're not going to do 12 complete
repetitions with this slow motion
performance of the Reps it's going to
cut that way down maybe to five or six
but guess what you're doing and 10 reps
on the exercise how because when you
reach those end full range of motion
repetitions you're going to crank out
some partial repetitions in the stretch
range of motion of the exercise again
I'm all about the partial repetitions
only though when you've reached failure
in a full range of motion because again
I'm not worried about just hanging out
in the stretch position but getting the
benefits that we know as a PT and also
as a strength coach throughout the full
range of motion of every exercise
remember guys with longevity as the
focus of your workout it's not just the
muscles that you should care about an
isolation but the joints those muscles
cross and also the tendons and ligaments
that attach them that should matter to
you and speaking of longevity I'm not
trying to make your workout longer but
rather more bulletproof and that's why I
need you to do one more exercise for me
and it's a corrective and before you
think oh that's the part that I can skip
I don't need it I'm actually telling you
this is the secret to being able to do
these workouts for years and years to
come and the exercise of choice is going
to be the BAM pull part and we're going
to work your rotator cuff and scapular
muscles and for those of you out there
saying I didn't know I had them that's
exactly why you need to continue to do
these exercises and believe me it's a
small investment of time that's going to
pay huge dividends down the road if you
just invest in it that being said you're
going to just do a couple sets two or
three sets 15 repetitions instead of
thinking of them as two to three sets of
15 think of them instead as 15 sets of
one two to three times there's a big
difference the mindset shows you there
that each rep you do should be with high
intention because if you're trying to
correct a neuromuscular dysfunction that
you have in area of weakness you got to
attack it with Precision do it this way
guys and I promise you're not just going
to see better results from it but again
you're going to fortify yourself to do
these types of workouts for years to
come and so I know a lot of you guys
like to take these workouts to the gym
with you and do them over and over again
so I'm going to make that easy for you
here's a screenshot of the workout
everything I just covered exercise by
exercise and now I've included the sets
and Reps so you can get this right every
single time guys if you like these
workast you want more in the bulletproof
series make sure you do two things
number one you look for the latest video
linked here and also let me know down
below what other do you want to see in
this series next if you haven't done so
click subscribe turn your notifications
so you never miss a video when we put
one out also guys if you're looking for
full programs and supplements that are
available over at aex.com good luck I'll
see you soon
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