In this video, Chris Bumstead and MHP take us through a full chest workout.
This is the chest workout that Chris likes to use when adding muscle size and density during the offseason.
The routine itself probably resembles a workout you used to do with your friends on Monday’s back in the day.
And that’s for good reason, the basics of training work.
Give the video a watch or read on to learn some technique tips Cbum implements on his chest day, and be sure to give the workout a try for yourself the next time you want a good chest session.
Chris Bumstead’s Chest Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| High Cable Fly | 3 | 12-15 |
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 8-10** |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 4 | 8 |
| A1. Machine Fly | 3 | 12 |
| A2. Decline Hammer Strength Bench | 3 | 10 |
*Each set lower the cables 1 pin.
**Perform 2 warm up sets with 5 slow reps, 5 quick reps (10 total reps) before starting 4 working sets.
1. High Cable Fly
Chris always starts off his chest day with a fly. He used to do them with light weight and treated them as a warm up. Recently though, he’s been trying to go heavier and treat them somewhat as a pre-exhaust exercise.
Another strategy he likes to use on this exercise is to start off with the pins at the top of the cable pulley machine and lower them one pin with every set. As he lowers them, he also increases the weight he is using. This allows him to warm up the chest in every plane of motion.
For foot placement, Chris likes to keep his feet aligned when performing the cable fly. He feels this limits the potential for muscle imbalance while performing the exercise.
2. Barbell Bench Press
The first compound movement in Chris’ chest workout is the traditional barbell bench press. He knows the bench press has a bad rap. But, he doesn’t necessarily buy into it. As long as you’re using good form, it’s a staple in building a big and nice chest.
The only people he’s seen in all of his travels who have managed to put on size and thickness without starting out with perfect genetics are those who move heavy weight at some point during the year. Heavy weight and crushing sets seems to be the only thing that truly works.
3. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
The second major pressing movement of Cbum’s workout is the incline dumbbell bench press.
To get a better contraction with this exercise, he turns the dumbbells in towards his chest slightly. Because the weight he uses is so big and heavy, he does it naturally without trying. However, with lighter weight, you may want to mentally remember this cue to maximize the contraction of your chest.
4-5. Superset: Machine Pec Deck & Machine Decline Bench Press
To finish off his workout, he wraps up the chest day with a superset.
The first portion of the superset is the machine pec deck. Pec deck has always been his favorite fly machine, because it allows him to really isolate and focus on squeezing the pec together at the end of the rep.
The second movement of the superset is the hammer machine decline press. Chris notices this machine naturally makes some people round their shoulders. To prevent this and limit injuries, he likes to focus on the contraction more than the eccentric portion of the exercise.
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