Just a couple of weeks ago the Muscle & Strength media team traveled down to Arizona to hang out with Gaspari Nutrition athlete Robert Timms.
Timms has what many would call the quintessential classic physique.
So, obviously, when we spent some time with him we had to get him to take us through a few workouts.
In the following video, Robert takes us through one of his typical chest day routines. It’s fast paced, high volume, and definitely challenging.
Give it a shot for yourself on your next chest day.
Robert Timms’ Pyramid Chest Workout
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
---|---|---|
1. Bench Press | 12 | 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 |
2. Cable Fly | 10 | 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 |
3. Incline Dumbbell Press | 8 | 20, 15, 12, 10, 10, 12, 15, 20 |
4. Pec Dec | 10 | 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 |
Robert utilizes pyramids and reverse pyramids to pump an insane amount of volume into his chest workout. He likes to treat the pyramid down as a warm up on each exercise and then focuses on using maximum weight on his pyramid back up.
When performing this routine, you should limit your rest periods as much as possible. The only amount of rest Robert takes is the time it takes to increase the weight for his next set and take a few swigs from his gallon water jug.
When performing the bench press, make sure you pinch your shoulder blades to put the majority of the tension on the pecs. Robert incorporates flat bench press into his routines for the strength element of the exercise. When it comes to building muscle mass, however, he views dumbbell variations to be superior.
On cable flys, your arms don’t determine the contraction of the muscles. You can get similar contractions regardless of how long or how bent your arms are. Instead of focusing on arm length, focus on the contraction of the chest itself and pushing as much blood into the muscle as possible.
And don’t forget to hold tension while performing the negative portion of the rep. The tempo of the eccentric portion of the lift should be the same as the tempo of the contraction.
Robert’s training is inspired by his coach and mentor, Rich Gaspari, who has instilled old school principles into Robert’s training philosophies.
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