If you want to maximize your progress in the gym, you need to be able to build strength, hypertrophy, and explosive power. In this video, Josh Bryant explains the design of a chest training session and demonstrates the workout with Jonathan Irizarry. The session begins with the bench press, uses a giant set of multiple exercises to hit the chest from various angles, and ends with the Juarez Valley 15 pushup finisher.
The Bench Press
Using The Big Kahuna Method, Josh explains that the bench press in the workout covers all three bases of a good program:
- Heavy weight for strength
- Maximum time under tension and isometric contraction for hypertrophy
- Compensatory acceleration for explosive power
WATCH: Badass Back Attack with Greg McCoy and Tyrus Hughes
As Jonathan goes through the exercise, Josh cues him and explains how they move weights with speed intention (Compensatory Acceleration Training, known as CAT), then move heavy weight for strength, and finally use a eccentric/concentric tempo and isometric contraction to achieve greatest levels of hypertrophy. For the timed sets, the count is five seconds down and three seconds up. Once Jonathan hits failure at that tempo, Josh guides him as he contracts isometrically as hard as possible. This holistic approach to the bench includes heavy weight, light weight, fast tempo, and slow tempo.
Giant Set
This giant set combines two heavy low-rep movements with a high-rep chest isolation exercise. It begins with weighted dips, with a weight heavy enough that six reps is challenging. Once you finish the dips, immediately move to dumbbell incline press with a band looped around your back. Perform eight reps of this movement. The band is added to provide variable resistance; as you press higher and gain mechanical advantage from the position of the movement, the band pulls tighter, adding resistance.
After finishing the dumbbell press, perform 40 reps of machine flyes (performed on a pec deck machine). In the video, Josh and Jonathan use a machine capable of overloading different portions of the movement. They overload the beginning and middle range of motion for the first set and then adjust the setting to overload the end range of motion for the second set.
Perform this giant set twice to overload the entire spectrum of fibers in the chest.
Pushup Finisher — Juarez Valley 15
At this phase of the workout, you don't have to worry about doing perfect pushups. It's not about technique. It's all about finishing off the muscles and pushing as far as you can. The method used for this exercise is the Juarez Valley 15. To perform this method, begin by doing 15 pushups. Once you finished the 15 pushups, stand up, walk eight feet across the gym, and perform one pushup. Repeat the walk for eight feet and do another set, this time only 14 pushups. Walk eight feet again and do two pushups. Repeat this pattern so that repetitions are performed in descending order on all odd-numbered sets and performed in ascending order on even-numbered sets until they meet in the middle.
By the minute:
- (0:27) Explanation of the workout and the methods used
- (2:28) The Big Kahuna and the bench press
- (3:32) Giant set combining heavy and light movements
- (5:38) Juarez Valley 15 finisher
