Say Goodbye to Flat Pecs!
As someone who coaches a number of bodybuilders and figure competitors, it’s my job to help minimize their weaknesses.
One of my star pupils recently needed to bring up his chest. So I put my thinking cap on and came up with this unique, but ridiculously effective chest building routine.
Tim (the guinea pig) improved his chest more in 8
weeks that he had in the last 8 months. To say that we were pleased with the results would be a serious understatement.
It’s extremely rare that I share the specifics of any of my clients’ programs. So, enjoy this unique opportunity to peek into the training log of one of my star pupils.
8 Week Chest Building Routine
Week 1
Monday: normal chest training routine
Thursday: 3 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 3 sets of push-ups
Week 2
Monday: normal chest training routine
Wednesday: 3 sets of push-ups
Friday: 3 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 3 sets of push-ups
Week 3
Monday: normal chest training routine
Wednesday: 3 sets of push-ups
Thursday: 3 sets of push-ups
Friday: 3 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 3 sets of push-ups
Week 4
Monday: normal chest training routine
Wednesday: 4 sets of push-ups
Thursday: 4 sets of push-ups
Friday: 4 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 4 sets of push-ups
Week 5
Monday: normal chest training routine
Tuesday: 4 sets of push-ups
Wednesday: 4 sets of push-ups
Thursday: 4 sets of push-ups
Friday: 4 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 4 sets of push-ups
Week 6
Monday: normal chest training routine
Tuesday: 4 sets of push-ups
Wednesday: 4 sets of push-ups
Thursday: 4 sets of push-ups
Friday: 4 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 4 sets of push-ups
Sunday: 4 sets of push-ups
Week 7
Monday: normal chest training routine
Tuesday: 5 sets of push-ups
Wednesday: 5 sets of push-ups
Thursday: 5 sets of push-ups
Friday: 5 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 5 sets of push-ups
Sunday: 5 sets of push-ups
Week 8
Monday: normal chest training routine
Tuesday: 6 sets of push-ups
Wednesday: 6 sets of push-ups
Thursday: 6 sets of push-ups
Friday: 6 sets of push-ups
Saturday: 6 sets of push-ups
Sunday: 6 sets of push-ups
Week 9
Rest and admire your new, larger chest.
Note: all sets of push-ups are done to roughly 80% of failure. In other words, if you can do 20 push-ups, then do just 16. Do not take any of the sets to failure.
Yours in sport,
Dr Clay
I work out at the same gym as Tim and I am proud to say he is a good friend of mine. Clay is 100% correct about this working. You can see a great improvement in Tim’s chest after doing this.
Are those standard pushups? Great info! Love the site and the vids.
Sergeant, yes, Sergent! Oh… my bad… I was having boot camp flashbacks! What I meant to say was… yes, those are standard push-ups.
I’m glad you enjoyed the website and the videos! Please help us spread the word.
Best,
Dr Clay
on the days that I workout my other body parts and the push-ups fall on te same day, should i split the push-ups from my normal workouts? Ex.(workout in the A.M, push-ups in the P.M) I dont want the push-ups to interupt a shoulder/Tri workout..
Thanks Clay
Hi Clay,
Im a different Jase to the one above,
After the 9th week of rest do you start from the beginning of the routine to maintain your new look? or do you just continue with your one day a week normal chest routine?
Kind Regards,
Jas
Jas, glad to have you here!
You DEFINITELY do NOT want to repeat that routine again for a while. Too much of a good thing is… not a good thing!
Tim (the original guinea pig) has maintained his new chest size perfectly fine after resuming a more standard chest training routine.
Anytime you’re using a killer routine like that, only do so two to three times per year. As I often say, “it’s better to train smart than to train hard!”
Best,
Dr Clay
Thanks Clay,
Big ups on the show man, very helpful info!
Ive been training for some time and its nice to finally get the no BS low down on Training and Nutrition. You know your stuff!
Keep at it,
And ill keep watching (lol)
Hey Dr. Clay,
Followed a link here from your building BB triceps article on T-nation. My questions is this:
If my upper chest is lagging, could I do the pushups with my feet up on a chair or bed so I hit the upper chest more than middle/lower?
Thanks in advance,
Charles
Thanks for this program, I never thought about using this. One question, can this program work with a 3 day a week full body workout?
JSO, that’s a good question.
the only way to know for sure is, of course, to try it and see. sometimes things work perfectly for one person, but not for another because of other factors in each person’s life (job stress, family life, mindset, etc.)
but after training people for over 19 years, I have a pretty good idea what will work and what won’t, even if I haven’t specifically tried it. and here’s what I think would work with a 3 day per week whole body program:
Monday: flat DB press – 4 x 4-6 (+ rest of ‘whole body’)
Wednesday: incline BB press – 3 x 6-10 (+ rest of ‘whole body’ workout)
Friday: dips or chest press machine (i.e. Hammer Strength) – 3 x 10-15 (+ rest of your whole body workout)
+ the above push-up routine as mentioned
I think this will work well – it’ll help bring your chest up a lot, but should do so without overtraining.
Best,
Dr Clay
Charles, even better is to do them regular, but ‘pull’ your humerus with your upper chest. I’ll have to explain in detail via video.
But you should have your humerus (upper arm bone) about 45 degrees away from your sides; as you come up, think of your upper chest as ‘pulling’ your arms in. this angle and method actually works the upper chest better than incline movements (backed by studies) if done properly.
Thanks doc, one last question, can this program improve the chest without being on a “bulking” diet? I wanted to know because I’m currently shedding body fat, thanks again!