Guys I cannot express how much weighted dips help. At the beginning of December I could bench 225 for 4 reps and I didn’t bench press at all until mid January and I hit 225 for 8 reps. During that period my body weight stayed the exact same and the only pressing movement I did for chest was weighted push ups and dips. Absolutely insane I recommend
Everybody is different. For me, dips didnt help out at all. Just going from bench press From 2 times a week to 1 Time a week with one set being 6 Sets and one between 12-15 reps
@@turo302 I didn’t believe those people but then the gyms closed for a month and it was my only option and man did it pay off. Was legit plateaued at 4 reps for a year and then doubled my reps in a month out of no where
I had open heart surgery which required my sternum to be cut in half. I've had trouble with bench press due to this but lately I've been using a machine and increasing the weight by pretty big sums with little issue. I am definitely seeing gains, so my philosophy right now is push ups followed by bench press machine at a heavy weight. It's amazing how fast my muscles are growing from this combination.
The numbers you chat are crazy man, very impressive. I see huge guys at the gym struggling to hit 180 pounds for 10 reps incline in the gym with good form. 225 is very rare.
I think Alex is an outlier phenom when it comes to natural strength. No one is putting up these numbers in commercial gyms or even on youtube. His poundages (& for reps) rival those of top powerlifters. 225 lbs OHP at 165 lbs 5'5?? come on..no one does that. And just as you observed - the aesthetic / juicy guys in the gym are FAR OFF from alex's strength standard. In fact for an average height/weight guy - getting 225x5 or ramping up top triples of 245-255 then back off sets of even 185 lbs [done with various volume or cluster/rest pause] is MORE than enough to get massive pecs and aesthetics. I just don't see how he comes up with these strength standard #'s sometimes...love the guy but his #'s sre literally beyond elite. Nippard can't hit them. Natural hypetrophy can't. bald omni man [who is on trt] hardly..etc..much less any natural (or even enhanced) in commercial gyms. really don't see where ge gets these strength standards...
Even 225 for 3x10 is extremely difficult. A lot of people can rep 225 for 10…then 7…then 4-5 on the last set. The only people in my gym that hit it for all sets are the muscle monsters whose natty status is questionable.
i tryed today 175 after one month of only dungbell work and i did only one negative , dropped the weights side to side and the whole gym staring at meXD
I think UA-cam has definitely changed what I consider a strong lifter, these days you see people in their teens benching 160kg at a bodyweight of like 90kg. I have trained for the last 3 years to hit my most recent pr, its only when I come to your channel that I get an idea of what can be done naturally after years and years of hard work and dedication, thankyou for your channel, its helped me ALOT
Most people that are on gear will never admit it and from someone who hasn't trained for a long period if time won't be able to tell what's actually achievable.
Paused reps were a game changer for me. Bench was a big weak point of mine. However, after adding in paused benching a few years ago, my bench press, and my chest, have gone from strength to strength. I do 5/3/1, but in a pyramid fashion for bench, I simple do paused reps on my 2 deramping sets.
@@TheAbear53 I most often stick to 3 seconds. If I'm at the lighter end of my training block I'll up it to 5 seconds, and on rare occasions even 7 seconds, but I'm not convinced such long pauses are necessary.
My chest was very lacking so I widened my grip, did some push ups here and there, a little incline dumbbell work, and my pec grew like crazy in my 7 weeks of running 5/3/1
Same, wider grip and bringing the bar little higher on my chest works wonders! Only started doing that recently few weeks back and already noticing some gains. Chest has always been lacking for me.
When I began pausing my ventures back in the late 90s, my progress went through the roof. I attribute this to consistency in form. At that time I did two things I began pausing, I spent more time learning to set up the bench, ID came obsessed with bar path, and I narrowed my grip substantially.. As Louis Simmons said a narrower grip will make your wide grip stronger but your wide grip will not do shit for your narrow grip. A narrow grip bench, also you may not be a strong will get all of your prime movers working together. You learn how to engage your lats, how to really drive with your triceps, and you’ll get a better range of motion in the chest without destroying your shoulders. Doing lots of bench presses with a shoulder width or slightly narrower grip will make your overall upper body much thicker and denser. Wide grip bench presses with flaring elbows does not utilize enough muscle, but in competition many guys widen the grip little bit in order to limit the range of motion. So you should always train with different grips But don’t ever spend a lot of time doing ultra wide grip bench presses with heavy weight. It’s a one-way ticket to an injury and it will not make you very strong if you do it frequently
My man's right. I did a weighted dip specialization phase, got up to 145lbs for 4 at 160 lbs. My chest development was good but with the OHP as my accessory my shoulders far outclassed my chest. Now with a bench phase I'm running it's blowing up my pecs. Bench press is really #1 in this regard.
Amazing. I Hit the 225 bench and started looking for *optimal* excercises instead of keeping on doing what got me the original progress. So much love and respect for the advise and inspiration!
Weighted dips are one of my favorite movements and I heavily credit them with helping increase both my bench and pec size. No matter my programming at a given time, a weighted dip is gonna be in there. I've found that switching between bars and rings is also a great way to keep things interesting and progressing, since the instability of the rings forces me to cut the weight way back while getting a better stretch, whereas bar dips let me move some more serious weight
It's the king of upper body. It works on your lats too, which is why it focuses centrally less on the chest. That's why you can use more weight on it. Plus you cant k*ll yourself with it by accident (neck).
This video 100% supports my current body and my goals for this year. My pressing is comparatively weaker than lower body or upper pull, and my chest and shoulders don't look as developed as my back or legs. As a result, my main strength goal for this year is increasing pressing strength
i'm pretty much a novice and i'm training with calinsthenics but i've noticed that since i've incorporated some set of incline push-ups (with a very close grip, almost diamonds) my pecs are looking fuller, and also on the first times that i was doing the exercise i had DOMS like crazy only to the upper chest.
@@prodbypjay7148 Harder variations will always increase strength for your base movement. So yes, paused reps for any compound movement will give you bigger numbers for your regular reps.
Rep PR’s are the shit. I have a chart on my room, every 5kg jump from 60-130kg, ever. Once a fortnight I’ll run an AMRAP on one I’ve not done in a while and try and beat my last one. Do the same for OHP for 2.5kg’s and Squats + Dead for 10kg’s Also found OHP to be a big chest booster. Big OHP mean stronger shoulders and triceps. Stronger shoulders and triceps mean more strength in the bottom and the middle. Stronger at weak points means bigger weights for same reps. That means more eccentric overload on the reps. OHP specialisation has indirectly grown my chest like crazy.
Glad you mentioned sternum pain. I can bunch 275 (or more I haven't done it in a bit), but I need 70 lbs assistance on dips to do 10 without horrible pain. I've been doing assisted a few times a week and hopefully I can build back up to unassisted and then weighted
I'm currently on a self-imposed 30 day chest challenge and on day 11. The video encourages me do more work with the bench press and to include more versions of dumb bell chest exercises. My goal is to increase my upper chest muscles to match with the lower chest muscles which look pretty good. Thanks for sharing---keep them coming!
The BEST thing I ever did for my chest was add powerlifting style pauses to the negative of the bench. I realized I was much stronger from quick reps, but this was NOT due to having strong pecs. Once I started pausing, my chest had no choice but to be the most activated muscle
I love to see how connected the natty fitness industry is, I was already really extremely happy when I saw Natural Hypertrophy and Bald Omni-Man on your channel, but seeing you reference Matt Vena? I love it
Personally I'm lower body dominant. I can slack off from legs for a week or two, hit them one session hard and still make gains. I'm 4 months into my 4th return to the gym journey, and my upper body has always, ALWAYS! been slower to grow and gain size and strength. No wonder, I use my legs everyday, my upper body I might lift a piece of toast alone on an off day. And I love leg work outs, All my best lifts are with my legs. Since I started prioritizing push up volume work everyday, minimum 3 sets usually max 6 sprinkled throughout my day anywhere from 3 to 1 RIR, the strength, size and muscle fibre engagement generally has blown up. The goal is not to beast myself on any set, just practice strict form, grease the groove, and activate the muscular/neural pathways. So I feel good for doing it, not bad I'm not stronger yet. Want a bigger chest/arms/biceps/triceps/shoulders? Make the push up and all it's variants your b*tch. Slow controlled, fast, 1 arm, incline, deficit. Say to yourself "Minimum three sets a day to just before failure/1 set to form failure" you WILL blow up. On top of your regular program of course.
DUDE!! I absolutely LOVE the quality of these videos man! Good content and advice as always!! Any tips for shoulder/long head of the bicep pain while bench pressing? Thank you again bro, never stop making these videos, so so so so helpful!
If I could do only one movement it would be weighted dips. It suits my anthropometry better than bench, and I agree the weighted stretch is so fkn key 🔑 also why I’m a fan of the weighted deficit push-ups as well, and also do mine on the boxes with feet on bench. Rings do provide e amazing variations too. Another reason I neglect flat benching more than I’d like to actually flat is that I have a great sturdy multi-angle bench but that fkn gap I didn’t think ahead about when I got it as I hadn’t owned a bench of my very own til that point, drives me crazy when flat benching lol, the low incline setting is nice tho and rock solid on it. I’m inclined (no pun 🧐) to agree however that weighted decline push-ups are prolly better overall and are highly underrated just like the flat version. I also tend to use my boxes to do feet elevated weighted pikes for OHP (working on getting my HSPU back in order at the moment), and def less setup time there when doing full body…the nice thing about the weighted cali’s too on the chest work is the full scapular freedom it provides and like you said it’s just so easy to get elbow positioning right, and imho easier to direct tension into the muscles via mind-muscle connection, tho I’m sure this is also tied in with the tighter positioning as well. Great video, has me wanting to barbell bench more tho haha
When I started lifting awhile ago my chest was just rib cage and asymmetrical at that. Got up to maybe top single of 215lbs but then I switched to a wide grip dropped me way down to like 135 touch and go. Everything I train usually I can tell I had a good workout but chest is always like meh. Added in some paused at about 125lbs instead w drop set and some weighted dips. I feel this approach does much better than touch and go. FYI when I first started I was embarrassed to go lower than 135 for awhile even though I desperately needed to dial it down. Don’t be embarrassed guys ! I’m years deep with underdeveloped chest I’m not fking giving up I need my chest to match the rest of me .
God, I love weighted dips so bad man. They are such a great way to put mass on your chest, triceps and upper back. I didn't even start doing them with that intention, but 2 years later and I feel like they've brought out a whole different shape to me.
I think the Spoto press was the game changer for me. Something about stopping a few inches off my chest and pressing without the stop on the chest completely changed the exercise for me. It took the stress off my shoulders and transferred it onto my pecs.
Because of corona gyms got closed and no training for 14months.. It's been 2months started training again... I am aiming for 405 benchpress and 225 Ohp for reps
Love the emphasis on chasing bench strength to get gains man. I've been training for around 5-6 years now - chasing the next bench PR has been amazing for my chest development. Current PR is 375x3 and I can safely say I have some zonkers attached to my front end now 😂 Hoping to hit the 405 soon just like you man!
Also, when learning the push up. Start from the floor. Lay completely flat, center your hands underneath your shoulders, depress your shoulder blades and push from your core. Push up powerfully like you're pushing the world away from you, finish with extension through your shoulder blades, and then do the eccentric phase slow and controlled. Remember to start by depressing your shoulders blades on the eccentric then lower through your pecs, your pecs should almost be at full stretch before you even begin bending your elbows. Lowering through your pecs, does NOT mean dropping your spine/hips/core, this remains tight like you're expecting someone to stand on your back, otherwise your form has failed. And while we're here, you better be planking straight, not sticking your but up or tea bagging the floor.. Time and place for that. Power up, controlled down. Full ROM. As a beginner with a proper rest/nutrition program in place, 3 times a day, 3/1 RIR, never even hitting failure, your chest will explode. You're way, WAY better off doing 5 strict power pushups, than 15 baby reps. Allll day.
benching for warm-up and finding working weights, then using other moves to refine each aspect of the bench. Inclines, OHP, Ring push-ups, flies, French presses, that would be my strategy, i don't want to bench so much since i love to have fun as well
I do not bodybuild or care about growing my chest, but I like learning about all things training. I've stopped doing dips because of the pain in my sternum that came later in my life; I actually didn't realize it was such a common occurrence until this video. I never looked it up, just thought I was getting old. I do hope to get back into my dip game, though. Thank you for the great content.
This is one area where I'm blessed in. Everything else sucks lol but my chest has always been powerful. So powerful in fact that it has caused problems. I could always get it off my chest but about halfway up I'd hit a wall. Hard. Pretty much the opposite of what everyone says about a raw bench presser lol. I used to train chest directly as much as I trained my triceps. Now, I do one direct chest movement for 3 direct tricep movements. Have done that for about 2 years, my bench has gone up 35 pounds and I have ZERO shoulder pain. Being a chest presser leads to a lot of problems. I'm proof of that and I'll never go back.
My chest has always been its biggest and most impressive when I've put more emphasis on dumbbell flies and concentrating on that stretch at the bottom, as you mentioned here the top range of the movement isn't really all that important. It never gave me the strongest chest but a bigger and fuller looking chest than most who were much stronger than me and focused all their chest work around the bench press.
Wait so I should be doing 3x10 flat bench, 3x10 low incline, 3x10 dips/ deficit stretch motion, and 3x10 fly motion? 12 sets at 2x a week I think 24 sets per week is approaching max recoverable volume but not too bad while bulking and giving 72 hours recovery in between chest sessions.
I already wanted to do 250lbs for 8-10 reps before even starting to do incline bench or other variations of presses. Mostly because my recovery isnt that good for doing something except standard bench press even with right nutrition, sleep etc
He already made many videos about it. For back at least total 315 lb pullup (including bw), cheat rows, rack pulls, shrugs…. For biceps he suggests preacher and incline curls for the stretch reflex
Good vid. I've found that by doing heavy straight bar bench press less often but using the Swiss Bar for most of my heavy bench sets, I can lift heavier on the straight bar bench press when I do it. I feel much less beat up. It's also strengthened my forearms in their lateral range of motion.
Weighted Dips and DB Benching with feet up have been my go to for bench assistance. Can't wait to add the larson press, at about 280lb max right now with a goal of getting to 315lbs by the end of this year.
Pecs are interesting. You look at boxers and wrestlers, who have ripped arms, legs, and torsos, and they don’t usually have thick pecs. The old time strongmen didn’t really have much pecs either. I always kind of wondered about that. It seems to be an area where the body does not want to add a lot of mass. I think you definitely have to be intentional about it. But a thick chest does wonders under a t-shirt!
it took me a year to get a 60kg bench press. I used to bench every session, but now i focus on dumbbell press, and dips. Hopefully i can start doing weighted dips soon,i can easily get a 3x10, or a 4x10 bodyweight but i want to get up to a 4x15 before i start adding weight. I tried adding weight to my pullups right away and got nowhere. Time for me to return to calisthenics training and master my bodyweight once again.
For me, focusing on the bench press the past 8 weeks has made my chest noticeably bigger. I do upper lower and one day is 3x5 rpe 7-9 and the other day is 3x8-10 1-2 rir I typically do one other chest movement after bench and pull ups, like incline bb and hammer strength machine. I did not do any triceps accessory and just did biceps. My triceps got a tiny bit bigger because of the compounds only. My 3x5 went from 185 to 205 in 6 weeks 3x8 went from 165 to 185
Hey man. I've been watching you for quite some time and I know your content it's based on muscle hypertrophy, but do you have any experience in training for posture, and mobility, or how to treat kyphosis or any kind of this stuff? Or does your content may apply to what I said , in any fashion? Anyway, love your content! Keep it up!
in regards to the bench vs dips bit i have a shoulder injury and absolutely 100% cannot do flat barbell bench comfortably but dips feel perfectly fine. i added them to my regime back in the summer and have seen some great results and carry over effects and i recently started adding pushups to my workout as well. i can feel my chest starting to pop in my shirts finally also for the incline bench i noticed i feel it more if i set the bench higher than the average incline angle. i have it set to about 50 or even 60 degree angle before moving on to seated overhead press. doing the lower angles i never felt anything in my upper chest love the content you put out though!
I can only do 135x3 but my chest is my best body part (striations, thiccness) lol I’m excited how big it will look when I actually rack up good bench numbers
"my standards are extremely high and it will require a tremendous amount of effort and long term consistency" alright I automatically trust you, where do I sign and initial ?
Hey bro,So iam 15 years old,and I want to get strong and muscular.Currently doing PPL.Do you think my push day is alright?It's Bench Press>Weighted Dips>OHP>Weighted Deficit Pushups on handles and then some accessories.Will doing Dips after benching affect them? THANKS
Cheers for the shoutout big dog. This video is packed with value :)
Always happy to shout you out, plus you have the best weighted pushup demonstrations so referencing the OG setup was a must :)
Please do more of this series man for each muscle group.
yes please do!
agreed
YES!!!! DO IT for all (including calves and forearms)!
DO ITTT!! - Arnold maybe
Yes
Me, a Noble Natty, checking in to support and corroborate the huge strength standards
My man! Let's keeping raising natural standards 💯
@@AlexLeonidas cheers bro
@@BaldOmniMan Both of you are extremely inspirational, love your content!
Bald Omni-Man and Bald Leonidas. What a crossover
@@AlexLeonidas You typed this from mobile eh brother? Anyways much love man. Loving the video frequency.
Guys I cannot express how much weighted dips help. At the beginning of December I could bench 225 for 4 reps and I didn’t bench press at all until mid January and I hit 225 for 8 reps. During that period my body weight stayed the exact same and the only pressing movement I did for chest was weighted push ups and dips. Absolutely insane I recommend
SAME and this is exactly what i tell people. But they just say “ dips is for triceps” 🤦🏽♂️
Everybody is different. For me, dips didnt help out at all. Just going from bench press From 2 times a week to 1 Time a week with one set being 6 Sets and one between 12-15 reps
@@turo302 I didn’t believe those people but then the gyms closed for a month and it was my only option and man did it pay off. Was legit plateaued at 4 reps for a year and then doubled my reps in a month out of no where
Did you do them weighted or what was your approach exactly
Why does my sturnem hurt when I do them ?
I had open heart surgery which required my sternum to be cut in half. I've had trouble with bench press due to this but lately I've been using a machine and increasing the weight by pretty big sums with little issue. I am definitely seeing gains, so my philosophy right now is push ups followed by bench press machine at a heavy weight. It's amazing how fast my muscles are growing from this combination.
Good job man. Keep us updated 🙃
@@juniodias7079 thank you, will do for sure!
I salute your dedication. Stay safe chasing those gains though
from the jab?
@@Born2Punch no from a congenital defect
Appreciate the mention man 🙏
My pleasure man, cheers to more success & uplifting the fitness community 👊🏻
The numbers you chat are crazy man, very impressive. I see huge guys at the gym struggling to hit 180 pounds for 10 reps incline in the gym with good form. 225 is very rare.
I think Alex is an outlier phenom when it comes to natural strength. No one is putting up these numbers in commercial gyms or even on youtube. His poundages (& for reps) rival those of top powerlifters. 225 lbs OHP at 165 lbs 5'5?? come on..no one does that.
And just as you observed - the aesthetic / juicy guys in the gym are FAR OFF from alex's strength standard. In fact for an average height/weight guy - getting 225x5 or ramping up top triples of 245-255 then back off sets of even 185 lbs [done with various volume or cluster/rest pause] is MORE than enough to get massive pecs and aesthetics.
I just don't see how he comes up with these strength standard #'s sometimes...love the guy but his #'s sre literally beyond elite. Nippard can't hit them. Natural hypetrophy can't. bald omni man [who is on trt] hardly..etc..much less any natural (or even enhanced) in commercial gyms.
really don't see where ge gets these strength standards...
Exactly. If 225 on the bench means you’ve “completed” the novice stage, then 90% of my gym are novices
If you want above average chest you have to chase above average strength.
Even 225 for 3x10 is extremely difficult. A lot of people can rep 225 for 10…then 7…then 4-5 on the last set. The only people in my gym that hit it for all sets are the muscle monsters whose natty status is questionable.
i tryed today 175 after one month of only dungbell work and i did only one negative , dropped the weights side to side and the whole gym staring at meXD
I think UA-cam has definitely changed what I consider a strong lifter, these days you see people in their teens benching 160kg at a bodyweight of like 90kg. I have trained for the last 3 years to hit my most recent pr, its only when I come to your channel that I get an idea of what can be done naturally after years and years of hard work and dedication, thankyou for your channel, its helped me ALOT
Most people that are on gear will never admit it and from someone who hasn't trained for a long period if time won't be able to tell what's actually achievable.
Paused reps were a game changer for me. Bench was a big weak point of mine. However, after adding in paused benching a few years ago, my bench press, and my chest, have gone from strength to strength. I do 5/3/1, but in a pyramid fashion for bench, I simple do paused reps on my 2 deramping sets.
Can this same philosophy be applied to the squat as well?
How long do you pause for ??
@@TheAbear53 I most often stick to 3 seconds. If I'm at the lighter end of my training block I'll up it to 5 seconds, and on rare occasions even 7 seconds, but I'm not convinced such long pauses are necessary.
Sir how do you program your workouts?
Where can i learn to program my workouts better
@@tarlancharkasov1048 He uses concurrent training, and his method and routines are outlined in detail in his book, Naturally Enhanced.
My chest was very lacking so I widened my grip, did some push ups here and there, a little incline dumbbell work, and my pec grew like crazy in my 7 weeks of running 5/3/1
Same, wider grip and bringing the bar little higher on my chest works wonders! Only started doing that recently few weeks back and already noticing some gains. Chest has always been lacking for me.
What is 5 3 1?
I've only just started doing this same thing so I can't speak for the results yet, but I do feel really good and strong this way.
@@fijian0811 a programm
What's 5/3/1
When I began pausing my ventures back in the late 90s, my progress went through the roof. I attribute this to consistency in form. At that time I did two things I began pausing, I spent more time learning to set up the bench, ID came obsessed with bar path, and I narrowed my grip substantially.. As Louis Simmons said a narrower grip will make your wide grip stronger but your wide grip will not do shit for your narrow grip. A narrow grip bench, also you may not be a strong will get all of your prime movers working together. You learn how to engage your lats, how to really drive with your triceps, and you’ll get a better range of motion in the chest without destroying your shoulders. Doing lots of bench presses with a shoulder width or slightly narrower grip will make your overall upper body much thicker and denser. Wide grip bench presses with flaring elbows does not utilize enough muscle, but in competition many guys widen the grip little bit in order to limit the range of motion. So you should always train with different grips But don’t ever spend a lot of time doing ultra wide grip bench presses with heavy weight. It’s a one-way ticket to an injury and it will not make you very strong if you do it frequently
Well put!!
My man's right. I did a weighted dip specialization phase, got up to 145lbs for 4 at 160 lbs. My chest development was good but with the OHP as my accessory my shoulders far outclassed my chest. Now with a bench phase I'm running it's blowing up my pecs. Bench press is really #1 in this regard.
Weighted Dips + weighted Push-up really raised my chest, but Bench-press is the real real bodybuiling exercise for chest
I gotta rely on dips and incline bench for chest. Flat bench just feels uncomfy af for me
@@copeenthuisiast5453 then get better form
@@copeenthuisiast5453 same too much stress on my shoulders. Dips and incline dumbell feels great
Your channel has stood the test of time, one of the realest to ever do it
Yeha, this is spot on for nattys. Alex on point as usual.
One of the very best channels on you tube.
Alex please do more videos focused on body parts like this one I loved it!
Glad you enjoyed it brother! More like these on the way.
Amazing. I Hit the 225 bench and started looking for *optimal* excercises instead of keeping on doing what got me the original progress. So much love and respect for the advise and inspiration!
agreed! Great inspiration here 💯
Increasing my my bench to 100kg+ has made upper body grow significantly!! Shoulders,chest,triceps+lats!
Weighted dips are one of my favorite movements and I heavily credit them with helping increase both my bench and pec size. No matter my programming at a given time, a weighted dip is gonna be in there. I've found that switching between bars and rings is also a great way to keep things interesting and progressing, since the instability of the rings forces me to cut the weight way back while getting a better stretch, whereas bar dips let me move some more serious weight
It's the king of upper body. It works on your lats too, which is why it focuses centrally less on the chest. That's why you can use more weight on it. Plus you cant k*ll yourself with it by accident (neck).
@@RJ-is9ko that IS the reason i prefer Dips and weighted Push-up 🤣
Now we need a whole series on every body part! Next up should be shoulders 👀🤝
This video 100% supports my current body and my goals for this year. My pressing is comparatively weaker than lower body or upper pull, and my chest and shoulders don't look as developed as my back or legs. As a result, my main strength goal for this year is increasing pressing strength
If you want NON-RUBBISH NO-BS content, this dude is definitely the guy! #RESPECT
i'm pretty much a novice and i'm training with calinsthenics but i've noticed that since i've incorporated some set of incline push-ups (with a very close grip, almost diamonds) my pecs are looking fuller, and also on the first times that i was doing the exercise i had DOMS like crazy only to the upper chest.
Nicee, there's always something new to learn
One of the very few people I can imagine is actually natural. Awesome video. Subscribed.
Exactly what we need in this industry! Honesty and hard working natural athletes! SUBSCRIBED! 💪🏻
Hey Alex I started to do pause Bench and it really humbled me! You can get more out of less weight and it reduces injuries. Amazing exercise.
Best way to bench!!
Is it a good way to increase numbers?
@@prodbypjay7148 Harder variations will always increase strength for your base movement. So yes, paused reps for any compound movement will give you bigger numbers for your regular reps.
@@CrowandRaven will include those for sure
Pausing at the bottom of pushups helped me a lot too!
Luv it man! Forever representing the UK! Click clack bang!!!
Great video! Chest development made uncomplicated without “fancy” exercises
Yess straight to the point
Rep PR’s are the shit. I have a chart on my room, every 5kg jump from 60-130kg, ever. Once a fortnight I’ll run an AMRAP on one I’ve not done in a while and try and beat my last one. Do the same for OHP for 2.5kg’s and Squats + Dead for 10kg’s
Also found OHP to be a big chest booster. Big OHP mean stronger shoulders and triceps. Stronger shoulders and triceps mean more strength in the bottom and the middle. Stronger at weak points means bigger weights for same reps. That means more eccentric overload on the reps. OHP specialisation has indirectly grown my chest like crazy.
That's what's up and well said at the end for getting stronger shoulders and tris which inevitably help the long term overload/correcting weaknesses!
Glad you mentioned sternum pain. I can bunch 275 (or more I haven't done it in a bit), but I need 70 lbs assistance on dips to do 10 without horrible pain. I've been doing assisted a few times a week and hopefully I can build back up to unassisted and then weighted
6:16 LMAO the smile killed me 🤣😂
Hey bro could you make a video on exercises that will carry over to weighted dips and pull ups?. Loving the series keep up the good work man.
Would love to see that video from him! Hopefully he sees this comment
Weighted push-up and Unilateral pull down
I'm currently on a self-imposed 30 day chest challenge and on day 11. The video encourages me do more work with the bench press and to include more versions of dumb bell chest exercises. My goal is to increase my upper chest muscles to match with the lower chest muscles which look pretty good. Thanks for sharing---keep them coming!
So incredibly thankful for your content.
I'm thankful for your support.
The BEST thing I ever did for my chest was add powerlifting style pauses to the negative of the bench. I realized I was much stronger from quick reps, but this was NOT due to having strong pecs. Once I started pausing, my chest had no choice but to be the most activated muscle
interesting, thanks for sharing!
This guy is a pro at his work
I appreciate that man.
Finally someone is talking about Matt Vena ! The guy is a beast and full with useful knowledge
Return of the AVIAN STRETCH
You being one of the only guys talking about long term goals is very respectable. Most UA-camrs try to push short term gains
I appreciate that man! Always try to keep it real with everyone, including the high standards.
Could listen to you for hours mate....talk so much sense and the proof is in the results
Looking good bro, keeping it real out there too
lets go alex uploaded at 12am on a school night again
5pm for me 👍
Jeff Nippards Chest Hypertrophy program is pretty much exactly what is said here. Great information from 2 very knowledgeable individuals 👍
Exactly what I needed! Thank you man
He always cares about us!
I love to see how connected the natty fitness industry is, I was already really extremely happy when I saw Natural Hypertrophy and Bald Omni-Man on your channel, but seeing you reference Matt Vena? I love it
Alex, you have always been my favorite. Thank you for your existance.
Thank you Kyle!
One of best changes I made was to pause bench. Not only did I improve I’ve yet to get an injury and I used to always injure my pecs from touch and go
Personally I'm lower body dominant. I can slack off from legs for a week or two, hit them one session hard and still make gains. I'm 4 months into my 4th return to the gym journey, and my upper body has always, ALWAYS! been slower to grow and gain size and strength. No wonder, I use my legs everyday, my upper body I might lift a piece of toast alone on an off day. And I love leg work outs, All my best lifts are with my legs.
Since I started prioritizing push up volume work everyday, minimum 3 sets usually max 6 sprinkled throughout my day anywhere from 3 to 1 RIR, the strength, size and muscle fibre engagement generally has blown up. The goal is not to beast myself on any set, just practice strict form, grease the groove, and activate the muscular/neural pathways. So I feel good for doing it, not bad I'm not stronger yet.
Want a bigger chest/arms/biceps/triceps/shoulders? Make the push up and all it's variants your b*tch. Slow controlled, fast, 1 arm, incline, deficit. Say to yourself "Minimum three sets a day to just before failure/1 set to form failure" you WILL blow up. On top of your regular program of course.
great video as always, each video always has so much quality in it good shit bro
keep these types of vids going for each muscle group bro, been learning too much from your channel I gotta take notes every time haha
DUDE!! I absolutely LOVE the quality of these videos man! Good content and advice as always!! Any tips for shoulder/long head of the bicep pain while bench pressing? Thank you again bro, never stop making these videos, so so so so helpful!
Make sure that your scapula is retracted. Also if you keep having bicep pain try a neutral grip
If I could do only one movement it would be weighted dips. It suits my anthropometry better than bench, and I agree the weighted stretch is so fkn key 🔑 also why I’m a fan of the weighted deficit push-ups as well, and also do mine on the boxes with feet on bench. Rings do provide e amazing variations too. Another reason I neglect flat benching more than I’d like to actually flat is that I have a great sturdy multi-angle bench but that fkn gap I didn’t think ahead about when I got it as I hadn’t owned a bench of my very own til that point, drives me crazy when flat benching lol, the low incline setting is nice tho and rock solid on it. I’m inclined (no pun 🧐) to agree however that weighted decline push-ups are prolly better overall and are highly underrated just like the flat version. I also tend to use my boxes to do feet elevated weighted pikes for OHP (working on getting my HSPU back in order at the moment), and def less setup time there when doing full body…the nice thing about the weighted cali’s too on the chest work is the full scapular freedom it provides and like you said it’s just so easy to get elbow positioning right, and imho easier to direct tension into the muscles via mind-muscle connection, tho I’m sure this is also tied in with the tighter positioning as well. Great video, has me wanting to barbell bench more tho haha
When I started lifting awhile ago my chest was just rib cage and asymmetrical at that. Got up to maybe top single of 215lbs but then I switched to a wide grip dropped me way down to like 135 touch and go. Everything I train usually I can tell I had a good workout but chest is always like meh.
Added in some paused at about 125lbs instead w drop set and some weighted dips. I feel this approach does much better than touch and go. FYI when I first started I was embarrassed to go lower than 135 for awhile even though I desperately needed to dial it down. Don’t be embarrassed guys !
I’m years deep with underdeveloped chest I’m not fking giving up I need my chest to match the rest of me .
How is it going?
Thanks for the great content! I’m saving this as a favorite and definitely buying the rings! Subscribed to Vena now too. Big up!
Strong at the basics, that’s such a huge statement too.
God, I love weighted dips so bad man. They are such a great way to put mass on your chest, triceps and upper back. I didn't even start doing them with that intention, but 2 years later and I feel like they've brought out a whole different shape to me.
6:16 what's the name of that bird research im curious
The avian stretch studies
Thanks for the video!Incredibly talented dude!
I think the Spoto press was the game changer for me. Something about stopping a few inches off my chest and pressing without the stop on the chest completely changed the exercise for me.
It took the stress off my shoulders and transferred it onto my pecs.
Because of corona gyms got closed and no training for 14months..
It's been 2months started training again... I am aiming for 405 benchpress and 225 Ohp for reps
love it. just straight truth. good content man. keep it up.
Love the emphasis on chasing bench strength to get gains man. I've been training for around 5-6 years now - chasing the next bench PR has been amazing for my chest development. Current PR is 375x3 and I can safely say I have some zonkers attached to my front end now 😂 Hoping to hit the 405 soon just like you man!
You are strong! Keep at it 💪
@@johannes01 thanks man!
@@OnePunchSiana 🔥💪
Strong as shit bro, hope to be up there in the next 5 years !
This ties in well with GVS's new video. Good timing bro.
Also, when learning the push up. Start from the floor. Lay completely flat, center your hands underneath your shoulders, depress your shoulder blades and push from your core. Push up powerfully like you're pushing the world away from you, finish with extension through your shoulder blades, and then do the eccentric phase slow and controlled. Remember to start by depressing your shoulders blades on the eccentric then lower through your pecs, your pecs should almost be at full stretch before you even begin bending your elbows. Lowering through your pecs, does NOT mean dropping your spine/hips/core, this remains tight like you're expecting someone to stand on your back, otherwise your form has failed. And while we're here, you better be planking straight, not sticking your but up or tea bagging the floor.. Time and place for that.
Power up, controlled down. Full ROM. As a beginner with a proper rest/nutrition program in place, 3 times a day, 3/1 RIR, never even hitting failure, your chest will explode.
You're way, WAY better off doing 5 strict power pushups, than 15 baby reps. Allll day.
Ah, I see you've been hit by the Matt Vena algorythm too. There must be something to those short videos. The guy is popping
Loved it! Consistency is key like you always say!!!!
Shout out to Matt Vena. Been digging his content 💪🏽
benching for warm-up and finding working weights, then using other moves to refine each aspect of the bench. Inclines, OHP, Ring push-ups, flies, French presses, that would be my strategy, i don't want to bench so much since i love to have fun as well
I do not bodybuild or care about growing my chest, but I like learning about all things training. I've stopped doing dips because of the pain in my sternum that came later in my life; I actually didn't realize it was such a common occurrence until this video. I never looked it up, just thought I was getting old. I do hope to get back into my dip game, though. Thank you for the great content.
Were you doing only bodyweight dips?
@@zezeti2246 I’m good now. Thanks for the concern even a year later.
This is one area where I'm blessed in. Everything else sucks lol but my chest has always been powerful. So powerful in fact that it has caused problems. I could always get it off my chest but about halfway up I'd hit a wall. Hard. Pretty much the opposite of what everyone says about a raw bench presser lol. I used to train chest directly as much as I trained my triceps. Now, I do one direct chest movement for 3 direct tricep movements. Have done that for about 2 years, my bench has gone up 35 pounds and I have ZERO shoulder pain. Being a chest presser leads to a lot of problems. I'm proof of that and I'll never go back.
Yesterday I did 335 bench for 2 then 315 for 3 then 275 fir 8 reps and the 180lb on dios for 3 reps. I barely even do dips and I'm mad strong on it.
Strong AF, OG!!
i love matt viena, happy to see him in this video
My chest has always been its biggest and most impressive when I've put more emphasis on dumbbell flies and concentrating on that stretch at the bottom, as you mentioned here the top range of the movement isn't really all that important. It never gave me the strongest chest but a bigger and fuller looking chest than most who were much stronger than me and focused all their chest work around the bench press.
Wait so I should be doing 3x10 flat bench, 3x10 low incline, 3x10 dips/ deficit stretch motion, and 3x10 fly motion? 12 sets at 2x a week I think 24 sets per week is approaching max recoverable volume but not too bad while bulking and giving 72 hours recovery in between chest sessions.
Correct! You'll get SWOLE AF with this template.
@@AlexLeonidas God bless dude. One of the top UA-cam channels for intelligent programming. You'll be at 500k in no time. 👍
I already wanted to do 250lbs for 8-10 reps before even starting to do incline bench or other variations of presses. Mostly because my recovery isnt that good for doing something except standard bench press even with right nutrition, sleep etc
Increase paused bench = chest gainz
he knows:)
One problem is alot of people just focus on adding more weight. Form breaks down. They dont see it. Injury incomming.
Yeah can't be sacrificing technique
I NEED MORE LIKE THESE! Back or Arms philosophy next?
He already made many videos about it. For back at least total 315 lb pullup (including bw), cheat rows, rack pulls, shrugs…. For biceps he suggests preacher and incline curls for the stretch reflex
Good vid. I've found that by doing heavy straight bar bench press less often but using the Swiss Bar for most of my heavy bench sets, I can lift heavier on the straight bar bench press when I do it. I feel much less beat up. It's also strengthened my forearms in their lateral range of motion.
For how long have you been working out?
@@johannes01 About 50 years. I'm 63 years old.
Weighted Dips and DB Benching with feet up have been my go to for bench assistance. Can't wait to add the larson press, at about 280lb max right now with a goal of getting to 315lbs by the end of this year.
Great combination man!!
You might get it quicker brother , 6months im telling you
@@kryptonianstrength8461 6months would be awesome, really dialing in my nutrition and bulking up like Alex says to.
Pecs are interesting. You look at boxers and wrestlers, who have ripped arms, legs, and torsos, and they don’t usually have thick pecs. The old time strongmen didn’t really have much pecs either. I always kind of wondered about that. It seems to be an area where the body does not want to add a lot of mass. I think you definitely have to be intentional about it. But a thick chest does wonders under a t-shirt!
I died laughing imagining super jacked birds, no more chicken legs
“Weighted stretch bro” *tears pec* had me dying lol
1:27 can someone quickly tell me if these charts are your 1RPM or being able to do these weights for reps?
it took me a year to get a 60kg bench press. I used to bench every session, but now i focus on dumbbell press, and dips. Hopefully i can start doing weighted dips soon,i can easily get a 3x10, or a 4x10 bodyweight but i want to get up to a 4x15 before i start adding weight. I tried adding weight to my pullups right away and got nowhere. Time for me to return to calisthenics training and master my bodyweight once again.
Awesome video. Waiting for the updated big legs version
0:45 based Alexander
For me, focusing on the bench press the past 8 weeks has made my chest noticeably bigger.
I do upper lower and one day is 3x5 rpe 7-9 and the other day is 3x8-10 1-2 rir
I typically do one other chest movement after bench and pull ups, like incline bb and hammer strength machine.
I did not do any triceps accessory and just did biceps. My triceps got a tiny bit bigger because of the compounds only.
My 3x5 went from 185 to 205 in 6 weeks
3x8 went from 165 to 185
I do my incline BP in a smithmachine, i find this safer for my shoulder and i get the bar really close to my neck,
Hey man. I've been watching you for quite some time and I know your content it's based on muscle hypertrophy, but do you have any experience in training for posture, and mobility, or how to treat kyphosis or any kind of this stuff? Or does your content may apply to what I said , in any fashion? Anyway, love your content! Keep it up!
Check out the Squat University channel. It’s awesome. The guy who runs it is a physical therapist.
@@domepiece11 Thanks man, definetely check it out!
in regards to the bench vs dips bit i have a shoulder injury and absolutely 100% cannot do flat barbell bench comfortably but dips feel perfectly fine. i added them to my regime back in the summer and have seen some great results and carry over effects and i recently started adding pushups to my workout as well. i can feel my chest starting to pop in my shirts finally
also for the incline bench i noticed i feel it more if i set the bench higher than the average incline angle. i have it set to about 50 or even 60 degree angle before moving on to seated overhead press. doing the lower angles i never felt anything in my upper chest
love the content you put out though!
I can only do 135x3 but my chest is my best body part (striations, thiccness) lol I’m excited how big it will look when I actually rack up good bench numbers
Bro you're gonna freak out at what's possible 🔥🔥🔥
Im from Germany and in really love your Videos.
Have learned alot. Thx
Thats what makes dumbbell presses great--the stretch youre afforded
"my standards are extremely high and it will require a tremendous amount of effort and long term consistency" alright I automatically trust you, where do I sign and initial ?
I think you look awesome with the shaved 🪒 head & the beard! 🙏 thanks for the content!
Hey bro,So iam 15 years old,and I want to get strong and muscular.Currently doing PPL.Do you think my push day is alright?It's Bench Press>Weighted Dips>OHP>Weighted Deficit Pushups on handles and then some accessories.Will doing Dips after benching affect them?
THANKS
I fucking love the pause bench. It shot my bench up 20 pounds!
I cant do any horizontal pressing because I trashed my shoulders over the span of about 20 years
Try using the slingshot by Mark Bell
As a person who struggles to keep up with videos in general, I’d really appreciate it if you add a recap at the end of the video