Contest Prep for 2010 Provincials

[Andre Gregoire]

Bench Press is an awful movement for pecs, just look at powerlifters. Most have great front delts and thick trapz but rarely huge chests. Not to mention all the shoulder strain that flat bench can cause.

Most trainees that I see with a bad Chest usually have strong Delts and they end up using their shoulders on most Chest movements. Even Jay Cutler had this issue years ago.

You really need to arch your back big time, scapula down and retracted, chest high and only do the bottom 3/4 of the movement.

You would probably do really well with low-incline dumbell presses and decline bench press for your lower chest.

[Delt King]

You really need to arch your back big time, scapula down and retracted, chest high and only do the bottom 3/4 of the movement.

Perfect description of proper exercise performance. ^^

When i finally did this movement correctly my chest imroved big time over the course of three years.

I used to always (more than ten years) start with 2 incline pressing movements and my front Delts became so overpowering it just looked silly with a lagging chest.Now I prefer the flat bench first.

[shredded_Tris]

Bench Press is an awful movement for pecs, just look at powerlifters. Most have great front delts and thick trapz but rarely huge chests. Not to mention all the shoulder strain that flat bench can cause.

Most trainees that I see with a bad Chest usually have strong Delts and they end up using their shoulders on most Chest movements. Even Jay Cutler had this issue years ago.

You really need to arch your back big time, scapula down and retracted, chest high and only do the bottom 3/4 of the movement.

You would probably do really well with low-incline dumbell presses and decline bench press for your lower chest.

Perfect description of proper exercise performance. ^^

When i finally did this movement correctly my chest imroved big time over the course of three years.

I used to always (more than ten years) start with 2 incline pressing movements and my front Delts became so overpowering it just looked silly with a lagging chest.Now I prefer the flat bench first.

Thanks guys!
As you can sort of see in the pics my chest looks good from most front poses but I lose whatever side is closest to the audience in my side chest pose. I will try those movements. So do you think if I did a lot more decline it would help out or just try and focus on slight incline with the arch?

[Andre Gregoire]

It's really hard to give advice without seeing you lift in the gym.

In general I believe a low-incline dumbell press is probably the best movement for Chest and if I was limited to 1 exercise I would chose it. That being said, I have seen some guys have trouble getting a nice arch and keeping the Chest high on this movement so for them I would recommend trying a bit more incline or flat dumbells and see where your form is best and where your Chest feels the most engaged.

Above is my general recommendation for bringing up a weak Chest. After looking over your pics and your description, it seems like building up the lower chest area might help achieve the look that you want. Medium grip Decline Bar Bench to the nipple have a way of putting on a lot of mass quickly to the lower pecs, for most guy this isn't necessary but in your case it would help to make your Chest bigger quickly and fill in a lacking area.

I would do both movements twice per week if possible in your split and focus on really feeling the Chest work 8-12 reps and you will definitely have to lower your weight a bit to be able to stop the shoulders from taking over.

Also like UBC said above you can't bring up a weak point too much during contest prep but it never hurts to start training the muscle better.

[shredded_Tris]

It's really hard to give advice without seeing you lift in the gym.

In general I believe a low-incline dumbell press is probably the best movement for Chest and if I was limited to 1 exercise I would chose it. That being said, I have seen some guys have trouble getting a nice arch and keeping the Chest high on this movement so for them I would recommend trying a bit more incline or flat dumbells and see where your form is best and where your Chest feels the most engaged.

Above is my general recommendation for bringing up a weak Chest. After looking over your pics and your description, it seems like building up the lower chest area might help achieve the look that you want. Medium grip Decline Bar Bench to the nipple have a way of putting on a lot of mass quickly to the lower pecs, for most guy this isn't necessary but in your case it would help to make your Chest bigger quickly and fill in a lacking area.

I would do both movements twice per week if possible in your split and focus on really feeling the Chest work 8-12 reps and you will definitely have to lower your weight a bit to be able to stop the shoulders from taking over.

Also like UBC said above you can't bring up a weak point too much during contest prep but it never hurts to start training the muscle better.

Sounds Good Andre!
Yeah it def is my lower that is lacking. I will try that out for a while and see what happens. of course I know it wont do much until the show is over. but I might as well start now

[shredded_Tris]

So I just got back from a sweet vacation! 4 Days on the beach camping with my girl with perfect weather.
Had all of my meals packed in a cooler or 4 lol!! I can't believe how much shit we packed for food haha it was hilarious.
Got back yesterday and my last day off was completely bitch slapped by my cars inspection and registration. $500 later my vacation is over....A shitty end to it but hey.....the days before were fun

So my confessions for the trip weren't that crazy. I had an extra few bites of sausage and rice cakes here and there and substituted a few shakes for bars, and I still ended up being at a low yesterday morning of around 160lbs.

I'm sharpening up very nicely and I will hopefully be taking some progress pictures this weekend. As fun as camping was I am kinda glad we are home now, it is super tough watching people eat ice cream and chocolate constantly without being able to have any.

So I had the best potatoes last night for a little treat!

What I did was puree'd a bunch of cauliflower and 6oz. ofsweet potatoes and then covered them in butter spray. It was friggen delicious and the best part of it is I can have that every carb day, and on non carb days I can still have the caulliflower

Motivation is very strong at this point and cardio is at 2x30min sessions mon-fri and 30min-1hour of weekends (total) I'm starting to get vascularity on my rib cage and seratus as well as on my quads which I haven't had before.

Now I am just trying to pick my posing routine song

14.5 Weeks to go!!!!

[Praetorian]

Bench Press is an awful movement for pecs, just look at powerlifters. Most have great front delts and thick trapz but rarely huge chests. Not to mention all the shoulder strain that flat bench can cause.

Most trainees that I see with a bad Chest usually have strong Delts and they end up using their shoulders on most Chest movements. Even Jay Cutler had this issue years ago.

You really need to arch your back big time, scapula down and retracted, chest high and only do the bottom 3/4 of the movement.

You would probably do really well with low-incline dumbell presses and decline bench press for your lower chest.

That's because most people do the bench press incorrectly and then blame the exercise. If performed correctly the bench is one of the single best pectoral developers available.
P

[shredded_Tris]

OK BOYS I am officially addicted to coffee.
In all your opinions how much is too much at my stage. I am still losing just fine and I am having very little milk in them (maybe 2-3 milk per day) and all Calorie free sweetener. Should I back off.
They are really helping me through the hunger cravings

[Praetorian]

OK BOYS I am officially addicted to coffee.
In all your opinions how much is too much at my stage. I am still losing just fine and I am having very little milk in them (maybe 2-3 milk per day) and all Calorie free sweetener. Should I back off.
They are really helping me through the hunger cravings

No more then 2-3 per day.
P

[shredded_Tris]

Alright
Being that I have 14 weeks till show time and I feel I am more than on track I decided to give myself a much needed Treat ....Reading DK's treat didn't help much haha
So here's what I had

-3 pieces of bread with jam on one and PB on the other 2
-1 Bag of Reese Bites
-4 Chocolate Whoppers
-1 mini Reese Cup
-1 piece of my GF's Chocolate bar
-1 oatmeal cookie
-strawberries
-1 apple

So I feel much better now and after a bit of cardio I am right back where I was and more motivated than ever!!

14 Weeks to go!!!

So I am going to be taking pictures very soon, I was going to do it today but my Girl can't get her camera. So very soon. I plan on also taking some measurements too, so we can compare to last time.

I must say I think my body LOVED me for giving it this treat. I was super vascular last night and full