Day 23:Chest
This is your last chest workout on Phase One of Operation Aesthetic. Regardless of whether or not your chest is a strength of your physique, you should be seeing more detail and definition in your pectoral muscles. This is due to the reduced-calorie diet and the effort you’re putting in to create detail.
OPERATION AESTHETIC NOTES
*The higher-rep sets at the end are not an afterthought—especially when you’re dieting. These are the sets that really carve in detail that you can see as you lose body fat.
*You can add intensity techniques to any of these exercises if that feels right to you. These include rest-pause, where you wait a few seconds after failure before performing another move; or drop sets, which I use frequently.
*For drop sets, you begin with one weight and then go immediately to a lower weight without resting—and that counts for one set.
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Early morning cardio |
1 |
25 minutes |
Perform this session upon waking before consuming food. |
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EXERCISE |
COMMENT |
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Incline dumbbell bench presses Keep control and rhythm for every rep—explode up and then control the weight as you lower for a two count. |
5 SETS / 12, 10, 8, 4, 15 REPS |
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Barbell bench presses Those last two sets with higher reps are what help you add detail while maintaining muscle mass while dieting. |
6 SETS / 12, 10, 8, 4, 15, 15 REPS |
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Incline dumbbell flyes To target upper pecs, emphasize that area with each stretch and contraction. |
4 SETS / 12, 10, 8, 15 REPS |
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Dips This is one of my favorite exercises, and I include it in both my chest and triceps workouts—but take note of the difference in form in my videos. |
4 SETS / Burnout* |
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Incline Smith machine bench presses You can safely perform partial reps through the weakest portion of your bench press with this move.
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5 SETS / 12, 10, 7, 3, 15 REPS |
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Post-Workout cardio |
1 |
25 minutes |
You can also perform this later in the day. |
TIP: At the end of a workout like this, your body needs to be replenished. I recommend getting in RE-KAGED®, which delivers 28 grams of protein in addition to fermented Glutamine, BetaPower® betaine, and creatine hydrochloride. This combo of key ingredients helps you re-feed and repair your muscles after training.
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