Heavy Dumbbell Bench Presses for the Chest

"I am following your Shotgun program, and after 6 weeks I'm in love with it. I do really like the template, and the possibility to choose exercises for the troubleshooting days.

"However I have a question about the shotgun movement of the third day, the bench press. I found that even if I lift a lot less with the dumbbell bench press (52 lbs) than the barbell bench press (132 lbs), my pecs are much more sore the next day with dumbbells.

"Is the dumbbell bench press intense enough to be a shotgun movement? Can it help increase strength (and eventually mass) as much as barbell? I'm working with the format 6x3. Thanks in advance for your input."

Regards,
Guillaume


My Answer- Yes the dumbbell press performed in a 6x3 format would qualify as a Shotgun movement. Even though you are using less weight on the dumbbell bench press as opposed to the barbell bench press, the dumbbell version is superior for hypertrophy for 2 reasons:

1) There is a greater range of motion with the dumbbell bench press. Whereas the movement stops at the bottom of the bench press when the barbell touches your chest, the weights will go past your chest in the dumbbell version. This will give you a greater stretch in the pecs, and stretching a muscle under high tension (i.e. heavy weight) will induce greater muscular size.

2) Dumbbell movements require greater stabilization from the muscles being worked. In other words, your chest, triceps and stabilizer muscles have to work much harder to move heavy dumbbells in a straight line as opposed to a barbell.

In general, heavy dumbbell movements are superior to barbell movements for hypertrophy for the upper body.

Pyramid Training with Arms Specialization

"Hey James, I recently tried your bulking for ectomorph program and managed to put size on everywhere except for my arms which failed to grow. Do you suggest I include more direct arm work or cut back on the amount I'm doing already: 4 sets biceps + 4 sets triceps, 3x a week?"

Thanks,
Dan


My Answer: You can still do the pyramid program, but for the arms, substitute the Direct Assault arm specialization program. Done properly this will give you some big guns. Your workouts for the week will look like this:

Monday:

A) Squats- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 3 minutes rest.

*The next 2 exercises are an “antagonistic superset.” Perform a bench press, then rest 90 seconds. Perform pulldowns, then rest 90 seconds before going back to bench presses. Repeat for desired repetitions.

B1) Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
B2) Pulldowns- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.

C) Laterals- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 2 minutes rest.

D1) Preacher Curls (6 sets) 6 reps, 90 seconds rest
You can use any variation of the preacher curl. Variations include the straight barbell preacher curl, one arm dumbbell preacher curls or reverse grip EZ-bar preacher curls

D2) Lying flat bench triceps extensions with an EZ curl bar (6 sets) 6 reps, 90 seconds rest


Wednesday:

A) Squats- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 3 minutes rest.

*The next 2 exercises are an “antagonistic superset.” Perform a bench press, then rest 90 seconds. Perform pulldowns, then rest 90 seconds before going back to bench presses. Repeat for desired repetitions.

B1) Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
B2) Pulldowns- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.

C) Laterals- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 2 minutes rest.

D1) Lying to seated dumbbell curls (3 sets) 13-15 reps, no rest
-Perform 6-8 reps of lying flat bench dumbbell curls, then sit up and perform alternating seated dumbbell curls

D2) Feet Elevated Pushups (3 sets) 13-15 reps, 60 seconds rest


Friday:

A) Squats- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 3 minutes rest.

*The next 2 exercises are an “antagonistic superset.” Perform a bench press, then rest 90 seconds. Perform pulldowns, then rest 90 seconds before going back to bench presses. Repeat for desired repetitions.

B1) Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
B2) Pulldowns- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.

C) Laterals- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 2 minutes rest.


Saturday:

A) Hammer curls (10 sets) 4 reps, 60 seconds rest
B) Seated overhead half press in power rack (10 sets) 4 reps, 60 seconds rest

Barbell Only Workout

Just a heads up: head out to your Barnes and Noble bookstore and pick up the latest issue of Planet Muscle. In it I have an article called "Heavy-Light Training."



"Hello, can you give me a routine for the 10-8-6-15 program using just a barbell? All I have is a cage, a bench, an olympic barbell and 300lbs, no dumbbells. I can no longer go to a gym."

Thanks for your time and help.
- W.L.


My Answer- You can still build a very impressive physique based solely on barbells and body weight exercises. Here's what I suggest:

A) Squats- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 2 minutes rest.
B) Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
C) Pull-ups or Barbell rows- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.

D) Wide grip barbell upright rows- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 1 minute rest.

E) Barbell curls- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
F) Close grip bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.


Hello James

I have just bought your book, read it, and I'm very eager to start my first cycle. I have been working in the gym this past six years growing only a little bit better than the average "block head" :-)

However it is important for me to be in shape and to be able to run 10 kilometers and to have stamina. I have read page 90, and I understand what you have written, but yet I would like to know how can I retain my stamina while going into this new working out style?

best regards,
Joseph Kalish


My Answer: Well it depends on which program you decide to go with. If you're going with the Strength and Physique System program, then I would advise you not to do cardio unless you're overweight. The Strength and Physique System is very intense and designed for maximal hypertrophy. It will stress both your strength and endurance, so extra cardio would be redundant and would undermine your efforts on this program.

If you're looking to develop strength, muscularity and conditioning, then the Strength Training for Fat Loss chapter will work as well. But again, if you want to retain muscle, then you would have to refrain from cardio.

If you have to run 10K, however, then you may very well need to rely on block training. By doing block training and cardio separately, you can avoid training redundancy and hence avoid overtraining. So doing the 5x5 program with cardio separate would work just fine.

Kettlebells for Bodybuilding

"I would be interested in learning how to gain mass. I am a hardgainer when it comes to muscle. Can your program allow for kettlebells?"

Thank you,
James Wiznerowicz


My Answer: In Tactics and Strategies there's a chapter on kettlebells for the purpose of bodybuilding. The chapter essentially provides info on how to construct a kettlebell program with a bodybuilding focus. In other words, building muscle for looks with strength as a nice side effect. The chapter also has a program that you can follow.

What to do to Become a Cop?

"Hi, I have a few questions to ask you: I was trying to figure out what to do to become a cop. I am also trying to figure out what kinda workout I need, so I can get in to good shape."

-Freddie Ricci


My Answer: I have no idea what your background is physically or lifestyle-wise. Obviously, you should have your life in order before you apply as a peace officer. No outstanding debts, no criminal history, no character flaws.

Now with regards to workouts, I have no idea what to tell you, because you haven't provided me with your physical background. Everybody starts from a different baseline, so prescibing a universal workout for cops is not something that I do. Nevertheless, check out my article on Strength Training for Cops and my blog posts on the topic. These will give you some direction where you can start asking more specific questions on how to be a cop.

Calibrating your Poundages for the Pyramid Program

Check out my latest video on the elbows out dumbbell row, which will work the teres major muscle and give you the wide shoulder look:



"If you have time could you please clear up a few things for me? First let me say thanks so much for doing the article. It’s going to be very helpful for me, since I’m a slim framed guy. I’m about 5’10 150 and can rep 160ish once or twice. I guess that 160 at my weight isn’t bad, but I want to add size. I’m a 6 year Krav Maga practitioner, so my build is more lean and built for speed, what I consider the martial artist build. I may have missed this, but how much weight should I be trying to do for each set? Should I try to add a little weight each time the number of reps goes down? How much should I try to lift on my 15 rep set?"

Thanks,
Mike


My Answer: Look over the Q&A section of the article. I answer this question in there. For the first set, use a weight based on your 10 rep max. Add weight with each set as the reps get lower. How much you increase the weight depends on the exercise, as smaller muscle groups require smaller increases while larger muscle groups require larger increases. But if you want to play it safe, then use the smallest incremental increases. So if your gym has 1.25 pound plates and 2.5 pound plates, then take advantage of them. Over time, those small increments of weight will add up, and you'll be hitting new maximums.

Try adding weight to all your sets, but use the first set as a barometer. So how much weight you add or subtract on sets #2,3 and 4 depends on how you perform on the 1st set.

In other words, it's better to try a weight for a set and calibrate your poundage based on your performance. Don't get stuck on percentages. Focus on performing the reps outlined for each set in the program and recording the weights.

How Bodybuilders Trained Before the Advent of the Set System

"Hey James, I love your blog. I'm a 33 year old ectomorph whose been lifting off and on for 15 years or so. I've found that the normal two bodyparts a workout doesn't seem to work for me. I make progress slowly. However, I recently purchased a powerbar for pull-ups, pushups and dips, along with a mini bench and 50 lb. dumbells. I've been on a Pull-up, Pushup, dip, press (with dumbells) 3 sets each for a month now, and I see good progress.

"I was wondering what you thought about going to the gym and doing an entire body workout: one set each exercise? For example: 10 reps squats, 10 reps bench press, 10 reps lat pulldowns, 10 reps curls, 10 reps close grip presses, 10 reps back rows, 10 deadlifts, etc. Is this overkill 3 days a week? Sorry for the long question, I wanted to give details."

Thanks!
Tay


My Answer: Doing 1 set per exercise three times per week is much better than 3 sets done once a week. You will gain strength quickly the more frequently you train, so what you propose is perfectly fine. This was the way bodybuilders used to train in the very beginning. I go over this history lesson in my book Tactics and Strategies.

In the first quarter of the 20th century, there was no such thing as multiple sets. The training concept of the "set system" hadn't been invented yet. Everybody did one set per exercise and that was it. A typical bodybuilder’s routine would have consisted of 12 exercises covering the entire body, with only one set per exercise. This full body workout would be performed 3 days a week, every other day.

Despite the limitations of a single set, a wide variety of single set training routines flourished for 40 years prior to the advent of the set system. In my book Tactics and Strategies there's a chapter that goes over these various single set routines. Single set routines are great for bodybuilders looking to minimize overtraining and yet still develop strength and muscle tone.