Chest day looking a little stale? Dial it in with this high-rep burner from one of our most anticipated training programs in years, Alpha M's Tailored: 6 Weeks to Living Lean.
Your guide is Aaron Marino, creator of the incredibly popular YouTube channel Alpha M and the creator of the Tailored program. Aaron was once a national-level natural bodybuilder, but today, he's just a busy businessman who wants to train hard and look good. He's condensed his decades of training knowledge down into six weeks of low-rest, high-octane workouts that will transform your body and ignite your love of the weight room.
Is this too advanced for me?
We won't lie, the chest and triceps workout is intense—like, 11 movements over 35 sets, and 600 or so reps. But, if you're a consistent lifter with a fair amount of experience, and if you pick a weight you can control—that's the key—you can handle it.
However, if you're relatively new to the gym (you've only been lifting consistently for a year or less), don't be afraid to cut back on the volume a little. For instance, you can perform 2-3 sets instead of 3-4 sets on most movements. But you can also just pick a seriously light weight, or regress movements like push-ups or dips as needed. Aaron will show you how.
No, this doesn't mean you have permission to cut back through the whole program! If you take it easy for the first couple of weeks, consider coming back and repeating the program as written from the beginning. Seriously!
And no, you don't get to skip cardio—today, or ever. After you've murdered your upper body, you'll do 20 minutes to put your ego on blast and build a heart to match your chest.
Workout Tips
- Select a weight you can control through at least 10 reps. "It's not about lifting heavy, it's about you getting the best workout you can," Aaron says. In your final movements, like skullcrushers, you may be amazed at how little weight you can handle.
- On push-ups and machine exercises, rest 30-45 seconds. For free-weight exercises like dumbbell presses and the bench press, rest more like 45-60 seconds.
- You'll be doing dips after having done a lot of other movements, so if you need to use the assisted dip machine, go for it.
- On contraction-focused movements like the pec-deck fly or cable push-down, pause briefly at the peak contraction. Yes, this makes the move more difficult and may require you to use a lighter weight, but yes, it's worth it!