Push Day Workout: A Science-Based Routine for Massive Chest and Shoulder Gains
Introduction:
Ready to take your chest and shoulder training to the next level? This comprehensive guide provides a science-based push-day workout routine designed to maximize muscle growth and enhance your physique.
Understanding Chest and Shoulder Anatomy
Chest Muscles: The chest muscle, or pectoralis major, has two distinct sections:
The clavicular head (upper chest) originates on the clavicle (collarbone) and inserts onto the upper arm.
The sternal head (lower chest) originates on the sternum (breastbone) and inserts onto the upper arm.
Shoulder Muscles: The shoulder muscle, or deltoid, consists of three heads:
The anterior deltoid (front delt) is responsible for shoulder flexion (lifting your arm forward).
The lateral deltoid (side delt) is responsible for shoulder abduction (lifting your arm out to the side).
The posterior deltoid (rear delt) is responsible for shoulder extension (moving your arm backward).
Which Upper Body Muscles Should You Train First in Your Workouts?
If you have a lagging body part, prioritize it at the beginning of your workout when your energy levels are highest. This allows you to focus on that muscle group and maximize its growth potential.
How to Improve Your Physique Quickly:
To dramatically improve your physique, focus on consistency, proper training techniques, and a balanced diet that supports muscle growth and recovery.
Improving Your Mind-Muscle Connection:
To enhance your mind-muscle connection, focus on feeling the target muscle working during each exercise. Visualize the muscle contracting and lengthening, and pay attention to the sensations in your body. How to program your workout to maximize muscle growth for upper-body muscle groups (chest and shoulders)?
Programming Your Workout to Maximize Muscle Growth:
To maximize muscle growth for your chest and shoulders, consider these programming tips:
Frequency: Train each muscle group 2-3 times per week.
Volume: Perform a moderate volume of sets and reps, gradually increasing over time.
Intensity: Choose a weight that allows you to perform each exercise with good form while still challenging your muscles.
Exercise Selection: Include a variety of exercises that target different parts of the chest and shoulders.
Rest: Allow adequate rest between sets and workouts to promote muscle recovery and growth.
What Does Minimum Effective Volume (MEV) in Training Mean?
MEV refers to the minimum amount of training volume needed to stimulate muscle growth. It varies depending on individual factors, but a general guideline is 3-4 sets per muscle group per workout.
Our Push-Day Workout for Massive Shoulder and Chest Muscles:
Flat Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 8 reps.
Decline Chest Press Machine: 2 sets of 10-12 reps.
Seated Neutral Grip Shoulder Press Machine: 3 sets of 10-12 reps.
Atlantis Lateral Raise Machine: 3 sets of 12-15 reps.
Note: This routine doesn't include a posterior delt exercise because it's often incorporated into back workouts.
Flat Barbell Bench Press 4x8
Today's workout started with my favorite push exercise, the bench press. This compound exercise works your chest, shoulder, and triceps muscles.
Exercise execution:
Starting position: Rerack the weight with your arms straight. Keep your hands shoulder width or slightly wider apart. Keep your back arched, shoulder blades squeezed together, and legs bent to maintain constant tension throughout your body. Inhale and brace before you start lowering the bar.
Movement: Control the bar on the way down until you touch your pecs, then drive up into full extension. Imagine you want the two biceps heads to touch each other at the top of the movement.
Common mistakes:
dropping the bar down too fast and losing tension
forgetting to engage the gluts
allowing the shoulders to move up and down
Doing a close grip bench press that targets the triceps more than the chest
keeping the elbows tucked in instead of at a 45-degree angle
having a short range of motion
Utilizing too wide of a grip then reduces the range of motion.
Soft grip - meaning that your wrist is not in line with your forehands and is bending more than it should during the movement
Decline Chest Press Machine 3x10-12
The 2nd exercise in our push-day workout is the decline chest press machine. This particular Atlantis machine is created so that it allows you to set up different angles depending on your biomechanics. It hits those lower pec fibers so well that your chest wants to explode after 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps.
Exercise execution:
Similar cues as with the bench press and any other upper-body movement
Make sure to keep your shoulder blades squeezed together and chest up, feet in the peg of the machine and keep your hands wider than shoulder width. Push through with a controlled motion and lock your elbows at the top.
Inhale at the top and hold your breath until you are halfway up.
Common mistakes:
Using too much weight, not minding form
Forgetting to engage the gluts,
Breathing incorrectly
Keeping elbows too much tucked in
Utilizing a short range of motion
Bouncing off your chest with explosive reps
Having too wide of a grip then reduces the range of motion
Seated Neutral Grip Shoulder Press Machine 3x10-12
3rd exercise in our chest and shoulder workout is the neutral grip shoulder press. We are not utilizing dumbells because the body is already exhausted from the previous two push-day exercises. We want a movement that is simple to execute but allows us to put a lot of mechanical tension (load) on the target muscle! This is still a compound movement but requires less balancing than a dumbbell press. Neutral grip shoulder press will target the front and mid-delt musculature and the triceps muscle, which is involved in all pushing exercises.
Exercise execution:
Keep your elbows slightly tucked in a while performing the movement
Keep your feet flat and drive them into the ground while driving your upper back into the pad.
Inhale at the top and hold your breath until you are halfway up.
Control the movement and add a slight pause at the bottom for extra tension on the working muscles.
Common mistakes:
Not engaging core and gluts
Forgetting to breathe correctly
Using too much weight and not minding form
Having a short range of motion or too wide of a grip
Flaring your elbows out
Uncontrolled movements and overarching in the back
Atlantis Lateral Raise Machine 3x12-15
4th and last exercise in today's workout belongs to a group of isolation exercises, as it only involves movement at a single joint. This exercise targets the mid-delt muscle and is a far greater shoulder exercise than dumbbell lateral raises simply due to the resistance model it creates. Unlike dumbbells, lateral raises create equal resistance throughout the entire movement, making it a more effective exercise!
Exercise execution:
Keep arms fully extended (triceps should be engaged).
Inhale and only then drive your arms to the side until they are parallel to the floor.
Pause at the top and control the descent.
Keep your feet firmly on the ground.
Common mistakes:
Starting position with a slight elbow bend
Driving the elbows back behind the trunk and keeping them lower than the forearms (engages the anterior deltoids)
Top 5 Favorite Push Exercises:
Dumbbell Incline Chest Press
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Military Press
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Chest Fly Machine
DB Incline chest press
DB Shoulder Press
Military Press
DB Lateral Raise
Chest Fly Machine
Least Favorite Chest Exercise:
The incline bench press can be prone to shoulder injuries if not performed with proper form.
Bodyweight Exercise:
Push-ups are a great way to develop your triceps, chest, and shoulders in a home environment.
Conclusion:
This article provides an overview of a push-day workout for massive chest and shoulder gains. It covers anatomy, biomechanics, common mistakes, and a definition of Minimum Effective Volume (MEV). Push-day workouts are a great way to achieve impressive strength and muscle development, but only when done correctly. Therefore, paying attention to proper form and technique and warming up before each workout is essential. You can achieve your fitness goals with the push-day workout for massive chest and shoulder gains!
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