Let’s be reasonable. Forget that! Let’s be unreasonable. As a matter of fact let’s be very unreasonable! What am I ranting about now, you ask? Well, being reasonable accomplishes mediocrity. Nobody ever accomplished anything great by being reasonable. That’s status-quo, let’s fit-in, don’t-make-waves thinking. To those of us like you and me who are intent on achieving our goals and who have an insatiable desire to succeed, a \”status- quo\” attitude is unthinkable’a fate worse than death. That type of thinking leads to complacency and the acceptance of all the excuses that lead to mediocre accomplishments.
You see, I’d much rather step up to the plate with the unreasonable expectation that I’m going to achieve every goal I set. Come on admit it: If you don’t think this way yet (hey, we even have to develop our mindsets) you probably know someone who does, right? And to your amazement they always seem to come out on top of the world, don’t they?
At the end of the day does the scoreboard say you fought the fight or does it say you sat on the bench? So let’s be unreasonable as we enter the gym to butcher our chest today. Let’s attack the workout with the expectation that we’ll hit it harder and with more intensity than ever in our life. We’re going to achieve our goals for the day and pity the fool who stands in our way.
This is an emergency. My chest is shrinking and I’ve got to get huge!
Let’s get to it’ first exercise, let’s do a pressing movement: Smith machine incline. If you don’t have a Smith machine, incline benches will do, but have a spotter or a safety catch. Now look’no stopping until you can’t do another rep, so tell your spotter NOT to touch the bar until you can’t get it off your chest. Too many spotters start grabbing for the bar when I’m just approaching failure. What’s wrong with these guys?
Do one light warmup set and another medium light. Okay, ready? If you barely squeezed out eleven reps on your last training session, it’s time to be \”unreasonable\” and add weight. Decide you’re getting at least eight and nothing less. Focus. As you wrap your hands around the bar you feel a surge of power that shoots through every cell in your body like electricity. It ignites the spark of determination and starts your engine. You’re going for it. Unrack the bar.
Bring the bar down slow and under control, four seconds down. Now push it up under control, two seconds, Yes! First rep done! Push it again’ squeeze. Now resist it down. Second rep down easy. Focus, push it again. Do it. Yes’no problem. Now resist down, rep three done. Breathe. Keep it going. Push. Keep control. Two seconds up. Okay, resist down, four seconds, rep four done. Take a deep breath. No pausing to rest. Get to rep five. Feel the power of that electrical explosion from head to toe. You’re on fire with power. Yes! Five done. Halfway there. Go six’dig deep, now resist, six done. Breathe. Come on! Stay with it. Do it. Seven. Great! Now’s the time to expect the unreasonable. Give me eight. Come on, eight… Resist. Slow it down, now ram it. Yes! Eight. Okay, go for one more slow, yes okay now ram it. Okay’NOW tell your spotter to help, but make sure you workup. Good, now rack it. You’re on it!
Let’s move on. No rest for the wicked or the unreasonable. For me it’s Leverage Strength decline presses. If you don’t have a machine, no problem, just do dumbbell low declines or flat presses. For declines just put a couple of 2 X 4’s under one end of a flat bench (be sure it’s secure). Put the dumbbells on your quads just above your knees and sit back as you \”kick\” the dumbbells into position. Feel the electricity, imagine flipping a big industrial switch. Be unreasonable’go for eight to twelve reps. Pause for a few breaths. Now squeeze out one more! Great!
Okay, last movement, your choice: cable crossover or low incline dumbbell flyes. Flip that switch and dig in again eight to twelve reps, four seconds down and two seconds up. Make sure you get one more than your last workout after you fail. Pause for a second then go for one more. Give it everything you’ve got plus 20%.
Chest butchered and declared DOA. Eat, rest, recover and grow.
Eyewitness news instant replay:
Smith machine incline presses
or barbell incline presses 2 warm-ups and
1 work set 8-12 reps with one assisted rep or rest pause.
Leverage Strength declines presses
Or dumbbell low declines presses
or dumbbell flat presses
one set 8-12 reps with one assisted rep or rest pause.
Cable crossover flyes
or low incline dumbbell flyes
one set 8-12 reps with one assisted rep or rest pause.
From the IRONMAN Training & Research Team
www.ironmanmagazine.com
The ITRC Training Newsletter is not intended as training advice for everyone. You must consult your physician before beginning any diet or training program. You may forward this email to as many friends as you want, but do not photocopy or reprint this report in any format without the written permission of the copyright holder.
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