On May 14, 2023, Jackson shared a video on his YouTube channel where he walked through an efficient but effective chest workout. For this 54-year-old who clearly makes it a point to keep the elements of his athleticism up — at least, if various training videos on his social media platforms are any indication — it’s a worthy insight into the process of an icon.

Jackson’s chest routine does not necessarily reinvent the wheel. Nor is it a comprehensive workout from top to bottom. What is clear from the way the retired athlete lays every movement is that extensiveness isn’t the central focus. It might be more about efficiency and complete upper-body development. Note: Jackson did not disclose the precise weight for each portion of his workout.

Here’s an overview of Jackson’s complete chest workout on a set and repetitions basis:

Dexter Jackson Chest Workout | YouTube Channel May 2023

• Hammer Isolation Flat Bench Press (Four sets of 10 reps)
• Machine Incline Chest Press (Four sets of 10 reps)
• Arsenal Incline Flye (Four sets of 10 reps)
• Decline Cable Flye (Four sets of 10 reps)

Here’s a short breakdown of each chest exercise Jackson performed through the workout.

Hammer Isolation Flat Bench Press

Jackson begins his workout by jumping in with the hammer isolation flat bench press, a compound movement. Like with several exercises used in his overall workout, Jackson performs the movement on a plate-loaded machine. Jackson performs four sets with gradually heavier weights and views this bench press on the machine as a means to help balance his strength.

Machine Incline Chest Press

In a seamless transition, Jackson next performs some chest presses on an incline machine. The athlete again works through four sets of high repetitions, centering on endurance and tone. It is here where Jackson talks up the benefits of working out on machines, especially in easing joint pain for a retired athlete like him.

“All the free weight stuff with heavy weights that I used to do, really, really tore my joints up,” Jackson explained. “So if you guys got joint pain and you’re looking to ease the pain, make sure you try and do some more machine work. That’ll take a lot of stress off the joints versus free weights.”

Arsenal Strength Incline Flye

In the interest of further developing his upper chest musculature, Jackson next performs a few high-rep sets of incline flyes on an arsenal strength machine. These also had the added benefit of pushing his biceps muscles to stabilize the weight during the movement.

Decline Cable Flye

To conclude his workout, Jackson finishes with another chest flye variation, this time at a cable station while moving his arms in a low-to-high angle which Jackson referred to as a” at a “decline cable flye.” As the name suggests, this aimed to make sure each part of Jackson’s chest muscles had appropriate attention, in this case, the lower portion.

Toward the end of the video, Jackson inserted an old clip of himself performing an 183-kilogram (405-pound) bench press for eight repetitions, filmed during his contest preparation for the 2000 Mr. Olympia where he eventually placed ninth.

These days, even though he isn’t competing at the high and prolific level of his professional bodybuilding days, it’s apparent Jackson still puts his fitness at a premium. For an older character like him, it also seems clear he’s eager to leave the ladder behind him and reward others with his workout knowledge.

Featured image: Dexter Jackson on YouTube

The post Dexter Jackson Rips His Chest Up With This Efficient Workout appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

On Oct. 14, 2022, Bonac posted a video to his YouTube channel where he quickly shredded up his chest as part of his formal prep for the 2022 Mr. Olympia on Dec. 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. With the athlete seeking to capture his first-ever title at the prestigious contest, it seems he’s pulling out all the stops.

[Related: 4 Workouts with a Single Dumbbell for Muscle, Fat Loss, and More]

Here’s a quick overview of Bonac’s recent “Olympia prep” chest workout.

Cable Crossover

Bonac begins his routine with some cable crossovers. He warms up for a set before putting the pedal to the metal. Notably, Bonac doesn’t actually cross the cables in a downward motion but straight ahead across his chest.

Smith Machine Incline

For the next segment of his workout, Bonac performs an incline bench press on a Smith machine. The bodybuilder clarifies that he appreciates the incline movement more because he thinks it helps balance his physique well.

“I do [incline] because it’s for my upper chest,” Bonac explains. “I do them because mine is undeveloped. It doesn’t match with the total of my chest. I need to bring it up more. When you train chest, you need to hit it from every angle, you understand. I want the ball over here [directs to chest] so that I can put a glass on it. I use most of my strength and energy for the incline.”

Smith Machine Flat Bench Press

Following the incline press, Bonac stays in the Smith machine and lowers the bench to a flat setting for a classic bench press. The hard-training lifter explains that performing multiple exercises in one machine is a time-saving strategy.

Smith Machine Decline Bench Press

After appropriately working the upper and middle parts of his chest, Bonac quickly shifts to giving his lower chest some attention with some sets of a decline bench press on the Smith machine. For Bonac, he appears to appreciate cycling through slight variations of these different chest exercises.

Standing Machine Chest Fly

After moving on from the Smith machine, Bonac performs a few sets of pectoral flys on a standing chest machine.

Diamond Push-Ups

To close his workout, Bonac elects to rep out some diamond push-ups — a more challenging variation of the traditional push-up, where an athlete’s hands come together to form a diamond shape. This last piece for Bonac appears to be more about getting a quality pump rather than pushing himself to the limit. Especially since he apparently finished this workout with limited pain.

“Normally, when I train my chest, I have a lot of pain and joint pain in my elbows,” Bonac said. “At this moment, since I started my off-season prep, I don’t have any issues with that anymore. I’m pretty happy with that.”

 

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[Related: How to Do the Inverted Row — Benefits, Variations, and More]

Bonac faces tall odds to topple two-time reigning champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay for his first-ever Mr. Olympia title. However, with a physique hovering around 265 pounds from his last check-in of the offseason, along with this taxing chest workout — Bonac might be in a prime position for an upstart performance on the Las Vegas stage.

Featured image: @william_bonac on Instagram

The post William Bonac Tears Up His Chest With a Rigorous Pre-Olympia Routine appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

[Related: How to Do the Dumbbell Bench Press for a Bigger, Stronger Chest]

While he’s hard at work preparing for the Olympia, Lunsford sits in a fascinating position. 

In a mid-July production of OlympiaTV on YouTube, Chief Olympia Officer Dan Solomon suggested that the reigning 212 Olympia champion is “nowhere near 212 [pounds] at this point.” If that is the case, Lunsford will have to potentially join a fellow 212 peer in Kamal Elgargni and make the leap to the Men’s Open division at December’s prestigious contest. (At the time of this writing, Lunsford has not addressed Solomon’s comments, and it is not clear which division he’ll compete in.)

That development would track with what Lunsford’s coach, Hany Rambod, alluded to in a May 2022 episode on his YouTube channel. When discussing Lunsford staying in the 212 category at the Olympia, Rambod said, “It’s going to be difficult, it’s super difficult.”

Notably, Lunsford did step in at the last minute for two-time reigning Mr. Olympia Mamdouh Elssbiay (2020-2021) to guest pose during the 2022 Pittsburgh Pro in May — and was alongside fellow Men’s Open athletes such as Brandon Curry, Hunter Labrada, and Nick Walker. However, with that being a last-minute decision, Lunsford apparently had less preparation for the guest pose than in an official competition.  

Whatever division Lunsford does end up competing in December, it doesn’t seem like he’ll have much of an issue with his mass-building and conditioning. If this multifaceted chest routine says anything — he’ll be ready for any obstacle ahead. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Derek Lunsford (@dereklunsford_)

[Related: The Best Sled Workouts For Muscle, Strength, Fat Loss, And Recovery]

Here’s an overview of Lunsford’s latest chest workout:

Incline Machine Chest Press

Before he dives head-on into his full workout, Lunsford warms up with a few sets on an incline chest press machine. Lunsford stresses this portion isn’t meant to be anything strenuous. It’s more about preparing his chest muscles. 

“I’m just going to do these two sets to get the blood flowing,” Lunsford says. “Just to get a deep stretch in my chest and prepare myself before I go and do the dumbbell presses. This is just purely a warm-up. This isn’t an exercise I count.”

Incline Dumbbell Press

Lunsford’s first “real” working sets focus on heavy weights and low reps with an incline dumbbell press. He begins with 70-pound dumbbells before closing with 150-pounders and 18 reps on his last set. 

“I’m trying to keep the reps 10 to 12 right now,” Lunsford notes. “I have a bad habit of doing like 12 to 15. I’m really trying to make sure that if I want to gain strength.”

Plate-Loaded Chest Fly

Once Lunsford powers through his heavy weight, low-rep incline dumbbell press, he quickly transitions to powering through some chest flyes on a plate-loaded fly machine. The bodybuilder appears to have one 45-pound plate adorned on both sides. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cable Chest Fly

Lunsford complements his machine flyes with the cable version of the exercise. The athlete emphasizes that positioning the cables and his elbows is paramount to an upper chest focus with this movement. 

“We want to keep the cables high, about shoulder high, or maybe a little above,” Lunsford starts. “And keep the elbows high and arms high and hit the upper chest. It’s a little different from what we did on the plate-loaded flye.”

Chest Dips

After challenging his upper chest, Lunsford next takes to some chest dips. These vary from tricep dips in that leaning forward focuses more on the chest muscles while a straight torso position emphasizes the triceps.

Sometimes, with exercises like these, I go a little too fast. I really gotta slow it down. It felt good.

Cable Chest Fly

As Lunsford moves to close the workout, his lower chest muscles are next on the agenda with cables. This time around, he slightly lowers his arms and has them pointed toward the floor to work the lower part of his pectorals. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Derek Lunsford (@dereklunsford_)

[Related: How To Do The Triceps Pushdown For Bigger Arms]

Machine Chest Press

Lunsford’s chest workout comes full circle on the standard machine chest press. With it being the end of his chest routine, Lunsford notes that this final segment is more about stretching his muscles to help build flexibility and strength. 

“I’m trying to get as big of a stretch I can get on this too because, as I said, this is about building strength and size,” Lunsford says. If you don’t have a good range of motion or flexibility, then I would recommend you guys really make that a priority in your training too.”

Leg Raise

Like the recent workout of another elite bodybuilder, Chris Bumstead, Lunsford decides to throw in some leg raises to crunch and stretch out his abs.  

“I’m kind of stretching here, opening up my chest, and on the way down, I’m crunching,” Lunsford explains. “At the same time, I’m bringing my legs up. It’s one of my favorite ab exercises.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Related: Two-A-Day Workouts Explained: Better Results Without Overtraining]

Lunsford’s Road Ahead 

The coming months could be significant for Lunsford’s bodybuilding career. If he does stick around in the 212 division, he will go for a second straight title at the Olympia in December. If he makes the transition to the Men’s Open class official, it wouldn’t be a stretch to consider him a viable contender to stand on the podium. 

The 2022 Mr. Olympia will occur on December 16-18 in Las Vegas, NV. 

The post Derek Lunsford Pushes to the Limit With Rigorous Chest Workout appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

On July 6, 2022, Hemsworth used his Instagram profile to share a peek at a workout that helped build his massive chest for the new film Thor: Love and Thunder. The film will be officially released in the United States on July 8, 2022.

 

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Hemsworth is most famous for his part as Thor, but he has starred in several action films throughout his career. Some of them — including a remake of Red Dawn and Netflix’s recent Extraction — have necessitated that the actor maintains his strength and fitness as he moves from project to project.

This specific chest workout is part Hemsworth showing what it takes to look shredded on the silver screen and part promotion for his fitness application, Centr. In between his acting work, the 38-year-old Hemsworth started the app as a way to share advice on how other people can take care of their fitness in the gym and the kitchen. He also says he uses the app to help him streamline his workout process for his roles.

Hemsworth’s Intensity

Hemsworth doesn’t waste any time diving into the session at full steam ahead. It’s apparent that this routine will feature a lot of intensity.

“We’re about to roll into a heavy chest workout, lots of yelling, lots of screaming,” Hemsworth says. “I don’t care where you are.  Whether you’re at home, on a bus, on a train, or on a plane, I want to hear you yelling! So move it, get involved!”

Hemsworth’s Chest Workout

Hemsworth performed four movements one after the other for four total rounds. This large grouping of exercise is known as a giant set, and it’s a known way to pack a lot of volume (16 sets in this case) into a short amount of time.

The primary and only advice Hemsworth provides for this routine, aside from short clips of demonstrations, is to take a one-minute rest between each round for recovery. It seems Hemsworth may have taken his words to heart as the actor operates at a fast, energetic pace in the footage.

• Incline Chest Press: 4 x 12
• Seated Chest Press: 4 x 12
• Cable Flyes: 4 x 12
• Wide-Arm Push-up: 4 x 10

 

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[Related: The Best Shoulder Workouts For More Muscle, For Strength, For Beginners, And More]

The gym isn’t the only place Hemsworth went hard for his latest portrayal of Thor. According to Men’s Health, Hemsworth’s trainer Luke Zocchi said the actor ate up to 10 meals a day during filming in 2021 to build enough muscle mass for the role. Given the sample size of Hemsworth’s past work, it’s likely that dedication and diligence paid off.

Hemsworth will reveal his chest and the latest iteration of his stacked build in Thor: Love and Thunder on July 8, 2022.

Featured image: @chrishemsworth on Instagram

The post Actor Chris Hemsworth Shares Chest Workout Fit for a Norse God appeared first on Breaking Muscle.