Push Day Workout With Team Fortius: Get Massive Chest and Shoulder Gains With Our Science-Based Gym Routine!
Welcome to Push Day at Fortius Dubai! Push day is the day we focus on the chest and shoulder muscles; these are two of the most popular body parts that people target in their workouts. Push days are an excellent way to build strength, power, and size, and we'll be taking you through all the basics today so you can hit those gains.
Chest and shoulder anatomy and biomechanics
The chest muscle has three distinct sections or origin points:
Clavicular Head - originates on the clavicle (collarbone) and inserts onto the upper arm
Sternal Head - originates on the sternum (breastbone) and inserts onto the upper arm
Costal Head - originates on the ribs and inserts onto the upper arms
The primary function of the chest muscle is to move the arms across the body, to move them up and down, and to perform adduction and rotation. In simple terms, you use your chest muscles to push objects away from you.
When we talk about the shoulder muscles, we usually think about the deltoid muscles; however, you can also include the traps and rotator cuff muscles if you want to cover that entire region.
The deltoid consists of 3 distinct heads:
anterior (front)
The origin of the anterior deltoid is the clavicle (collarbone) and inserts onto the humerus (upper arm).
The primary function of this Head is to raise your arm, like reaching for something on your shelf.
middle (side)
The middle deltoid originates at the scapula (shoulder blade) and inserts onto the humerus (upper arm).
The function of this Head is to abduct your arm, which means to move it away from the body.
posterior (back)
The posterior deltoid originates at the scapula (shoulder blade) and inserts onto the humerus (upper arm). The primary function of this Head is to bring your arm back, like when doing a back-row or a reverse fly.
As you can see, each of these heads plays a role in shoulder movement allowing your arms to move in various directions, allowing for strenuous upper body movements.
Which upper body muscles should you train first in your workouts?
There is no formula or one correct answer for the above, but I will provide guidelines to help you make the right choice based on your specific goal. If you have a lagging body part, do this! These tips will allow you to curate effective push-day workouts that will result in some serious muscle gains:
If you have a lagging body part, do this!
If your posterior delt is non-existent, train it first while you have the most focus and your body is fresh and ready to do some high-quality work if your shoulders are underdeveloped compared to your chest no need to start your routine with a flat bench press or push-ups.
If you want to improve your physique quickly, dramatically do this!
Focus on prioritizing big muscle groups and compound movements first. If you want to prioritize pec growth, use one of the following exercises as your main lift: bench press, incline bench press, incline dumbbell bench press, or flat DB chest press. There is no need to use 2-3 of the compound movements above in the same routine; instead, split it into two weekly workouts.
If you have a poor muscle-mind connection, do this!
Let's say you want to do a chest and shoulder workout and have difficulty feeling your pecs while executing your main lifts. In that case, start with a couple of sets on the pec deck machine or by utilizing the cable machine. Once you feel that you have enough blood in the working muscle, you can finish it with a compound movement. That will help you achieve better muscle hypertrophy.
If you train the same muscle groups twice per week, do this!
In the first session of the week, prioritize one muscle group by going heavy low rep on the chest, for example, while doing lighter and higher rep ranges on the shoulders, then end of the week, repeat the same routine in reverse.
How to program your workout to maximize muscle growth for upper-body muscle groups (chest and shoulders)?
Again programming your workout will depend on multiple factors:
training experience
training frequency
your ability to recover from training (food intake, sleep quality and quantity, and stress management)
Still, there are some general guidelines that I can provide that will help you program your push-day workout no matter what your training level or frequency is at the moment:
The minimum effective volume per muscle group per week is 3-4 working sets (beginners) up to 4-6 working sets (intermediate and advanced lifters).
Total volume per workout should be at most 16-18 working sets, no matter whether you are a beginner or advanced trainee. If you can handle more volume, you probably need to work harder.
When calculating volume, pay attention to the fact that some muscle groups are involved in various movements if you are doing a row for the back; if it's a high row with a slightly wider grip, you are working your posterior delt, so you need to account for it in your overall weekly training volume when calculating your sets for your rear delt.
What does minimum effective volume (MEV) in training mean?
Minimum Effective Volume (MEV) is the least amount of exercise volume needed to achieve desired results. It is based on the individual and their ability to handle physical stress and the goal they are trying to reach. MEV may vary from person to person and depends on various factors such as age, gender, genetics, and lifestyle.
Here it is, our push-day workout for massive shoulder and chest muscles!
Exercises:
Flat Barbell Bench Press 4x8
Decline Chest Press Machine 3x10-12
Neutral Grip Shoulder Press Machine 3x10-12
Atlantis Lateral Raises 3x12-15
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 hands shoulder width or slightly wider apart. Keep your back arched, shoulder blades squeezed together, and your 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)
I did not include a posterior delt exercise in this push-day workout routine for the following reason!
I will train them during my back workout routine as I do some upper back rows and then add a reverse fly machine or cross cable reverse flies. You can easily add one of these movements to your push-day training, but I prefer to train my posterior delts in conjunction with other pulling exercises.
Top 5 favorite push exercises that should be a part of your current of future training programs.
DB Incline chest press
DB Shoulder Press
Military Press
DB Lateral Raise
Chest Fly Machine
My least favorite chest exercise is the incline bench press due to high injury rates. This movement is very popular amongst upper body exercises and targets the upper chest muscles. It is a great movement for developing explosive power in the upper body, pushing muscles. However, you can get the same benefits from dumbbell presses and other chest exercises.
My favorite bodyweight exercise is the push-ups which is a great way to develop your triceps, chest and shoulders in a home environment.
Sign up for our online or personal training programs and gain access to our expert coaches, who'll create a personalized workout routine tailored specifically to you! With their help, you can learn how to optimize your sets, reps, and exercises for maximum results. Take charge of your fitness today and become our next top body transformation!
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Conclusion
This article provides an overview of the Push-Day Workout for massive chest and shoulder gains. It covers the anatomy, biomechanics, common mistakes associated with each exercise, and a definition of Minimum Effective Volume (MEV). Push-day workouts provide 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 important. With the Push-Day Workout for massive chest and shoulder gains, you can go ahead and achieve your fitness goals! Visit www.fortiusdubai for more information on personal, online training and nutrition coaching! Join our YouTube channel for more amazing videos. Click here to subscribe!
Have a great day!
Stay Strong #BeFortius
