Quote of the day:
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
-Thomas Edison
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Showing posts with label Build Chest/Tris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Build Chest/Tris. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Day 325 - Body Beast Final Results
Quote of the day:
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
-Thomas Edison
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Day 316 - Body Beast Days 64-70
Quote of the day:
"Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them."
-Author Unknown
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Day 277 - Body Beast Build: Chest/Tris Complete Review
Welcome to Body Beast, Beachbody's hypertrophy, or mass-gaining program. The first workout in the standard schedule is Build: Chest/Tris
Initial Thoughts
My chest has always been a trouble spot for me for building mass, so I was excited to give this one a shot. Not only that, but if you are at all familiar with Beachbody's other workout programs like P90X, Insanity, P90X2, Asylum, etc., many of those programs mainly use pushups for chest exercises. This workout breaks that mold and uses dumbbells to Beast your chest up.
Equipment Needed
Dumbbells
Bench or Stability ball (I highly recommend getting yourself a bench)
I like having a towel nearby to dry off my hands when resistance training
Worksheets are very important in these workouts, as with any exercise program. With the Beast, you are really aiming to stick to very specific rep counts for a reason, so you will want to make sure you make intelligent weight selections.
Pros
This may be an introduction into old-school weightlifting for a lot of folks, which may be a great change of pace and a breath of fresh air.
The advantages to having these workouts on DVD, is that the pacing is set up for you. All of the breaks are timed for a specific reason to target a metabolic demand in your muscles and increase the likelihood of hypertrophy, or muscular growth.
The trainer Sagi can be pretty motivating at times, and the music is pretty awesome as well, if you are into "rock" music.
Cons
The warmup and cool down is VERY short and almost non-existent. For those of you coming off of P90X, P90X2, or Insanity need to remember that this is a bodybuilding program. The actions themselves are (for the most part) intended to warm the muscles and stretch them through their full range of motion.
Not only that, but nearly every exercise starts with a set of 15 reps. This is a great way to get blood flowing to the muscles and prepping them for the higher-weight sets.
Having said all of that, the cool down and stretch is not very good at all. I find not only the duration, but also the stretch selection to be very poor. I usually just perform stretches on my own based on my own knowledge.
Also, I can see Sagi and the cast being a bit 'much' for some of you out there. I don't mind their attitudes and nature, but I also don't mind Tony Horton either, and I know how much he gets on other people's nerves.
Difficulty
I will touch on this later in the review in the "Advice" section, but just let me say now that weight selection is absolutely VITAL to your success in this program. I believe your weight selection in this program is even more important to your success than something like P90X.
Having said that, once you reach a point where your weight choices are spot-on and you are hitting your 'max' on the last few reps of every set, this routine will have you whimpering by the end! The pacing, structure, and exercise selection is great in my opinion at hitting the chest and triceps hard!
The first few times I did this routine, I had to do some of the pushup sets on my knees. I can't remember the last time I was forced to doing pushups on my knees...
5/5
Workout Design
For those of you who are familiar with the P90X/P90X2 workout structure, you will enjoy the change of pace here. Rather than doing 20 straight sets of exercise, or 10 sets repeated, Body Beast uses what is known as "Dynamic Set Training". This workout uses a combination of Single Sets, Super Sets, and Giant Sets.
Single Sets are single exercises, completed with various repetition goals. For example, you will do a flat dumbbell chest press for 15 reps, a quick break, repeat with a goal of 12 repetitions, one more quick break, and then one more set with a goal of 8 repetitions.
Single sets tend to finish off with a "Drop Set", which is where you do 8 reps with one weight, then drop down in resistance by a bit, and do 8 more reps. A lot of these principles are not re-inventing the wheel by any means, but are using old school bodybuilding techniques.
Super Sets are two exercises done back-to-back, also in a progressive manner. So for example, you may do an incline chest fly for 15 reps, immediately followed by an incline chest press for 15 reps. A quick break, then repeat the 2 for 12 reps similar to what you see in a single set.
Giant sets are the same as Super Sets, but with 3 exercises back-to-back-to-back instead of 2.
The workout progresses through working the chest for the first half of the workout, followed by triceps work for the 2nd half. Warmup, cooldown, and a crushing workout to both your chest and triceps all, in under 50 mins!
4.5/5
Advice
Weight selection is absolutely the most important factor for the Body Beast program.
There is a very specific reason to the breakdown and structure of the workouts. By aiming for 15, 12, and 8 rep sets, with little break in between, you are not only trying to create a very specific demand within your muscles, but you are also maximizing your muscles' potential with less overall resistance needed.
On a good day, I can curl 45-50lbs for 8 reps, for example. In Body Beast, the bicep curl sets, I struggle to hit 8 reps with 35lbs!
Luckily, as I progress through the program, you all can follow my videos and progress and can use me to help you with the program as well.
Overall Score
A great start to Body Beast, and a great workout for your Chest and Triceps. A few minor problems here and there, including a poor cool-down and stretch, but overall a great workout that gets you in an old-school weightlifting sort of mood.
9.5/10
Quote of the day:
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
My chest has always been a trouble spot for me for building mass, so I was excited to give this one a shot. Not only that, but if you are at all familiar with Beachbody's other workout programs like P90X, Insanity, P90X2, Asylum, etc., many of those programs mainly use pushups for chest exercises. This workout breaks that mold and uses dumbbells to Beast your chest up.
Equipment Needed
Dumbbells
Bench or Stability ball (I highly recommend getting yourself a bench)
I like having a towel nearby to dry off my hands when resistance training
Worksheets are very important in these workouts, as with any exercise program. With the Beast, you are really aiming to stick to very specific rep counts for a reason, so you will want to make sure you make intelligent weight selections.
Pros
This may be an introduction into old-school weightlifting for a lot of folks, which may be a great change of pace and a breath of fresh air.
The advantages to having these workouts on DVD, is that the pacing is set up for you. All of the breaks are timed for a specific reason to target a metabolic demand in your muscles and increase the likelihood of hypertrophy, or muscular growth.
The trainer Sagi can be pretty motivating at times, and the music is pretty awesome as well, if you are into "rock" music.
Cons
The warmup and cool down is VERY short and almost non-existent. For those of you coming off of P90X, P90X2, or Insanity need to remember that this is a bodybuilding program. The actions themselves are (for the most part) intended to warm the muscles and stretch them through their full range of motion.
Not only that, but nearly every exercise starts with a set of 15 reps. This is a great way to get blood flowing to the muscles and prepping them for the higher-weight sets.
Having said all of that, the cool down and stretch is not very good at all. I find not only the duration, but also the stretch selection to be very poor. I usually just perform stretches on my own based on my own knowledge.
Also, I can see Sagi and the cast being a bit 'much' for some of you out there. I don't mind their attitudes and nature, but I also don't mind Tony Horton either, and I know how much he gets on other people's nerves.
Difficulty
I will touch on this later in the review in the "Advice" section, but just let me say now that weight selection is absolutely VITAL to your success in this program. I believe your weight selection in this program is even more important to your success than something like P90X.
Having said that, once you reach a point where your weight choices are spot-on and you are hitting your 'max' on the last few reps of every set, this routine will have you whimpering by the end! The pacing, structure, and exercise selection is great in my opinion at hitting the chest and triceps hard!
The first few times I did this routine, I had to do some of the pushup sets on my knees. I can't remember the last time I was forced to doing pushups on my knees...
5/5
Workout Design
For those of you who are familiar with the P90X/P90X2 workout structure, you will enjoy the change of pace here. Rather than doing 20 straight sets of exercise, or 10 sets repeated, Body Beast uses what is known as "Dynamic Set Training". This workout uses a combination of Single Sets, Super Sets, and Giant Sets.
Single Sets are single exercises, completed with various repetition goals. For example, you will do a flat dumbbell chest press for 15 reps, a quick break, repeat with a goal of 12 repetitions, one more quick break, and then one more set with a goal of 8 repetitions.
Single sets tend to finish off with a "Drop Set", which is where you do 8 reps with one weight, then drop down in resistance by a bit, and do 8 more reps. A lot of these principles are not re-inventing the wheel by any means, but are using old school bodybuilding techniques.
Super Sets are two exercises done back-to-back, also in a progressive manner. So for example, you may do an incline chest fly for 15 reps, immediately followed by an incline chest press for 15 reps. A quick break, then repeat the 2 for 12 reps similar to what you see in a single set.
Giant sets are the same as Super Sets, but with 3 exercises back-to-back-to-back instead of 2.
The workout progresses through working the chest for the first half of the workout, followed by triceps work for the 2nd half. Warmup, cooldown, and a crushing workout to both your chest and triceps all, in under 50 mins!
4.5/5
Advice
Weight selection is absolutely the most important factor for the Body Beast program.
There is a very specific reason to the breakdown and structure of the workouts. By aiming for 15, 12, and 8 rep sets, with little break in between, you are not only trying to create a very specific demand within your muscles, but you are also maximizing your muscles' potential with less overall resistance needed.
On a good day, I can curl 45-50lbs for 8 reps, for example. In Body Beast, the bicep curl sets, I struggle to hit 8 reps with 35lbs!
Luckily, as I progress through the program, you all can follow my videos and progress and can use me to help you with the program as well.
Overall Score
A great start to Body Beast, and a great workout for your Chest and Triceps. A few minor problems here and there, including a poor cool-down and stretch, but overall a great workout that gets you in an old-school weightlifting sort of mood.
9.5/10
Quote of the day:
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
~ Aristotle
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Friday, January 11, 2013
Day 265 - Body Beast Days 17-21
Quote of the day:
"The best motivating is self-motivating.The guy says,"I wish someone would come by and turn me on."What if they don’t show up?You’ve got to have a better plan for your life."
~ Jim Rohn
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Monday, January 7, 2013
Day 261 - Body Beast Build: Chest/Tris "Build Phase" Progress
Below is the improvement I saw on Build: Chest/Tris throughout the "Build" phase of Body Beast. I am quite happy with how I progressed in this first phase!
Dumbbell Chest Press
Day 1
15 reps - 2x30lbs
12 reps - 2x40lbs
8 reps - 2x50lbs
8 reps - 2x40lbs
Day 17
15 reps - 2x30lbs
12 reps - 2x40lbs
8 reps - 2x60lbs
8 reps - 2x45lbs
Incline Dumbbell Fly
Day 1
15 reps - 2x20lbs
12 reps - 2x25lbs
8 reps - 2x30lbs
Day 17
15 reps - 2x25lbs
12 reps - 2x30lbs
8 reps - 2x30lbs
Incline Dumbbell Press
Day 1
15 reps - 2x25lbs
12 reps - 2x30lbs
8 reps - 2x35lbs
8 reps - 2x25lbs
Day 17
15 reps - 2x30lbs
12 reps - 2x35lbs
8 reps - 2x45lbs
8 reps - 2x35lbs
Close Grip Press
Day 1
15 reps - 2x20lbs
12 reps - 2x25lbs
8 reps - 2x30lbs
Day 17
15 reps - 2x25lbs
12 reps - 2x30lbs
8 reps - 2x40lbs
Partial Chest Fly
Day 1
15 reps - 2x20lbs
12 reps - 2x20lbs
8 reps - 2x25lbs (7 reps)
Day 17
15 reps - 2x20lbs
12 reps - 2x25lbs
8 reps - 2x25lbs
Decline Pushups
Day 1
8 reps
8 reps
6 reps
Day 17
15 reps
12 reps
8 reps
Tricep Extensions
Day 1
15 reps - 2x15lbs
12 reps - 2x20lbs
8 reps - 2x25lbs
8 reps - 2x20lbs (6 reps)
Day 17
15 reps - 2x20lbs
12 reps - 2x25lbs
8 reps - 2x35lbs
8 reps - 2x25lbs
Single Arm Kickbacks
Day 1
15 reps - 10lbs
12 reps - 15lbs
8 reps - 20lbs
8 reps - 15lbs
Day 17
15 reps - 20lbs
12 reps - 25lbs
8 reps - 30lbs
8 reps - 25lbs
Tricep Pushups
Day 1
15 reps (on knees)
12 reps (on knees)
8 reps (on knees)
Day 17
15 reps
12 reps
8 reps
Dips on Bench
Day 1
10 reps, break, 5 reps
Day 17
35 reps, break, 15 reps
In & Outs (I did crunchy frogs on bench)
Day 1
30 reps
Day 17
60 reps
I also focused on perfect form throughout the routine, every week. My strength went up in most areas, but the most improvement is seen in my stamina. I was able to keep (or improve) my strength throughout the routine every session.
Quote of the day:
"Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you."
~ Anonymous
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Day 260 - Body Beast Days 12-15
Quote of the day:
"I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big."
~ Donald Trump
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Monday, December 31, 2012
Day 254 - Body Beast Days 7-10
Quote of the day:
"Positive thinking won’t let you do anything but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will."
~ Zig Ziglar
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com
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