Building Massive Pecs | Jose, Kevin & Sami Show You How
Building Massive Pecs
Jose Raymond, Kevin English & Sami Al Haddad Show You How
What was your early chest training like? Looking back, were you doing things right? What exercises did you focus on? Did you gain size and strength equally, or one more so than the other?
Kevin: I started wrestling at the age of 8, and I figured push-ups would help me get stronger for that. I used to do 100 push-ups every morning right out of bed, and I couldn’t eat breakfast until I did them all. I did another 100 before I went to sleep, same thing— wouldn’t let myself go to bed until they were done. Over time, I increased that to 500 and 500! I am sure all those push-ups set the very first foundation for my chest training. At age 12, I asked for my first weight set for Christmas. It was only 20 pounds, so I had to do hundreds of reps of bench presses and curls. A couple of years later I upgraded to a 100-pound set that I used to use every morning. My dad had been lifting himself for years, so I was lucky enough to have him show me proper form. I never put extra emphasis on chest training like a lot of kids do, but it responded better than everything else. It actually overpowered the rest of my physique for a long time. (Originally published in the November 2012 edition of MD Magazine)
Sami: Back in the day, I used to train on all the basics. I didn’t really understand true intensity yet, and wasn’t aware that the chest needs to be hit from many angles. I was lucky, because not long after that I was trained by the best trainer in Bahrain. He saved me from making a lot of mistakes that my friends and other guys I saw in the gym made. I fell in love with the bench press from day one and always gave it my best effort. I wasn’t so worried about how much I could lift. I was more about the pump and feeling the fibers working. Fortunately, it worked very well. Unlike most other young guys, I gained size before strength in my chest. Even today, guys come up to me and ask me why it is that they lift more weight than me on chest exercises, but my chest is so much bigger and better. I try to explain that it’s because I focus on the muscle. My reps are slow, I use a full range of motion, and how much weight I use is the last thing on my mind. I learned that early on, and it’s served me well.
Jose: I had my older brother Tito to guide me, but back then I trained for football. I did the flat bench, incline bench and a lot of push presses. At the end of our summer training, we had a bench press test. I did 315 at the age of 14 in my sophomore year of high school, and by senior year I was doing 350. I actually did 330 with a pause in a bench meet when I was 17. Strength came first for a couple of reasons. Number one, my genetics were geared more toward power. But mainly, I had no concept of the mind-muscle connection, and in fact I wasn’t even concerned about building the chest muscles. Even when I got into bodybuilding, I found that my shoulders and arms grew much easier than my chest, and they do to this day.
In what ways has your chest training changed over the years?
Kevin: For many years, I was a creature of habit in the gym. I did the same exercises and rep ranges for chest and really had no reason to change, because it kept growing. Like everybody else, I heard how you should mix things up, but I honestly never felt stagnant with my workouts. But once I started training with Dr. Michael Camp and began training in a more periodized way, everything started responding better, including my chest. Now I don’t always go heavy. There are weeks where I focus on power, and other weeks where I do more reps and techniques like supersets. I think as any bodybuilder gets to the point where they’ve been training for many years, this just makes more sense.
Sami: In Bahrain, the gyms were very simple and basic when I started training. Only, I would say, in the last 12 -14 years or so have bigger, more modern gyms opened up that have more machines as well as free weights. I will always use barbells and dumbbells, but machines hit the muscles more directly and in my opinion also save you training time in the gym. But my chest training is still all free weights for the most part. I wouldn’t say much has changed about it over the years, except that I rest less between sets now, 45 seconds max. I like to keep a faster pace for a better pump.
Jose: My first priority now, aside from making gains, is to remain injury-free and as pain-free as possible. I warm up a ton, and I always do a few good sets of a flye motion like cable crossovers to pre-fatigue the pecs so I don’t have to go as heavy, and my chest gets more of the work. I won’t even think about doing a heavy set of presses now until everything feels warm, full and tight, especially all the assisting muscles. I get more out of less weight, too. Most of the time I do 315 on incline barbell presses, for example, going slow and even pausing reps at the bottom. I could easily use 365 or even get a few good reps with 405, but what’s that going to do for my chest? It sure didn’t give me the thick pecs I wanted, and it’s not kind to the joints. After 25 years of training, you start thinking more about your joints— mainly because they hurt most of the time.
Are you happy with your chest right now? If not, what would you like to improve about it?
Kevin: It’s a strong body part, but I always want to make it better. Otherwise, why am I training? At the same time, I don’t want to overpower other body parts. This isn’t a chest contest— it’s a physique contest. I still would like more upper chest thickness. I think back to pictures of guys like Bertil Fox and Vic Richards, and their chests were just incredibly thick from top to bottom.
Sami: Yes, I am very happy with my chest, as it’s one of my best body parts. The size was always good, but I used to have a problem getting the deep cuts in it during the contest prep. With the help of George Farah, we sorted out the problem and it looks amazing now, if I must say so myself.
Jose: I want much more 3-D density and detail. When I hit a front lat spread, I want lines to splinter though my chest. If my chest is never going to be the biggest, it’s gonna be hard as nails. That’s how I look at it. I need to play to my strengths, and that’s granite-hard, oak-looking muscle. You’ll forget how relatively small it is once you see how hard it is.
During the photo shoot for this article, did you feel any pressure to go extra heavy to outdo the other two guys?
Kevin: The shoot was a lot of fun. Jose and me are good friends, and we don’t get to see too much of each other. It was also very cool to meet Sami, such a gentleman. It wasn’t about the workout for me— it was all about the camaraderie. As far as going heavy, I’m strong in some exercises and not so much in others. I know my limits. Jose is a freak when it comes to strength. You look at his bone structure, the thickness of his wrists and how big his hands are, and you can see he’s built for raw power. So I went as heavy as I was comfortable with, and had no problem letting Jose handle all the sickeningly heavy weights. As a rule, I never go too heavy at photo shoots right after a show. That’s when you’re most susceptible to injury, because your body fat is so low and you’re usually still dehydrated. Yeah, it might look impressive to use a lot of weight in the pictures, but is it worth tearing a muscle? Not to me. I’m in this to keep training and winning.
Sami: I am always frank and honest. To say the truth, Jose Raymond is a beast! I couldn’t keep up with him if I tried. I am known for high volume and high intensity training, but not heavy poundage. Jose has it all, and I learned a lot from him and Kevin English during the photo shoot. It was amazing hanging out with them. They are both true champions, and I look forward to competing with them for years to come.
Jose: I put the pressure on myself. We were all fired up that day, almost like three teenage kids in the gym showing off for the cameras. Kevin wasn’t feeling well, and Sami doesn’t train very heavy anyway. I’m the beast of the group, and Per always pushes me to the limit. He knows from that leg workout we shot a couple of years ago that he can push me, and I’m there to work. It’s not just a day to take pretty pictures for me. I’m a freak, and I do stuff no one else will do. That day, I did 405 on the incline for a few singles, I pressed the 160s and I did dips with four plates. It was tough, but I wanted to do something special for the shoot.
Which of you three do you feel has the best chest?
Kevin: Was that a serious question?”
Sami: Me! Kevin’s is bigger, but I have more separation and striations in mine.”
Jose: Let’s just say Kevin’s is the biggest, Sami’s is the most splintered and mine is the strongest.”
Kevin’s Sample Chest Workout (straight sets)
Incline Barbell Press
Warm-ups: 135 x 10-12, 225 x 5-8, 315 x 2
Sets: 405 x 6, 405 x 4, 405 x 3
Dumbbell Flyes (flat or incline, alternates)
Warm-ups: 60 x 10-12, 90 x 5-8
Sets: 130 x 10, 130 x 8, 120 x 10
Flat Dumbbell Press (up to 180s x 8-10)
OR FLEX Seated Bench Press machine, Hammer Strength Flat Press or Flat Barbell Press, up to 315-365
Kevin’s Sample Chest Workout (supersets and drop sets)
Flat Dumbbell Flyes
superset with
Incline Barbell Press
Flat Barbell Press— 3 drop sets
Cable Crossovers
superset with
Dips
Kevin’s Training Split
Day 1: Chest and shoulders
Day 2: Off
Day 3: Back
Day 4: OFF
Day 5: Arms
Day 6: Legs
Day 7: Back (light workout)
Jose’s Sample Chest Workout
Life Fitness Pec Flye Machine 90 x 15, 120 x 12, 165 x 12, 255 (stack) x 12
Incline Barbell Press 135 x 15, 225 x 12, 315 x 10, 315 x 10
Hammer Strength Decline Press 225 x 15, 315 x 12, 405 x 12, 405 x 12, cut to 315 x 8, rest 5 seconds, 315 x 8
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 55 x 12, 60 x 10 (press x 11 after final rep)
65 x 9 (press x 10 after final rep)
Jose’s Training Split
Sunday: Light back and chest
Monday: Heavy quads, light hams and calves
Tuesday: a.m. - Cardio, abs, posing
p.m. - Chest and triceps, 8-10 supersets lateral raises and rear delts
Wednesday: Back and biceps
Thursday: Shoulders and abs
Friday: Heavy hams, light quads and calves
Saturday: Arms
Sami’s Chest Workouts
Workout A (barbell)
Incline Barbell Press 4 x 8-10
Flat Barbell Bench Press 4 x 8-10
Decline Barbell Press 3 x 10
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 4 x 12
Workout B (dumbbell)
Incline Dumbbell Press 4 x 8-10
Flat Dumbbell Press 4 x 8-10
Decline Dumbbell Press 3 x 10
Cable Crossovers 4 x 12
Sami’s Off-season Training Split*
Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Chest
Day 3: Back
Day 4: Delts
Day 5: Arms
*Weekends are usually off days.
Sami’s Pre-contest Training Split
a.m. p.m.
Day 1: Chest Triceps and abs
Day 2: Quads Hamstrings and biceps
Day 3: Back Shoulders
Day 4: Off, repeat
DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE ON THE MD FORUM
WATCH JOSE RAYMOND'S CHEST WORKOUT