Advanced Chest Workout: Power, Precision, and Full-Pec Development
This session is built for you if you've been training seriously for years and you're ready to push past the standard bench-and-done routine. We'll walk you through explosive movements, deep-range isolation work, and heavy compound pressing that together challenge every region of the pectorals — upper, mid, and sternal. If your goal is a chest that is both powerful and complete, this is your session.
What the research says
The available research we're drawing on touches training structure, scheduling, and tempo — areas that matter when you're designing a session at this level. Two studies examined flexible nonlinear periodization, a method where workout intensity is adjusted based on readiness on a given day, in beginner populations. One study from 2010 found that the flexible approach significantly improved leg press strength compared to a fixed nonlinear schedule, though no significant difference appeared on the chest press measure; the other study, also published in 2010, reported the same pattern. A 2018 study in recreationally trained men found that performing total-body resistance training on three consecutive days produced significant increases in bench press strength and arm and chest girth, though the gains were not significantly different from those achieved by training on non-consecutive days. A 2013 study compared two concurrent training groups using flexible nonlinear periodization and found no significant difference between them on chest press performance. A 2011 study comparing superslow resistance training to traditional resistance training in college-aged women found significant strength improvements across time in both groups, but only the traditional training group's gains were statistically different from a control group — the superslow group's high variability prevented that distinction. Taken together, these studies are narrow in scope and were conducted mostly in beginners or untrained populations, so their direct applicability to an advanced chest session is limited. They offer some grounding for thinking about scheduling and intensity structure, but not strong guidance for advanced programming specifically.
Weak-to-moderate for this specific context: the studies are small, mostly conducted in beginners or untrained adults, and none were designed to test advanced chest training protocols directly — treat findings as general structural reference points, not prescriptions.
A 2010 study (McNamara & Stearne) randomly assigned 16 beginner weight-training students to a flexible nonlinear (FNL) or standard nonlinear (NL) periodized program, both performed twice per week for 12 weeks with identical total volume. The FNL group significantly improved leg press by an average of 62 kg (p < 0.05), while the NL group improved by an average of 16 kg. There was no significant difference between the two groups on the chest press measure.
View study →A second report of the same 2010 McNamara & Stearne study confirms: the FNL group significantly outperformed the NL group on leg press (average increase of 62 kg vs. 16 kg, p < 0.05), and the two groups did not significantly differ on chest press or standing long jump.
View study →A 2013 study compared two groups using flexible nonlinear periodization — one adding maximal-effort cycling intervals — in 20 participants training twice per week for 12 weeks. Analysis of variance showed no significant differences between the groups on chest press performance.
View study →A 2011 study compared superslow resistance training (SRT: 1 set to failure at 50% 1RM, 10-second concentric and 10-second eccentric phases, twice per week) to traditional resistance training (TRT: 3 sets of 8 reps at 80% 1RM, three times per week) in college-aged women over 4 weeks. All strength measures showed a significant time effect (p ≤ 0.01) for both groups. However, only the TRT group was significantly different from a no-training control group on strength outcomes; the high variability in the SRT group meant its gains did not reach statistical separation from the control. Both training groups showed large percent improvements compared to the control group.
View study →A 2018 study randomly assigned 21 recreationally trained men to train on either three consecutive or three non-consecutive days per week for 7 weeks. Both groups showed significant increases in leg press and bench press strength (p < 0.01) from pre to post. The consecutive-day group showed significant increases in both arm and chest girth measures (p < 0.05). No significant differences between the two groups were found on any measure.
View study →The routine
Warmup
Stand with your hands together, arms extended directly in front of you. This will be your starting position. Keeping your arms straight, quickly move your arms back as far as possible and back in again, similar to an exaggerated clapping motion. Repeat 5-10 times, increasing speed as you do so.
Main
Place a kettlebell on the floor. Place yourself in a pushup position, on your toes with one hand on the ground and one hand holding the kettlebell, with your elbows extended. This will be your starting position. Begin by lowering yourself as low as you can, keeping your back straight. Quickly and forcefully reverse direction, pushing yourself up to the other side of the kettlebell, switching hands as you do so. Continue the movement by descending and repeating the movement back and forth.
Lie on the floor with two kettlebells next to your shoulders. Position one in place on your chest and then the other, gripping the kettlebells on the handle with the palms facing forward. Extend both arms, so that the kettlebells are being held above your chest. Lower one kettlebell, bringing it to your chest and turn the wrist in the direction of the locked out kettlebell. Raise the kettlebell and repeat on the opposite side.
Lay down on a flat bench holding a dumbbell in each hand with the palms of the hands facing towards the ceiling. Tip: Your arms should be parallel to the floor and next to your thighs. To avoid injury, make sure that you keep your elbows slightly bent. This will be your starting position. Now move the dumbbells by creating a semi-circle as you displace them from the initial position to over the head. All of the movement should happen with the arms parallel to the floor at all times. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement. Reverse the movement to return the weight to the starting position as you exhale.
Lie back on a flat bench. Using a medium width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position. From the starting position, breathe in and begin coming down slowly until the bar touches your middle chest. After a brief pause, push the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out. Focus on pushing the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position at the top of the motion, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: Ideally, lowering the weight should take about twice as long as raising it. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Using a medium width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over your neck with your arms locked. This will be your starting position. As you breathe in, bring the bar down slowly until it is about 1 inch from your neck. After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Cooldown
Sit upright on the floor with your partner behind you. Place your hands behind your hand, and push your elbows back as far as you can. Your partner should hold your elbows. This will be your starting position. Gently attempt to pull your elbows forward with your hands still behind your head for 10 or more seconds. Your partner should prevent your elbows from moving. Now, relax your muscles and have your partner gently pull the elbows back as far as it comfortable for you. Be sure to let your partner know when the stretch is adequate to prevent overstretching or injury.
Start off by standing with your legs together, holding a bodybar or a broomstick. Take a slightly wider than shoulder width grip on the pole and hold it in front of you with your palms facing down. Carefully lift the pole up and behind your head.
This is an educational guide, not medical advice — if you have any history of shoulder impingement, pectoral tears, or AC joint issues, have those assessed by a qualified healthcare professional before attempting the Barbell Guillotine Bench Press or Around The Worlds, both of which place the shoulder in a highly lengthened, loaded position.