JUNE 2017 MUSCLE & FITNESS 55DAVE BAUTISTA’S
CHEST WORKOUT
EXERCISE SETS REPS REST
Cable
crossover*1-5 5-8 30 secDip 5 8-10 90 sec
Incline DB bench
press**5 10-12 90 secHammer strength
chest press
SUPERSET WITH
Push-up (with
intention)***4410-12To
failure45 sec“These are done extremely light and not taken to
failure,” says Joe Bennett, Bautista’s trainer and a
hypertrophy coach. “These are a warm-up. We just
go until Dave feels mentally and physically ready to
work — sometimes one set, sometimes five. Also,
there is a four-second pause and squeeze at the top
of each rep during the peak contraction.”
“Dips and dumbbell presses are done with a two-
second complete pause at the bottom,” says Bennett.
“This is the point of the range of motion [ROM] where
both exercises are most taxing. So we spend some
extra time there. The pause also eliminates bounce
on direction changes. We would typically use a little
more weight on these two exercises, as long as
tempo and form are still on point.”
“Both of these are done with a slow tempo, as
the exercises have pretty consistent tension through
the entire ROM,” says Bennett. “Each rep should take
four to five seconds to complete. The ‘intention’ push-
ups have the added challenge of trying to drive your
hands together — without actually moving them — the
whole time you push up. This drastically increases
tension throughout the exercise.”
BENNETT ADDS: “Because Dave and
I have only been working together for a
relatively short period of time and because
of Dave’s specific injury history, we are
in an overhaul phase to the way he trains,
completely rebuilding his form and execution
for every body part. We make his workouts
extremely challenging by manipulating the
time component, or tempo, of the exercises.
This helps with the learning curve that comes
with new form, but also keeps the workouts
extremely challenging, specifically by
spending more time with the muscle under
tension during the specific point of ROM
where the exercise is most difficult.”
DAVE BAUTISTA