Q: I got the X-traordinary Arms e-book, but not for the arm routines (although they are great, and I learned a lot from them). I got it for the 3D HIT program, which is absolutely fantastic (I’m done in about 45 minutes!) and is working really well for me. Anyway, my arms are good; it’s my chest that needs work. You’ve said that the 3D HIT program is perfect for specializing
A: Yes, because of the efficient abbreviated nature of 3D HIT, it’s perfect for rotating in specialization routines for one or two bodyparts. It’s so efficient because it has you train each muscle with one work set in each position of flexion for full-range work, a minimum for continuous full development. That leaves more fuel for concentrated work on weak areas, which, in your case, is chest.
Notice that the 3D HIT chest routine is already close to a specialization program because we also have a response problem with our pecs. For that reason, it contains full-range work for almost all of the chest sections—upper, middle, and lower. Here’s the pec program from that e-book…
Upper Midrange: Smith-machine incline presses, 1 x 9-12
Upper Stretch and Contracted: High cable flyes, 1 x 12-15
Middle Midrange: Bench presses, 1 x 9-12
Middle Stretch: Flat flyes, 1 x 9-12
Lower Midrange: Wide-grip dips, 1 x 9-12
Lower Stretch and Contracted: Low cable flyes, 1 x 12-15
That’s more work than other bodyparts get in the 3D HIT program because we are treating each section as a separate entity. Those who don’t have a problem with chest development could pare that down by eliminating one or two exercises (for example, wide-grip dips, as many trainees have no problem developing lower pecs).
Now, to make the above even more specialized, we suggest you only flesh out one area at a time. For instance, if your upper pecs are your biggest problem, train each of the three positions with a different movement. Notice that in the above program, high cable flyes are doubling as a stretch- and contracted-position move; however, it’s really more of a contracted-position exercise due to the angle of pull. So you can add a pure stretch move, incline flyes, after incline presses.
Now you have a full-on 3D POF upper-chest routine…
Midrange: Smith-machine incline presses, 1 x 9-12
Stretch: Incline flyes, 1 x 9-12
Contracted: High cable flyes, 1 x 12-15
You can do that with any of the pectoral sections—for the middle chest you’d add middle cable flyes (contracted) for 12-15 reps after flat flyes (stretch); for lower chest, you’d add decline flyes (stretch) after wide-grip dips (midrange). Once again, we suggest you only specialize
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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