It’s January and you’re fired up for 2017. Your goal is simple: get freaking huge! But before you step in the gym and get after it, you need to arm yourself with the right routines. That’s where we come in. We’ve compiled workouts from some of the greatest bodybuilders to ever cinch up a weightlifting belt and answer the challenge of the iron. So put your game face on, turn up the volume on your favorite training tunes, and make 2017 your year for packing on wall-to-wall muscle.
The eight-time Mr. Olympia set the standard for freaky size and conditioning that, in all likelihood, will not soon be equaled, let alone surpassed for the forseeable future. His pecs outsized the rest of the competition and if not for his equally preposterous back, he would surely have toppled over face first from their immense weight. Unlike most of his generation, he trained chest twice weekly, devoting the first workout to barbells and the second to dumbbells. Coleman preferred free-weight pressing movements with heavy weights for 8–12 reps.
THE WORKOUTS: CHEST
WORKOUT A*
Barbell bench press: 5 sets of 8-12 reps
Incline barbell bench press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Decline barbell bench press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Flat bench flye: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
WORKOUT B*
Dumbbell bench press: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Incline dumbbell press: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Decline dumbbell press: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Incline flye: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
*Each workout was performed once per week, three days apart.
