Denys Mykolenko is a top Men’s Physique bodybuilding athlete and personal trainer from the town of Cherkassy in Ukraine. He came out of the Kiev Championship IFBB17 first, Diamond cup 17 /18 top three, cup of Ukraine 18 first and, 2018 EBFF Bodybuilding Amateur Championships second in the Men’s Physique up to 182 cm. We thought that one of his training plans could best show how hard he worked in the gym to get himself to the top level
Denys is the representative for BiotechUSA in Ukraine. From his athlete page there we already knew that his weekly training routine is based on a five day split. Depending on the current form the workouts are structured to target specific focus areas. In this example the focus is on the chest.
Important Note: This plan is not meant to be followed by anyone.
It is a real example of a how an advanced athlete finds his individual way to realise his full capacity and reach the top. Denys has many years of experience with different training plans and methods in the gym. This allows him to safely use such a complex and demanding routine now. It comes with quite a few advanced level exercises and loads the athlete with an impressive volume over several weeks. Some exercises like the Barbell High Pull would likely be argued against by other athletes even for the advanced level. But at the end of the day every athlete’s development is unique and you need to find out what effectively and safely works for yourself.
Mad Dan’s Advanced Five Day Chest Split
Day 1: Chest and biceps
Day 2: Shoulder and calves
Day 3: Legs
Day 4: Back and triceps
Day 5: Chest
The idea of the chest workouts is to start with high volume basic exercises and follow up with isolated exercises mainly to target the inner chest which is considered to need the most improvement at this stage.
Let’s look at the details for each workout of his split:
DAY 1: Chest and Biceps
CHEST:
Dumbbell Fly on Flat Bench 3 x 12 Reps, Weight: 60% 1RM (goal: initial fatigue and warm-up)
Barbell Incline Bench Press 4 x 7 – 15 Reps, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set to bring reps down to 7 on the fourth set)
Parallel Bar Dip with focus on chest (lean a little bit forward, bring legs forward) 3 x Max Reps
Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 10 Reps, Weight: 70 – 80% 1RM
BICEPS:
Barbell Standing Biceps Curl 4 x 6 – 15 Reps, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set to bring reps down to 6 on the fourth set)
EZ-Bar Scott Curl 3 x 10 – 12 Reps, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set to bring reps down to 10 on the third set)
Dumbbell Alternating Hammer Curl 3 x 10 Reps each arm
DAY 2: Shoulder and Calves
SHOULDER:
Barbell Standing Overhead Press 4 x 12 – 15 Reps, Weight: 60% 1RM
Dumbbell Seated Overhead Press 3 x 10 Reps, Weight: 80% 1RM
Barbell High Pull 4 x 10 – 20 Reps, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set to bring reps down to 10 on the fourth set)
Superset 3 x 15 Reps
Behind the Back Upright Row (Lee Haney Upright Row)
CALVES:
Seated Calf Raise Machine 4 x 25 – 30 Reps, Weight: 60 – 70% 1RM
Smith Machine Standing Calf Raise 4 x 20 – 40, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set to bring reps down to 20 on the fourth set)
Calf Raise On Leg Press 3 x 50 Reps
DAY 3: Legs
Emphasis Quadriceps
Superset 3 x 15 Reps:
Hanging Knee Raise 3 x 20 – 25 Reps
Kneeling Ab Wheel Rollout 3 x 15 Reps NO RECORD
Air Squat 3 x 20 – 30 Reps (Warm-up with bodyweight)
Barbell Front Squat 5 x 20/16/14/12/8 Reps, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set for the corresponding number of repetitions)
Leg Extension Machine 3 x 30 Reps
Superset 3x:
Leg Press 20 Reps
Lying Leg Curl 15 Reps
Romanian Deadlift 4 x 12 Reps
Standing Leg Curl 3 x 15 Reps per leg
DAY 4: Back and Triceps
BACK:
Weighted Roman Chair Hip Extension 4 x 10 – 25, Weight: First set without weight. Then increase to a weight which allows you to complete the four sets
Barbell Bent Over Row 4 x 10 – 15, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set to bring reps down to 10 on the fourth set)
Narrow Grip T-Bar Row 3 X 10, Weight: 80% 1RM
Wide Grip High Pulley Pullover 3 x 15 Reps
Cable Low Row 3 x 10 Reps, Weight: 80% 1RM, Full ROM
Parallel Close-grip Cable Front Pull-down 3 – 4 x 5 – 6, Weight: high enough to fail in 5 – 6 repetitions
TRICEPS:
Barbell Close-grip Bench Press 4 x 15/12/10/6, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set for the corresponding number of repetitions)
Cable Rope-grip Triceps Push-down 3 x 20 Reps
Dumbbell Seated Behind the Head Arm Extension (Dumbbell French Press) 3 x 10 – 12 Reps, Weight: 10 – 12 working weight
Superset: 3x 10 – 20
Low Bar Triceps Extension (Tricep Dip Unders)
DAY 5: Chest
Incline Dumbbell Fly 4 x 15 Reps
Barbell Bench Press 4 x 15/12/10/6, Weight: increasing pyramid (increase after each set for the corresponding number of repetitions)
Superset 3 x 15 Reps:
Dumbbell Pullover Across the Bench 4 x 15 Reps
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.