IFBB Pro athlete Breon Ansley is bringing the heat after announcing on March 19, 2022, that this will be his last year as a Classic Physique competitor before moving up to a heavier division. The two-time Classic Physique Olympia winner recently shared his new high-calorie, high-carb diet and uploaded a chest and delts workout focusing on building mass to YouTube on April 12, 2022.
Ansley has struggled to bounce back from his defeat to three-time reigning Classic Physique division champ Chris Bumstead in 2019 and wasn’t pleased about his most recent fourth-place finish at the 2022 Arnold Classic in March.
Check out Ansley’s chest and shoulder workout at the Fitiquity gym in sunny Burbank, CA, in the video below:
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Incline Barbell Press
Ansley wasted no time, jumping right into the incline barbell press. Although, he usually doesn’t start his chest workouts with these types of compound or “power” movements.
I tend to put on the muscle pretty quickly when I do power movements and not more so isolation movements.
But Ansley’s not worried about gaining size and is allowing himself to “go with the flow” for final Classic Physique prep:
It has been time for my muscles to really grow and expand, see the full potential muscularity-wise and density-wise.
Hitting his chest from an incline angle emphasizes the upper fibers, a common weak area for many bodybuilders that can make a big difference aesthetically on stage.
Ansley performed his first set with 135 pounds, including the barbell, and afterward admitted it felt heavy as he hadn’t done this exercise in a while. He added two 25-pound plates for another set and then increased the weight to 225 pounds. He is seen performing five sets on camera.
Incline Dumbbell Press
The next exercise is the incline dumbbell press, which Ansley doesn’t often do. However, he believes it’s the best way to add muscle mass to the chest.
The best way to put on muscle is instability work with dumbbells…the fastest [way] to create that density, the depth of the muscle.
Ansley spoke of the benefits of doing endurance-style chest training for mass gains and why packing on more muscle can create a better look after cutting down to contest shape.
Ansley performed one set using 70-pound dumbbells for this exercise before moving up to 85-pound dumbbells and finally to 100-pound dumbbells for his last two sets.
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Machine Seated Chest Press
Ansley hopped onto the chest press machine, where he performed two sets. The advantage of this exercise over free weights is stability is not a limiting factor and, therefore, can load heavier.
After his sets, the former 212 competitor teased competing in the Open division, where the largest competitors are:
What do we think guys Open? Open category? Open division here we come.
At the time of this article’s publication, Ansley has not revealed which category he will move into once he leaves Classic Physique in December 2022.
Pec Deck/Machine Chest Flye
Flyes are a staple for bodybuilders as they open up the pec muscles to maximize the stretched position. The arm adduction (bringing the arms toward the midline) is important for full chest activation and hypertrophy. Ansley did two sets and achieved his goal of 20 reps on the final set.
[RELATED: Best Lower Chest Exercises]
Bodyweight Dips & Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises
Ansley concluded his chest training with what the video showed to be one set of full bodyweight dips, a classic chest and triceps building exercise. As he explained during the session, his chest-focused days include a little deltoid work and vice versa (shoulder days include some chest training). The dumbbell lateral raise is non-negotiable for achieving a wide and rounded look to the delts. Only one set was shown.
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[Related: Bodybuilder Derek Lunsford Squats 315 Pounds for 100 Total Reps]
Breon Ansley Chest and Delts Workout
Below are the exercises as shown in the order performed during the workout. Due to the video editing, no specific reps per exercise were given.
- Barbell Incline Press
- Dumbbell Incline Press
- Machine Seated Chest Press
- Pec Deck/Machine Fly
- Dips
- Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises
The 42-year-old Ansley is 17 weeks out from his next show, the 2022 Olympia, from December 16-18 in Las Vegas, NV.
Featured image: @breonma_ on Instagram
