Four-time Men’s Physique champ Jeremy Buendia has officially announced his return to the Olympia stage in 2023 in the hopes of winning the title for a record-extending fifth time. As a former Men’s Physique Olympia champion, Buendia holds a lifetime invitation to bodybuilding’s grandest stage.
Buendia’s return is a few years in the making. He took his first steps toward prepping for November’s Olympia in Orlando, FL. He marked the beginning of his off-season training by uploading a video of a chest workout to his YouTube channel. Check it out below:
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Jeremy Buendia’s Chest Workout
Here are the exercises in Buendia’s chest workout, followed by a breakdown of each:
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
- Cable Decline Flye
- Smith Machine Bench Press
- Pec Deck Flye
- Single-Arm Cable Lateral Raise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Cable Triceps Pushdown
- Close-grip Push-Up
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
After a thorough warm-up, Buendia started his chest workout with incline bench presses using 120-pound dumbbells. Rather than fully locking out his arms, Buendia stopped just shy of full extension to protect his joints.
Cable Decline Flye
The cable decline flye targets the lower pecs. Buendia used momentum, allowing him to use heavier weights for more reps on an accessory exercise. He bends his elbows more for the last final reps. This lightens the strain on the moment arm, converting it to a cable chest press for more volume.
Smith Machine Bench Press
Buendia dialed the weight down for this Smith machine exercise, sticking with 185 pounds to induce a chest pump. He controlled the weight, moving slowly through the eccentric (lengthening) phase of the lift.
Pec Deck Flye
The pec deck flye is an excellent chest exercise to tag along toward the end of a workout. Buendia added single-arm reps to work on strength imbalances. Machine flyes can isolate the pecs more than dumbbells as a greater range of motion can be achieved by removing the necessity of stabilizing the weight.
Cable Single-Arm Lateral Raise and Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Compared to dumbbell lateral raises, cable lateral raise allows for constant tension on the deltoids. To get the move just right, Buendia stabalizes the bar of the cable machine for stability during each rep.
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Buendia performed bilateral dumbbell raises to cap out his shoulders. He performed the reps quickly, keeping his elbows bent and stopping shy of raising the dumbbells to parallel with the ground.
Cable Triceps Pushdown and Close-grip Bench Push-up
Buendia adds cable triceps pushdowns and close-grip incline bench push-ups targeted triceps work. While Buendia didn’t specify, the push-ups functioned as the workout finisher.
Buendia’s 2023 Olympia Comeback
Despite the influx of fierce competition in the Men’s Physique division since Buendia last competed on the Olympia stage in 2018, Buendia looks forward to the challenge.
“I have a long road ahead of me,” Buendia says. “The division’s evolved. I can’t bring the same physique I had in 2017 and 2018 to the Olympia stage and expect to place well. The division’s gotten bigger; it’s gotten better.”
Buendia has about five and a half months to prepare for the 2023 Olympia in Orlando, FL, scheduled for Nov. 2-5, 2023.
Featured Image: Jeremy Buendia on YouTube
