Romanian bodybuilder Andrei Deiu earned his IFBB Pro Card by winning the 2017 Men’s Physique Amateur Olympia. Deiu has competed at the Men’s Physique Olympia twice — his top rank was fifth overall in 2020. After flirting with the idea of moving to the Classic Physique division in 2021, Deiu ultimately decided against it. However, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t still packing on muscle mass for his likely eventual return to the competitive bodybuilding stage.
On Nov. 9, 2023, Deiu published a video on his YouTube channel wherein he shared his off-season chest workout. Check it out below:
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Andrei Deiu’s Chest Workout
Below is a snapshot of Deiu’s chest training session:
- Incline Machine Flye — 3 x 10-12
- Incline Chest Press — 3 x 10-12
- Machine Chest Press — 3 x 10-12
- Superset: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press & Incline Push-Up — 3 x 10-12
- Decline Cable Flye — 3 x 10-12
- Leg Raise — 4 x 15-20
- Decline Crunch — 4 x 15-20
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Incline Machine Flye
Deiu opened with incline machine flies to bias the upper chest. He grabbed the machine’s handles with a neutral grip and kept his chest proud and scapula depressed throughout the exercise. It can be beneficial to train lagging muscles first during a session as that is when an athlete is at their freshest and can apply appropriate intensity. Opening a workout with isolation exercises warms the target muscles, which can help limit injury risk during heavier compound exercises thereafter.
Incline Machine Chest Press
Deiu next moved to the incline machine chest press. He employed slow eccentrics, exploding through concentrics with a pause at the top. Deiu emphasized the importance of mind-muscle connection for maintaining proper form. A 2009 systematic review by the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that “eccentric training performed at high intensities was more effective in promoting increases in muscle mass measured as muscle girth.” (1)
Machine Chest Press
Machines help keep constant tension on the target muscles throughout the range of motion. Deiu placed his mid and lower back flat against the machine’s back pad, pushed out his chest, and retracted his shoulder blades to load his mid-chest. He performed double drop sets to muscle failure on the final set of this exercise to promote hypertrophy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzY0ZM_JvDG/?img_index=1
[Read More: Best Upper Chest Exercises for Building Muscle]
A 2022 study by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that training to muscle failure promotes hypertrophy in low-load resistance training. For low-load training, a high level of effort seems more important than total training volume for muscle mass accretion. (2)
Focus on quality reps, not on the weight. Don’t go too light because we want to stimulate the muscle and make it grow.
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Superset — Flat Dumbbell Bench Press & Incline Bench Press
Deiu used a neutral grip on the flat dumbbell bench press, flaring his elbows on eccentrics and pausing at the top of each rep. He superset them with incline push-ups to load his lower pecs, slow eccentrics with pauses at the top.
Deiu concluded his chest workout with three sets of decline cable flyes. His form maintained an arched back. Deiu revealed that he had been off “gear” for five weeks at the time of recording and instead had been on a low-dose testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for six months prior so his body had time to detox and recover.
Deiu’s blood work returned with excellent results, but he noted a marginally elevated cholesterol level, which he suspects might be due to either genetic factors or his diet. Deiu intends to remain off-cycle for the remainder of 2023. He plans to use performance-enhancing drugs again in early 2024 to prepare for pro show competition in the summer to qualify for the 2024 Men’s Physique Olympia, which only allows entry to pro show winners during the qualification period.
References
- Roig M, O’Brien K, Kirk G, Murray R, McKinnon P, Shadgan B, Reid WD. The effects of eccentric versus concentric resistance training on muscle strength and mass in healthy adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2009 Aug;43(8):556-68. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2008.051417. Epub 2008 Nov 3. PMID: 18981046.
- Lasevicius T, Schoenfeld BJ, Silva-Batista C, Barros TS, Aihara AY, Brendon H, Longo AR, Tricoli V, Peres BA, Teixeira EL. Muscle Failure Promotes Greater Muscle Hypertrophy in Low-Load but Not in High-Load Resistance Training. J Strength Cond Res. 2022 Feb 1;36(2):346-351. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003454. PMID: 31895290.
Featured image: @andreideiu_ on Instagram
