IFBB Pro Antoine Vaillant recently won the 2022 Chicago Pro but is still hungry to grow in the gym. On Aug 26, 2022, he appeared on Jon “Jujimufu” Call’s YouTube channel to walk Jujimufu through a chest workout. The six-movement training session began with isolation movements to lubricate the joints as part of a warm-up.
After hitting pec deck flyes, Jujimufu and Vaillant learned that they’d followed a similar training methodology for years. Check it out below, followed by a breakdown of each movement in the workout:
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Pec Deck Flyes & Machine Chest Press
Vaillant and Jujimufu began the workout with several sets of pec deck flyes to pre-exhaust their muscles in preparation for heavier working sets. Vaillant structures his workouts to focus on getting a pump and working around his injured left shoulder. Vaillant finds when his hydration and collagen levels are low, his strength is affected during prep for a show.
Next up were seven sets of machine chest presses for 12 reps each. With only 20 seconds of rest between sets, heart rates were elevated. Vaillant uses his phone to track his sets and rest. When feeling depleted, it’s easier for him to use tools during training rather than remembering various numbers like weights and rest times.
[You] don’t need to play with heavy weights…to actually grow muscle.
Jujimufu and Vaillant hit some chest poses between sets as their active recovery to add extra stimulation to the chest. Muscle stimulation, not total weight, is the critical factor for Vaillant when his goal is hypertrophy.
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Standing Chest Press, Posing, & Seated Vertical Chest Press
Next up was a standing chest press variation. Vaillant pushes the weight in a scooping motion as though pushing himself away from the machine, similar to a push-up.
Jujimufu commented that he might need to get one of these machine variations for his home gym. He quipped that he doesn’t have his posing routine ready for his next competition. Many athletes with tremendous physiques can still lose shows by not effectively presenting themselves on stage.
Antoine’s posing routine had to be one of his top two posing routines of all time that he did at the last two shows.
A low chest press machine for the lower pecs was next. Both athletes stuck to two 45-pound weight plates on each side. At this point in the session, they felt fatigued, despite their pumps. After the low machine press, Jujimufu and Vaillant hit a vertical seated chest press using a hybrid between a neutral and underhand grip similar to a reverse bench press.
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M Torture Flye Machine & Side Laterals
Closing the chest day was another seated flye variation on a plate-loaded machine called “M Torture.” Jujimufu joked that that should have been a character’s name in Street Fighter. Vaillant finished with chest-supported seated side laterals. Jujimufu did the same but opted for a standing variation. They maintained strict form to bias the shoulders — seven sets of 12 reps with 15 seconds of rest between sets.
Antoine Vaillant & Jujimufu’s Chest and Shoulder Workout
Below are the exercises in the same order performed by Vaillant and Jujimufu during their training session:
- Pec Dec Flyes
- Machine Chest Press
- Standing Chest Press
- Low Machine Press
- M Torture Flye Machine
- Side Lateral Machines
Vaillant and Jujimufu stuck to mostly basic exercises with some unique pieces of equipment to maximize muscle stimulation. The higher volume helped them achieve massive pumps. They advocated that form is more important than using heavy weight. We’ll see how their recovery goes after such high volume and if Vaillant can score his career-best finish at the 2022 Olympia, scheduled for Dec. 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
Featured images: @antoinev87 on Instagram
