Jonni Shreve posted a video to showcase one of his chest workouts and give out some super helpful tips and tricks to develop a better chest. He occasionally does a series on his Youtube channel called “Train with Me” to break down muscle groups and give out professional advice. If you're looking to build your chest, don't miss this one!
Who is Jonni Shreve?
Jonni Shreve, “Mr. Tell It Like It Is,” is an IFBB Pro from Canada with over 15 shows under his belt. One of his most significant wins came in 2017 at the Canadian Nationals, where he won overall “Super Heavy Weight” and “Best Poser” to claim the title of Mr. Canada. When he isn’t competing, Jonni runs his online training website, where he sells ebooks and merchandise. Shreve is also a celebrity trainer and an actor.
Chest Workout Tips & Tricks With Jonni Shreve
We summed up Jonni's chest workout below and highlighted some of the tips he shares. For a complete picture, you can watch his video where he demonstrates all the advice he's shelling out.
Warmup
Overhead passes, shoulder openers and external rotators with a resistance band are Jonni’s go-to warmups before a chest day. He uses resistance bands and keeps the reps high to pump blood into the muscles and stretch them out.
Dumbbell Incline Press
The first exercise of the workout is dumbbell incline press at a 30-degree elevation. Jonni preaches focusing on technique and fatigue for muscle building rather than focusing on strength since strength tends to come from progressive overload. His working sets were in the 8-10 rep range, focusing on a slow descent and stretch at the bottom of the lift. The dumbbells come together at the top of the lift but don’t actually touch. A helpful tip from Jonni is to always grab the dumbbells in the middle of the grip to keep it more stable while performing the exercise.
Barbell Bench Press
Barbell flat bench is next up for Jonni, he takes a good portion of this video talking about different techniques and tips while benching. For example, he discusses barbell bench grips. With a narrower grip you keep further away from injury, but you won’t work your chest as much. Whereas a wider grip will work your chest more, your risk for shoulder injury is also higher.
He recommends a medium grip on the bar, squeezing your traps together, keeping shoulder pressure on the pad, and engaging your core to get the most out of bench pressing as you can.
Jonni says the negative won’t be as slow for this exercise, but instead, the reps will just be more controlled. This isn’t his favorite exercise because of his hurt shoulder, plus in his opinion doesn’t add a lot to chest growth.
Incline Dumbbell Flys
Incline dumbbell flys at a 50-degree incline are up next. Jonni goes over several variations of flys and what he recommends doing. He doesn’t like going all the way up till the dumbbells touch because you lose tension on your chest.
So instead, he focuses more on squeezing his chest together and only going up until he can’t squeeze anymore. Keep the dumbbells parallel to the floor to help keep tension throughout the rep.
Underhand Cable Flys
Underhand Cable flys help to work the top of the chest. Keep your arms straight without locking out your arms to ensure the maximum stretch and squeeze while performing this lift.
Preacher Curls
Preacher arm curls off an incline bench are the last exercise in this video. Make sure to keep the back of your arms flat against the bench, with the top of it being in your armpit.
Also, make sure to supinate your hands to help keep the biceps under tension, and keep your wrists flat, don’t curl your wrist while performing this lift.
Sample Jonni Shreve Chest Workout
Here is a quick sample workout you can do inspired by Jonni’s chest workout in this video.
Warmup:
- RB Overhead Passes: 3 sets x 15 reps
- RB Shoulder Openers: 3 sets x 15 reps
- RB External Rotators: 3 sets x 15 reps
Working Sets:
- DB Incline Press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Barbell Flat Bench: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Incline DB Flys: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Underhand Cable Flys: 3 sets x 15
- Preacher Curls: 3 sets x 15
Note: Keep rests between sets 1-2 minutes.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Shreve gives some great advice in this video including proper body positioning, form cues and perhaps best of all, listen to your body; don't try to ego lift.
This is an excellent workout, so if you try it, make sure to use some of the tips Jonni recommends and let us know down below what you think of it!
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author