Packing On Chest Mass | Branch & Johnnie Tell You How
Packing On Chest Mass
Branch Warren & Johnnie Jackson Tell You How
There really aren’t as many coincidences in life as some people believe there are. Is it a coincidence that two of the best chests in the sport of bodybuilding today belong to Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson? Is it a coincidence that they happen to be training partners for well over a decade, train at the same gym, and are two of the strongest bodybuilders alive? I would submit that the answers to all these questions are an emphatic NO. If you’ve seen their training videos on the site, you know that Branch and Johnnie redefine ferocious intensity, and nowhere is that fact more evident than in their chest workouts. I talked to these two iron warriors from Texas to see what we could learn about chest training from two of the very best pec wreckers in the game.
Branch, what do you think when you see a guy who has made it to the level of competing as a pro and he still has a weak chest?
BW: “I know in many cases if not most, it’s just bad genetics. You look at a guy like Evan who has had to fight so hard to build his chest, and it’s not because he hasn’t trained it hard. But it’s been coming up for him. I don’t think my chest genetics were much better than average, but I was able to make it a strong body part with a lot of hard work and good eating. I think the only body part that you really can’t build if you have bad genetics for it are calves.”
And you, Johnnie?
J.J: “The weird thing is, you see more guys now with weak chests than you do with good development, whereas back in the old “Pumping Iron” days everybody had awesome chests: Arnold, Ferrigno, Franco, Robby, Mike Katz and so on. I think it’s because too many bodybuilders now avoid the basics like the bench press, squat and deadlift. Older lifters and so-called experts told them those were all dangerous, which is ridiculous. I’m 44 years old and I still do all the heavy basics that I’ve been doing since I was a kid. Because of that, my tendons and ligaments are all strong. I’ve never had any major injuries at all, and you never heard of the old-school guys getting hurt. It seems to happen more and more often with the current generation of bodybuilders, because they never built up their connective tissue strength in the first place. They build these enormous muscles, but they’re attached to the bones and joints with relatively weak tendons and ligaments. But to answer the original question, I think it’s pretty sad when a top pro has a weak chest. A great chest gives you a look of power.”
A lot of people like to criticize the way you two train chest, especially the ballistic rep style of your pressing movements. Yet you both have some the best pectoral development in the sport today. Do you think you would have the same chest you do now if you had always done your reps slowly and squeezed the chest on every rep, or is your rep style actually better at stimulating growth?
BW: “I don’t care who approves of my form and who doesn’t. I train to build my physique, not to demonstrate perfect technique. Think about who else trained this way in the same gym and had maybe the best chest of all time— Ronnie. Would I have gotten the same results going slower and using a lot less weight? I really don’t think so. No matter what anyone thinks, I’m always in control of the weight. The only reason I don’t lock out and squeeze is because it kills my elbows. I’ve already torn both triceps, so I’m not about to put that type of stress on my elbows ever again.”
J.J: “A lot of people don’t understand that I’ve been training since I was 8 years old. Not 18, 8! I’ve tried slow reps, half reps, many different ways of training in that time. No one way is the best, no matter what you hear. What you see me and Branch doing is what we do. Neither of us have ever said this is what you or everyone should do. This works for us. If you try it and it works well for you, great. If not, just keep trying different things and figure out what does give you the best results. Don’t copy anyone. Set the standard, don’t just be a follower. If you do, you’ll never know what you might have missed out on.”
If someone is in dire need of mass in their chest, should they even bother with any type of flye movements— or should they strictly focus on various presses?
BW: “I’ve always done both, but I do all my presses first. In the off-season when it’s all about building mass, I will only do one type of flye movement. Only during contest prep will we add in a second one.”
J.J: “I do think flyes have their place because you still want to hit the chest from a few different angles, not just pressing. Like Branch said, I think flye movements are probably better done after pressing; to give you a more complete pump and fill in those areas that the presses missed.”
How many different pressing movements do you feel are optimal per chest workout? Do you think one incline and one flat is enough?
BW: “I think three minimum, and four maximum. I will always do an incline press with either a barbell or dumbbells, same for a flat press, and then we do weighted dips with chains.”
J.J: “You should be able to work the chest with no more than four or five exercises, and you always want to press from at least two different angles. I agree with Branch about decline pressing. I’ve never really been a fan of the movement. Hit an incline and a flat press, and then dips are what I like much better for the lower and outer pecs rather than declines. It’s not a bad idea either if you want to make your last press a machine press like a seated vertical bench press machine. After all the free-weight pressing, you may not be able to keep a heavy barbell or dumbbell balanced right— but your chest will still have something left in the tank. You can finish it off with a machine.”
Do you feel that free weights are necessary for building the best chest you are capable of, or could the same results be had from using Smith and Hammer Strength machines?
BW: “You need to use free weights. I personally don’t like Hammer Strength machines, but the Smith machine is OK once in a while.”
J.J: “Free weights are the best, hands down. Hammer Strength machines are a nice supplement to them. I don’t even consider them 100 percent machines, because they are plate loaded and you have each arm moving independently. But the first couple of exercises you do should be done with free weights, when you’re fresh and you strength is at its highest. As I was saying before, the only way you’ll ever build good tendon and ligament strength is by using heavy free weights, and that connective tissue strength is going to carry over into everything else you do. In other words, free weights will make you able to use machines better, but the opposite isn’t true.”
Presses are obviously great for building mass, but how about dips? Do you think all bodybuilders should incorporate those too?
BW: “I love them, and I’ve been doing them from day one. The only time someone should probably avoid dips is if they have shoulder problems. Other than that, do ‘em!”
J.J: “Dips are an excellent chest exercise. In fact, I think any bodybuilder should have mastered dips, pull-ups and push-ups. Everyone should be able to move their own body through space.”
How can you make sure the upper chest keeps up in development to the rest of the chest? Do you always start with incline movements, or do that at least half the time?
BW: “Not all the time, but we always do an incline press. We both like the barbell press best, but we use dumbbells at other times.”
J.J: “Yeah, we don’t always start out with inclines, but it probably does work out to every other workout. The important thing isn’t doing them first, but making sure you always do them at some point in the workout. I don’t really lose a lot of strength throughout the workout, and neither does Branch. If you do find that you start losing steam pretty fast on chest day and your upper chest is a weak point, you should definitely do your inclines first.”
Typical Pre-contest Chest Workout*
Incline Barbell Press 3 x 10-12
Flat Dumbbell Press 2-3 x 10-12
Seated Machine Press 3 x 12
Peck Deck 3 x 12
Cable Crossovers 3 x 12
*Warm-ups not shown
Branch and Johnnie’s Training Split
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Arms
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Shoulders and calves
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF
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