As men’s physique competitors, we should strive for that perfect beach body look—aesthetically pleasing and in proportion. We train just as intensely as any bodybuilder aiming for that perfect X shape, but the difficulty lies in conditioning without becoming bulky or letting one muscle group dominate another. So, how to achieve this look?
Shoulders
When looking at a men’s physique competitor on stage, the first thing that always stands out to me is a wide set of shoulders. I find that this helps to create the illusion of a smaller waist and, thus, a V taper. The best exercises I’ve found to help achieve this are to hit my shoulders firstly with a large compound movement involving all heads. This usually involves a type of press, either dumbbell or overhead barbell, followed by a side lateral movement to really isolate the lateral head of my delts. This, in turn, will help create that width. Here is one of my favourite shoulder work-outs for achieving that look:
Shoulder Workout
2 warm up sets
Side lateral raises: 15-20 reps
Dumbbell press or plate loaded shoulder press: 15-20 reps
3 giant sets
Dumbbell or plate loaded shoulder press: 8-12 reps
Side lateral raises heavy weight: 10-12 reps
Drop set, 50% of weight: 15-20 reps
Finish with heavy partial raises: 10-12 reps (for added resistance, get training partner to force on elbows)
3 giant sets
Rear dumbbell flyes on incline bench: 10-12 reps
Standing bent over dumbbell flyes: 10-12 reps
Cable rope face pulls: 10-12 reps
Finisher
Cable shoulder press: 3 x 10-12 reps
Supersetted
Heavy dumbbell shrugs: 3 x 12-15 reps
For the cable shoulder press exercise, I set a seated bench between the cable crossovers and aim to pyramid up my weight on the stack each set aiming for around 10-12 reps, then straight into a standing dumbbell shrug aiming to increase the weight each set but still reaching 12-15 reps. This superset takes me nicely into my trap focused exercise. For traps, I like to use either a barbell shrug or plate loaded shrug, nice and basic, really focusing on that squeeze.
3 giant sets
Barbell shrug or plate loaded shrug: 8-12 reps
This shoulder workout will hit all heads of the shoulders and give you that increased intensity from the higher rep ranges and drop sets, which will give your shoulders a much more aesthetic and pleasing look.
Next Up: Chest
Chest
The next muscle that I think stands out on a competitor is to have a full thick-looking chest, that still shows great condition, which helps to complement the rest of the physique. Below, I have outlined a basic workout that I use to develop my chest:
Chest Workout
2 warm up sets
Incline Dumbbell or Barbell Press: 15-20 reps
4 working sets
Incline Dumbbell or Barbell Press: 8-12 reps
Flat bench or plate loaded press:8-12 reps
3 working sets
Incline cable flyes: 15-20 reps
Dumbbell flyes or pec dec drop set: 12-15 reps on each drop
ABS
Another thing that everyone’s eyes seem to be drawn to when looking at a men’s physique competitor is a great set of abs. I have trained my midsection from a young age through gymnastics and swimming as a child, then on to training them in the gym twice a week, which has built me a strong core for stage. So how do I sculpt my abdominals? Personally, I have had the best results when I have trained them in sections. To do this, I work the upper and lower abs at the start of the week, then lower abs, obliques, and core towards the end.
Upper/Lower Abs Workout
4 sets
Hanging leg raises: 8-12 reps
Kneeling or standing cable crunches: 8-12 reps
Reverse decline crunches: 10-15 reps
Decline weighted crunches: 8-12 reps
Lower Abs/Obliques/Core Workout
4 sets
Hanging leg raises: 8-12 reps
Side raises back extension: 10-15 reps
Cable wood chops: 8-12 reps
Bar torso twists: 10-15 reps each side
Plank: 1-2 minute hold
BACK
I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying that shows are won from the back, and it’s very true. A good back will make or break a great physique on stage. Because the back is such a big muscle group, it is important to stimulate all parts. A varied workout is key.
Although we as men’s physique competi-tors get a lot of stick for saying that we don’t show legs, many of them have a great pair as they are still trained like any other muscle part with allocated days of the week. Legs make up 50% of our overall physique, so, in order to have a balanced aesthetic physique, legs must be trained.
Here is a basic legs session that I use:
Legs Workout
2 warmup sets
Leg extensions: 15-20 reps
Barbell squats: 15 reps
4 working sets
Barbell squats: 6-8 reps
Leg press: 8-12 reps
Barbell walking lunges: 10 lunges on each leg
Lying hamstring curls
4 working sets: 10-15 reps
Sets stiff-legged deadlifts: 10-15 reps
Seated calf raises 8-12 reps
ARMS
Finally, to complete the look of a men’s physique competitor, you should have full but defined-looking arms. When given feedback from last year’s Olympia, I was told I needed to bring up my arms more to make them in proportion with the rest of my physique. I have been working very hard on bringing them up and below is one of the routines I have used to achieve this:
Arms Workout
Single arm dumbbell concentration curls 2 x warmup sets, 15 reps, then 3 x working sets, 8-12 reps (make sure to go heavier and heavier each set). On the last set, perform a triple drop set to failure on each arm.
Barbell curls, 4 x working sets: 6-8 rep range
Dumbbell cross-body hammer curls, 4 x working sets: 8-12 reps
Lying down cable curl, 3 x working sets: 8-12 reps, pyramiding up in weight, then the last set is a triple drop where you pyramid back down in weight rep until failure.
Triceps cable pushdowns, 2 x warmup sets: 20 reps, 3 x working sets, 8-12 reps / last set perform a triple drop set to failure.
Barbell skull crushers, 4 x working set: 10-12 reps
Smith machine close grip press: 4 x 10-12 reps
Single arm triceps pushdowns, 3 x working sets: 12-15 reps
