Bodybuilder Brett Wilkin Shares a Gains-Unlocking Chest and Shoulders Workout

Brett Wilkin is quickly establishing himself as a household name in the pro-bodybuilding scene. Wilkin achieved his Pro card in the Classic Physique division in 2018, but switched to the 212 division in 2019. 

Wilkin stepped on stage as a 212 competitor at the 2019 Puerto Rico Pro and Toronto Pro, finishing 10th and sixth, respectively. After the humbling finishes in the 212 division, the bodybuilder took a two-year hiatus from the competitive circuit and surprised fans by announcing his move to the open division. 

During the 2021 Chicago Pro, he made a successful open division debut, scoring a second-place finish.

Wilkin, who finished sixth at the 2022 Arnold Classic, is yet to qualify for the 2022 Olympia. However, it’s unclear which pro-show he plans to compete in next to earn a direct qualification for the Olympia. 

A direct qualification appears to be the only way Wilkin could take bodybuilding’s biggest stage in December 2022. He doesn’t have enough points to qualify through points as per the Olympia qualification system. 

Related: Breaking Down How The 2022 Olympia Weekend Qualification System Works

Brett Wilkin took to his YouTube channel to share his full chest and shoulder workout. Even though it’s a push day for him, he decided to eliminate triceps from this routine.

Brett Wilkin’s shoulder and chest workout 

Here are the exercises ‘The Butcher’ did in this workout:

• Pec deck flye – warm-up
• Single-arm pec dec flye – warm-up 
• Incline prime press 
• Isolateral decline hammer-strength press 
• Seated dumbbell lateral raise 
• Standing Lateral raise Machine
• Incline barbell press 

1) Pec dec flye – warm-up 

Originally, Wilkin wanted to do cable flyes for the warm-up but settled for pec deck flyes as the cable pulley machine was pre-occupied. 

Wilkin suggested the following tips for optimal chest activation when using the pec deck machine:

1. Keep arms completely straight and elbows locked throughout the movement. 
2. Keep your chest lifted.
3. Lift your lower back off back pad. 
4. Try to bring forearms or palms as close as possible at the top. 

“Picture that you have a dot on the inside of each of your forearms and try to bring them together.”

Per the bodybuilder, he attains the most activation and contraction in his pectoral muscles by using the above method.

2) Single-arm pec dec flye – warm-up/back offset 

Brett switched his warm-up from the second set by combining the single-arm pec dec flye and double-arm pec dec flye in a back offset. 

A back offset is doing the same exercise with a heavier weight first followed by a lighter weight. Focusing on a lighter weight following the heavy weight enables muscles to focus on volume and intensity.

Coming back to his workout, Wilkin worked approximately 12 to 15 reps on each side, rested for 15 seconds, and finished with as many reps possible with double-arm pec dec flyes. 

3) Incline prime press 

The incline prime press was Wilkin’s first exercise in his chest routine. He used the progressive overload technique for this exercise, which involves increasing weight with every set, while maintaining a proper form. 

“You can only truly do progressive overload if your form, your intensity are exactly the same always. You got to come into your session, set up the exact same intensity, so you know if you’re actually progressing.”

The bodybuilder finished this exercise with a back offset as well. 

4) Isolateral decline hammer-strength press 

His next compound movement was a decline press. However, he adjusts the seat low, enabling him to focus on the overall chest while maintaining a full range of motion (ROM). 

He reiterates that you should not feel too much tension on your shoulder while performing the exercise, and the entire movement should focus on the pecs. Therefore, you should drop the elbows and shoulders and focus on using the chest.

5) Seated dumbbell lateral raise

Next, Brett moved to his shoulder routine. Even though the gym had machines, he chose to do seated dumbbell side raises, but not without a reason. 

He explained that dumbbells are the way to go if anyone wants to go “old school”. Additionally, he prefers seated dumbbell side raises since it takes the legs out of the movement. 

Exploring the exercise further, Wilkin explained he prefers using the forced reps training technique for the lift.

“The purpose of that is to go past failure,” Brett explained. “I’m going to do like 10 reps, I’ll probably get 10 on my own, and she comes in and just helps. All it takes is just a little [push] right below the elbow to kind of help raise them.”

The bodybuilder prefers this technique as it pushes his muscles beyond failure, which is where growth happens. 

He finished the seated dumbbell side lateral raises with a back offset with a twist. Instead of continuously doing light-weight reps, he held side raises for two seconds at the top of the motion before lowering the weight. 

Read More: Bodybuilders Chris Bumstead and Brett Wilkin Joined Forces for Intense Back Workout

6) Standing machine lateral raise 

His next exercise in the shoulder routine is the standing machine side lateral raise. For this exercise, he focused on doing a couple of sets using a method he called “running the pin.”

The idea of the technique is to do 10 reps with a certain weight, choose a different weight and do 10 more reps. The pin can run lower or higher, but each set should consist of 10 reps. Overall, he did five sets of 10 reps each.

7) Incline barbell press 

Brett Wilkin ended the chest and shoulder workout with a “blood starving set” for his pectoral muscles. 

“That’s where you keep your arms above your head so let either your arms, legs, whatever you’re training; to let the blood flow out of it and then it makes the rest of the set harder.”

Wilkin did an incline barbell press with 135 pounds. He did seven sets of 10 reps each and held his hands above his chest/head for 15 seconds after every set.

Check out Wilkin’s chest and shoulder workout below:

Looking forward 

Since Wilkin is not yet qualified for the 2022 Olympia, scheduled for December 15-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV, he is hard at work and prepping to earn a direct qualification by winning a show.

Stay on top of the latest fitness news and updates by adding Fitness Volt to your Google News feed: You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for even more content.