Men’s Open standout Martin Fitzwater is making sure every training session counts in the lead-up to his next show. On April 10, 2025, he broke down his chest and delt workout in prep for the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro.
Fitzwater had a breakout 2024 bodybuilding season. It began with a victory at the Detroit Pro, where he narrowly edged past Ugolnikov ‘Goodvito’ Vitalii. Then, he rolled right into the New York Pro. He gave Nick Walker a run for his money but ultimately landed in second place.
In his Mr. Olympia debut, Fitzwater sent ripples through the Men’s Open, holding his own in fourth place, with some arguing he could’ve beaten Derek Lunsford. Instead of heading into an off-season, Fitzwater took on Chris Bumstead in the Classic champ’s Open debut in Prague. When it was over, Fitzwater emerged victorious, clinching his 2025 Olympia qualification. With the Pittsburgh Pro coming soon, he plans to continue his hot streak.
Martin Fitzwater Blasts His Chest & Shoulders With Intense Workout
These were the movements he executed in his recent YouTube video:
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- Pec Deck Fly Machine
- Incline Smith Machine Bench
- Chest Press Machine
- Cable Crossover
- Cable Lateral Raises
- Lying Cable Lateral Raise/Cross
Pec Deck Fly Machine
He wanted to get the pecs activated immediately with an isolation movement, which led him to the pec deck fly machine.
“We’re going to start with some flies here, really get that chest activated again like I was talking about when I was warming up. We want to isolate these pecs. We will get into some compound movements here after we do some isolation and pre-exhaustion.”
Incline Smith Machine Bench
He offered a tip on bench positioning on the incline Smith machine so that it’s properly aligned for an ideal bar path.
“What I like to do, I like to put the bench in here close in the middle. Set the bar all the way down on the bench. Most of the Smith machines have these two marks, and try to make sure the spaces on each side are about the same.”
Chest Press Machine
Performing on the chest press machine, “The Martian” aims to keep his chest high while focusing on pushing through the pecs for maximum stimulus.
“Body’s Master’s flat press here. It’s a pin-loaded flat press. This one is super smooth, really comfortable, where I can just lock into the machine, keep my shoulders down and back, keep that chest high, and just really focus on pushing through those pecs,” shared Fitzwater.
Cable Crossover
Next, he completed cable crossovers to top off his chest pump.
Cable Lateral Raises
He hit cable lateral raises after the chest portion of the workout was over. He fired off reps unilaterally to ensure each shoulder received adequate work.
“If I had to pick one over the other, I would definitely pick cables over dumbbells, just because of the constant tension factor there.”
Lying Cable Lateral Raise/Cross
Fitzwater credited lying cable lateral raises as his favorite delt movement before wrapping up the session.
“This is honestly probably my favorite lateral delt movement. One, you’re getting a pulling across your body because we’re going to take our left or right hand and put it in the left side and our left hand and put it in the right side, so we’re crossing those cables and then we’re on an incline bench here coming up.”
Fitzwater faces down the barrel of a deep lineup in Pittsburgh. He’ll have his big rematch against Walker, but other big-name Pros will be in attendance, including Lunsford, Michal Krizanek, and Goodvito, making it one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Fitzwater’s strategic approach to upper body training could pay dividends when he steps back onstage. He plans to bring a brand new look to Pittsburgh, which is scheduled to take place from May 10-11.
Watch the full video from the Martin ‘The Martian’ Fitzwater YouTube channel below:
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