Classic Physique Bodybuilder Wesley Vissers’ Push Day to Qualify for Olympia

Wesley Vissers’ push workout is primarily machine-focused movements. 

Every bodybuilder dreams of having chiseled six-pack abs, powerful legs, and attractive glutes. However, as you’re aware, this is just one aspect of fitness and physique. A well-rounded bodybuilder must also cultivate a strong and adequately trained upper body. For this article, we’ll follow Dutch bodybuilder Wesley Vissers’ push workout in preparing for qualifying for Olympia. 

Upper body training is also a form of functional training. You train the muscles that you’d use to, for example, to get up from the floor. Push-day workouts build upper body muscles like the shoulders, chest, and triceps, and research shows that splitting your training this way is a great way to improve your upper body strength (1). 

Wesley Visser is an Olympia Classic Physique athlete who has won competitions like the IFBB Poland Pro, IFBB France Pro and plans to compete on the Olympia stage with professionals like Chris Bumstead. He still needs to get his qualification, and this training is part of his training to win a pro competition and meet the qualification before October 9th.

Wesley Vissers’ Push Day Workout 

 

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This Wesley Vissers’ push day training is in his cutting phase. During this phase, the goal is to lower your calories while maintaining strength and muscle. Vissers does warm-ups to prepare his muscles and joints before exercising. In total, he hits six push day exercises using machines and dumbbells. Below are the exercises for his push-day workout. 

Machine Decline Chest Press

Wesley Vissers did a machine chest press to kickstart his push day workouts. He pinned his back to the bench on a decline during this workout. The machine decline chest press builds your pecs, triceps, and delts. Research shows that this exercise targets your lower pecs due to the decline of the bench (2).

Using a machine offers more stability, so lifters of all levels can do this routine. Compared to free weight chest movements like the barbell bench press, it eliminates core and stabilizer involvement to only engage the pecs. 

Incline Smith Machine Bench Press

The incline Smith machine bench press is an exercise that targets your pecs, delts, and triceps. Using a Smith machine for this exercise means you’ll need less stabilization and balance than a free barbell. It also offers a straight bar path, and you can focus more on your upper body muscles.

Wesley Vissers states that he prefers a Smith Machine as it removes the need for a spotter. He also says that not locking your elbows out helps to keep tension on your chest muscles. Vissers does three warm-up sets, one working set, and two back-off sets with high reps for more muscle growth.

Cable Fly

The cable fly is an isolation routine that mainly targets your chest muscles. Compared to the bench press, its main job is to add volume to your pecs. Biomechanically, you can’t use as much weight on this movement as the barbell bench press. 

To do the cable fly, Wesley Vissers used a functional trainer. This offers an angle of pull that is similar to doing dumbbell flyes. He also assumes a staggered stance and uses a neutral grip during this routine. 

Cable Triceps Pushdown 

The cable triceps pushdown, as the name suggests, builds your triceps. This exercise improves your upper arm development by hitting all three heads of the tricep muscle. Cable triceps pushdowns are single joint isolation exercises, and research shows how you can use the intensity of this exercise to induce muscle growth in all three heads, leading to bigger triceps and arms (3).

Wesley Vissers grabbed an EZ bar using a narrow grip to do the cable triceps pushdown. He also avoids fully extending his elbows in the bottom position to prevent joint strain. Vissers did this exercise using an overhand grip.

Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions

The cable overhead triceps extension is another exercise that targets all three heads of the triceps. However, the overhead position places particular emphasis on the long head. This exercise is a great way to increase the size of your triceps and arms.

Wesley Vissers did cable overhead triceps extensions unilaterally. He advises starting with your weaker arm and working it as much as possible before matching it with your stronger arm. Unilateral exercises are also great for finding and addressing muscle imbalances between your arms.

Sideways Incline Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Wesley Vissers targets his shoulders with his last movement for the day as he looks to qualify for Olympia. Sideways incline dumbbell lateral raises isolate your lateral delts. To keep constant tension on your muscles, you should avoid the dumbbells touching your body at the bottom of your movement.

You can watch Wesley Vissers’ full push workout to qualify for Olympia here:

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References

1. Bartolomei, S., Nigro, F., Malagoli Lanzoni, I., Masina, F., Di Michele, R., & Hoffman, J. R. (2021). A Comparison Between Total Body and Split Routine Resistance Training Programs in Trained Men. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 35(6), 1520–1526. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003573
2. Lauver, J. D., Cayot, T. E., & Scheuermann, B. W. (2016). Influence of bench angle on upper extremity muscular activation during bench press exercise. European journal of sport science, 16(3), 309–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2015.1022605 
3. Hussain, J., Sundaraj, K., Subramaniam, I. D., & Lam, C. K. (2020). Muscle Fatigue in the Three Heads of Triceps Brachii During Intensity and Speed Variations of Triceps Push-Down Exercise. Frontiers in physiology, 11, 112. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00112