“ At the very end, I’ m gassed, but I’ ll also add a few partial reps to push my body past the threshold.”
FRONT AND CENTRE Following laterals to the side are alternating dumbbell raises to the front, for four to five sets of more FST-7-inspired madness.“ I’ ll do some of the same things I do with laterals, like peak contraction holds, where I’ ll come up for a two-count— one-one-thousand, two-onethousand— then back down on each rep, or partials, where I finish a set with five or six quarter-reps. I also adjust my grip placement on my front raises, with some sets thumbs up and some thumbs down to target a slightly different part of the front deltoid. I’ ll switch off between alternating and lifting the weights at the same time, too.”
While most sets end in failure or close to it, Buendia cautions that overall pacing matters.“ I push my muscles to the point where I know
“ If all I do is win the contest but don’ t do anything with it afterward, then being the Men’ s Physique Olympia champion doesn’ t mean much.”
they can go. But I also understand how to conserve energy to get me through the full hour that I’ m training a body part,” he says.
Three to four sets of standing behind-the-back cable laterals follow, which engage both the middle and rear heads.“ Going behind the back creates more stretch in the deltoid, allows for a longer negative motion on each rep, and stretches the fascia around the muscle tissue,” Buendia points out.“ That’ s a growth trigger.”
Staying at the cable station, he’ ll switch out the D-handle attachment for a rope, which he straddles for the next movement, cable front raises.“ I don’ t go too heavy, but instead emphasize the squeeze at the top of each rep,” he says.“ I angle my body forward about 45 degrees, basically leaning as a counterweight to the stack, and I’ ll lift my arms up to about
46 FLEX | MARCH 2018