JASON KELCE MAY have retired from the NFL, but he hasn’t slowed his training down. The former Eagles centre has been training for performance off the pitch, with the help of exercise scientist Dr Mike Israetel. Dr Israetel’s full chest, shoulders and tris workout is designed to rebuild muscle, spare the joints, and match Kelce’s fast-twitch physiology.
Speaking to Kelce in the YouTube video, Dr Israetel says, ‘You have a higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibres than the average person. So what ends up happening is those fibres accumulate metabolites really fast, but they can’t dump them off. So… if we take you to close to failure with any exercise, you get what’s called local metabolite occlusion, and your reps drop off a cliff. We want to stay away from that cliff as much as possible and just get really clean reps in.’
This means the heavier lifts in Kelce’s session work further from failure and have more control, without sacrificing gains. The lighter lifts will still push you close to failure, to deliver smart volume. Here’s Kelce’s full science-backed session.
Jason Kelce’s workout
Incline Bench Press x 10-12 reps and 3 sets
‘We’re doing incline bench press, and this one maximises reliance on range of motion, moderate weights, controlled movements, and a tonne of control at a deep stretch, which makes your joints better off in the long run. And for hypertrophy purposes, it’s really potent,’ says Dr Israetel of this move from the workout he prescribed for Kelce.
How to do it:
- Lie back on an incline bench and grip the bar just wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lower the bar to your upper chest with control.
- Press the bar back up, locking out without bouncing or rushing.
Bodyweight triceps press x 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps
(Progress by lowering the bar over time)
Dr Israetel recommends: ‘This is a triceps exercise that’ll cook your ass, but it requires no external load. This is a really good one because it’s free. It’s also adjustable. If you get up to sets of 20 and it’s too easy, go down one [bar setting]. Then work your way back up to 20.’ He also recommends to keep the elbows high without dropping them too much during the rep.
How to do it:
- Set a bar in a rack or Smith machine at chest to hip height, depending on strength levels.
- Grip the bar and walk your feet back until your body forms a straight line.
- Bend your elbows to lower your forehead toward the bar, then press back to the starting position.
Deficit Push-up x myo-rep rest-pause style
‘We’re going to do myo-rep style. So you’re going to do a set of 10. If you can’t do all 10 in a row, you just rest at the top and then keep going,’ says Dr Israetel. ‘The cool thing about these kinds of sets is that anytime muscles get close to failure, they grow. So you don’t have to be in the set the entire time to make it work. As long as you’re working close to failure, the total number of reps you hit is the key thing.’
How to do it:
- Place your hands on two raised surfaces to increase the range of motion.
- Hit a strong high plank position.
- Lower your chest between your hands with control, pause, then push back up.
- Do 10 reps, resting at the top if needed to complete the set.
Lateral Raise x 1 extended set to failure + top-end hold
‘Shoulders are a muscle group that you can train every day because the muscle heals so quickly and recovers so well. But in your case, with all the work you’ve already done on them, we’re just going to hit one nasty set to failure and then hold the top position for as long as you can,’ says Dr Israetel.
- Stand tall holding light dumbbells at your sides.
- Raise your arms out to shoulder height with a slight bend in your elbows and little fingers slightly higher than your thumbs.
- Finish with an isometric hold just above shoulder height to fully fatigue the delts.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
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