2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champ Mitchell Hooper teamed with 2023 Fitness Olympia silver medalist Taylor Learmont to tackle her high-volume off-season chest and arms workout routine.
The Fitness division comprises two pre-judging rounds. Competitors first showcase their physiques in a series of quarter turns, then showcase their athleticism and endurance in a dynamic dance-style fitness routine.
Taylor Learmont’s Off-Season Chest and Arm Workout
Here is a summary of the training session:
Superset: Dumbbell Bench Press & Push-Ups
Superset: Incline Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Press & Push-Ups
Seated Hammer Curl
Alternating Dumbbell Curls
EZ-Bar Skull Crusher
Check out the video below:
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Superset: Dumbbell Bench Press & Push-Ups
Learmont prioritizes strength gains during the off-season by starting workouts with a heavy compound lift; five to seven repetitions per set. She follows with max-rep push-ups, ensuring full range of motion (ROM).
Hooper completed 22 push-ups, one more than Learmont, but his ROM was limited, with elbows bending only to 90 degrees at the bottom.
Pec Deck Flyes
The duo transitioned to pec deck flyes, employing slow eccentrics typically to promote hypertrophy. Learmont kept her hands open throughout the exercise to limit forearm and biceps recruitment.
Superset: Incline Neutra-Grip Dumbbell Press & Push-Ups
This conventional dumbbell press variation involves holding the dumbbells with a neutral (palms facing each other) grip, which can lower strain on the rotator cuffs and increase the loading on the upper chest and triceps.
Learmont and Hooper superset dumbbell presses with dumbbell push-ups. They rotated the dumbbells outward during the lowering phase, pushing them together during the concentric to match their structures.
Contract your chest as you roll [the dumbbells] in, almost like a dumbbell chest flye.
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Seated Hammer Curl, Alternating Dumbbell Curls & EZ-Bar Skullcrusher
Learmont acknowledges her arms as her weakest muscle group and prioritizes their development during the off-season. She uses bilateral hammer curls to bias the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis. The incline setup increases her range of motion without using momentum.
She follows with alternating dumbbell curls, as unilateral training can help identify and fix strength and muscle imbalances. Learmont and Hooper concluded the workout with EZ-bar skull crushers to load the long and medial triceps heads.
Fitness Routine
Learmont attributes her second-place finish at her Olympia debut to her exceptionally strong Fitness routine.
I like to do my skill work right after an upper body day as it helps me with the [muscular] endurance.
Following the strength portion of the workout, Learmont and Hooper move to skill work, a crucial aspect of Fitness training. This phase involves practicing mandatory routine elements, including high kicks, splits, push-ups, and a strength hold.
Learmont demonstrated proper form for each exercise and modified Hooper to accommodate his individual abilities. Hooper closed the video with a basic Fitness routine, incorporating the scaled-down versions of all the mandatory elements.
Way Forward
Learmont’s second-place finish at the 2023 Olympia earned her a direct qualification to the 2024 Olympia, scheduled for Oct. 10-13 in Las Vegas, NV. Her sights are set on dethroning the reigning champion Oksana Grishina and claiming gold.
Featured image: @legionsportsfest on Instagram
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