“This Is Too Much”: Exercise Scientist Reacts to Rich Piana’s Extremely Painful Chest Workout

Winning several NPC championships during his teenage years, Rich Piana was a well-known bodybuilder in the industry. However, in 2017, Piana passed away at the age of 46. With his insane 23.5-inch arms, Piana always had fans in the fitness community for his workout regimes. However, one such chest workout routine has now been brutally criticized by the Exercise Scientist.

Dr. Mike Israetel, who holds a PhD in sports physiology, often explains many fitness and exercise myths with scientific reasoning. When he was looking at Piana’s routine, Israetel couldn’t help but reject it right away. Let us see why the Exercise Scientist thought this way.

Israetel thinks Piana’s chest workout is bad news

Through his latest Instagram reel, Israetel was seen calling out Rich Piana for his extreme chest workout. Looking at an old video of Piana, Israetel remarked, “This is bad news for most people. This is too much. 100% club bench press is 10 sets of your body weight to failure.” As Piana initially shared how he would start with the Smith Machine Incline presses, Israetel seemed fine with it. However, when Piana mentioned that the bench press would be his second exercise, the Exercise Scientist had a problem.

As the video proceeded, Israetel kept on remarking how unbelievable the workout regimes looked. He said, “Get the f*ck outta here.” And when Piana again announced another element of his chest routine, cable flies, Israetel had some thoughts on that as well. “4-5 sets of Pyramid up in weight,” Israetel read the description of the workout he couldn’t help but wonder at what Piana was doing. “So as you get more tired you can go heavier? Backwards nonsense,” Israetel exclaimed. And when Piana mentioned his old-school weighted dips, the exercise Scientist declared, “One simply does not do this guys.”

Even as Israetel criticizes Piana, most know that he loved bodybuilding in its extreme form. But even then, the bodybuilder had once given the fitness world a reality check.

Rich Piana says people aren’t attracted to bulky physiques

Piana once explained that people are not attracted to massive bulky muscles. In fact, women like men’s physiques or actors like Brad Pritt. He thus stated, “Most Women, you know, you take as a whole, don’t necessarily like huge massive bodybuilders.”

Furthermore, Piana also warned bodybuilders that if they are working out to get women, after a point it would not cater to the purpose. He noted, Just a more leaner, athletic boy. So when you get to the stage that I’m at, 280 pounds – 290 pounds, the general public isn’t really necessarily attracted to that. So it kind of defeats the purpose, if you are doing it to get women.”

READ MORE: Jay Cutler Admits How Arnold Schwarzenegger Motivated Him to Take Up Bodybuilding: “That Was When I Actually Made the Commitment”

Rich Piana certainly had a massive body, but the chest workout recommended by him does not sound easy at all. As Israetel called him out, what is your opinion about his 100% club bench press? Let us know in the comments below.

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