Men’s Open division competitor Eric Janicki earned his IFBB Pro Card in May 2025, and is now on the hunt for an Olympia qualification. To get himself into the mix, the big man has been varying his volume to find his sweet spot when working his chest and triceps, while protecting himself from injury by using machines when going super-heavy.
“This felt like this was the perfect volume,” explained Janicki following an intense machine and cable session, via Instagram. “Every set close to failure, every rep designed to maximize mechanical tension while remaining joint protective.” Here’s how to get yourself jacked, Janicki style.
Eric Janicki’s “Perfect Volume” Chest and Triceps Workout
- Plate Loaded Chest Press: 2 Sets x 6 to 10 Reps
- Upper Chest Cable Fly: 2 Sets x 7 to 10 Reps
- Mid Chest Cable Fly: 2 Sets x 7 to 10 Reps
- Triceps Pushdown: 2 Sets x 8 to 12 Reps
- Tempo Weighted Dip: 2 Sets x 7 to 12 Reps
- Lateral Raise Machine: 2 Sets x 7 to 10 Reps
Workout Breakdown
Janicki got started with a seated plate loaded chest press machine, with “ROM added.” This means the athlete from Illinois added additional range of motion to the move, in this case, drawing his elbows right back for added stretch and further tension on the press. Using a seated incline, the 2025 NPC Worldwide Mexico Supershow winner further exhausted his chest, focusing on that much coveted stacked “top shelf” appearance during the upper chest cable fly. Unlike the previous pressing movement, adduction is required with flies in order to bring the arms towards the chest, rather than pushing the load away. To hit the upper chest raised the cables upward from his sides to head height.
Once again, the bodybuilder lets his arms drop right back to feel the stretch and pound the pecs, also recruiting the front deltoids within the shoulders, allowing him to go heavy while following a predetermined path, rather than being subjected to the instability of heavy dumbbells.
To return to the mid chest, the bodybuilder sets the cables at around shoulder height for his next seated cable fly variation, still utilizing the stretch at the end of the movement, but this time bringing his fists together over his chest rather than near his head. Janicki’s triceps are seriously taxed by this point, as he performs triceps pushdowns followed by weighted dips. And, to really turn those weighted dips into winning move, the IFBB Pro adds his own tempo, holding his body
at the bottom of the dip for at least three torturous seconds in order to score further time under tension. Rounding out with machine laterals, Janicki jacked up his shoulders once more, since this movement places an emphasis on the middle head of the deltoids.
To replicate these reps for yourself, Janicki focuses on failure, hitting his “perfect volume” between 6 to 12 reps. His intention is to exhaust the muscles with as much weight as possible, stimulating growth and only ever completing two sets for each move, save for warmup sets where desired. By mostly utilizing machines and cables to prevent injury from unwanted momentum, Janicki is able to really stretch his muscles and work on time under tension to build a tremendous physique.
