How Big Ramy Trains Chest and Shoulders for Open-Bodybuilding Size
UPLIFT IRON CLUBThe Real Pattern: Progression, Not Random Heaviness
Big Ramy’s physique makes it easy to assume the training formula is simply “use absurd weights.” The source material shows something more organized. In the Muscle & Fitness chest feature, his target repetitions rotate across a five-week progression: six, eight, ten, twelve and fifteen before the cycle starts again. As the rep target falls, the load rises. A separate feature on his shoulder training describes the same basic idea, moving from higher-rep work toward six-to-eight-rep work before returning to the higher range.
That matters because Open bodybuilding is judged on muscular size, shape and presentation, not a one-rep max. Ramy needs enough heavy work to keep high-threshold fibers challenged, but he also needs enormous volumes of productive repetitions without turning every session into a joint-and-connective-tissue test. Rotating rep targets gives the same exercises a slightly different stress while preserving the ability to track progression.
For ordinary lifters, the useful part is not copying his loads. It is copying the structure. Pick a stable group of movements, work across a planned rep range, and add load only when the reps remain controlled. A six-rep week should still look like bodybuilding, not a powerlifting meet. A fifteen-rep week should still be hard enough that the final repetitions demand focus.
The bigger lesson is that variation works best when it has a reason. Ramy does not need a brand-new chest workout every Monday. The stimulus changes because rep targets, load and intensity shift around familiar movement patterns. That makes performance easier to compare and keeps “muscle confusion” from becoming program confusion.
Chest Starts With Upper-Pec Priority
Ramy’s chest work repeatedly puts the upper chest first. In one observed session he began with incline dumbbell flyes to pre-exhaust the upper pecs before moving into pressing. Another Muscle & Fitness feature describes incline dumbbell presses for four working sets of eight to twelve, followed by incline flyes. The exact order has varied, but the priority is consistent: the clavicular portion of the chest gets attention while he is fresh.
That is a bodybuilding decision rather than a universal rule. Starting with a fly means the pecs are already fatigued before the heavy press, so the pressing numbers may be lower. If your goal is the biggest possible bench press, that is a poor trade. If your goal is to make the chest do more of the work and the upper chest is a visual priority, it can make sense—provided the fly is controlled and not loaded like an ego lift.
The source session is a good example of why exercise names alone do not explain a workout. Ramy used heavy dumbbells, but the report emphasizes controlled motion and deliberate contractions. On flyes, the challenge is maintaining a consistent elbow angle and letting the upper arm move through horizontal adduction without turning the rep into a half-press. On incline presses, the bench angle should be high enough to bias the upper chest but not so steep that the front delts dominate everything.
For most lifters, a simpler version works: one incline press, one flat or converging press and one fly/cable movement. Progress those for months. Ramy has access to a huge equipment menu at Oxygen Gym, but the principle underneath the machines is ordinary—prioritize the area you want to improve, then accumulate high-quality work.
Controlled Pressing Beats Turning Every Set Into a Strength Test
Ramy is exceptionally strong, but his chest training is not built around proving it on every exercise. Reports of his sessions repeatedly mention slow, precise reps, controlled eccentrics and the ability to keep tension on the pecs. That distinction is important. The load is a tool for creating muscular tension; it is not the scoreboard by itself.
Machine presses fit that goal well. A fixed or converging path reduces the amount of attention needed to stabilize the implement, which can let a bodybuilder push close to muscular failure with less concern about a free bar drifting out of position. Ramy has used Smith-machine incline presses, Hammer Strength pressing and other machine variations alongside dumbbells and barbells. Variety here is not about machines being magically superior. It is about choosing a stable setup that lets the target tissue become the limiting factor.
His chest feature also describes a five-week progression in which the rep target changes while the exercise selection stays recognizable. That is a better model than chasing a personal record every session. If a press moves from twelve controlled reps to the same twelve with more load, that is progress. If it moves from twelve full reps to eight half reps plus four forced grinders, the logbook may look better while the stimulus becomes harder to compare.
For a recreational bodybuilder, leave one to three repetitions in reserve on most working sets and push selected final sets harder when technique is stable. That keeps enough intensity for hypertrophy while making weekly volume recoverable. Ramy’s size is extreme; the idea that every set must therefore be extreme is exactly the wrong lesson.
Shoulder Size Comes From More Than Pressing
Ramy’s shoulders are one of the defining features of his physique, and the dedicated Muscle & Fitness shoulder feature makes clear that pressing is only part of the job. Seated dumbbell presses provide the heavy compound work, but lateral and rear-delt movements are necessary if the goal is a three-dimensional shoulder rather than simply stronger front delts.
This is especially relevant for bodybuilders because the anterior delts already work hard during chest pressing. Adding endless front raises on top of heavy incline and flat pressing can spend recovery on a muscle that is already receiving plenty of stimulus. Side delts create much of the visible shoulder width in a front pose, while rear delts help the shoulder look complete from the side and back.
Ramy’s shoulder progression again spans roughly six to fifteen reps depending on the week. That does not mean every lateral raise should be forced into a six-rep max. Exercise mechanics matter. A press tolerates heavier loading well; a lateral raise often works better with a load that allows the humerus to move smoothly without turning the set into a shrug-and-swing contest.
A practical shoulder session can therefore be simple: one overhead press, one lateral-raise variation, one rear-delt fly/reverse pec-deck movement and, if needed, a second lateral variation. Track reps and load, but also track whether the target muscle is doing the work. The goal is not to make the dumbbell rack fear you. It is to make the delts grow.
Failure Is a Tool, Not the Default Setting
One of the most useful details in the observed chest workout is that Ramy did not take every working set to full-rep failure and beyond. The report says the final set of an exercise was typically the one pushed into the no-surrender zone, sometimes with two or three forced reps from his trainer. Earlier sets built the workload without exhausting every reserve immediately.
That is a much better model than assuming a pro bodybuilder spends two hours failing under every machine. Failure increases fatigue quickly. Used selectively, it can ensure a hard hypertrophy stimulus. Used on every set, especially on large presses, it can degrade technique and reduce the quality of the rest of the session. The larger the athlete and the heavier the absolute loads, the more expensive sloppy fatigue can become.
Forced reps also require context. Ramy trained with experienced supervision and a spotter who understood the movement. A random gym partner yanking the dumbbells upward while the lifter loses position is not the same method. Most people can get nearly all of the benefit by ending the set when another clean full-range rep is unlikely.
This is where the “train like a pro” slogan needs editing. Train with a pro’s intent, not necessarily a pro’s intensity techniques. Use stable form, record performance, progress gradually and reserve advanced methods for exercises where failure is safe to manage. A machine fly or lateral raise is a very different place to experiment than a heavy free-weight press.
The order of intensity also matters. If the first exercise becomes an all-out forced-rep marathon, everything afterward is performed with a fatigued chest, triceps and shoulder girdle. Saving the deepest effort for the last set lets earlier work contribute meaningful volume while technique is still predictable. That makes the session easier to progress because the lifter can compare normal working sets before fatigue-management tactics enter the picture.
For most hypertrophy work, think in terms of proximity to failure rather than a binary choice between easy and absolute failure. A set that ends with one or two clean reps left can still be very hard. On stable isolation movements, taking the final set to technical failure may be reasonable. On a heavy press, stopping when bar path or shoulder position starts deteriorating is often the better trade. The muscle does not know whether the logbook says “failure”; it experiences tension, recruitment and fatigue.
What Lifters Should Actually Copy From Big Ramy
The obvious thing you cannot copy is Big Ramy’s scale. His training history, genetics, competitive context and ability to recover from bodybuilding volume are not normal reference points. But the structure underneath the spectacle is surprisingly usable. He prioritizes weak areas early, rotates rep targets instead of living in one range, keeps a stable core of movements, controls the eccentric and saves the hardest intensity techniques for selected sets.
For chest, a Ramy-inspired session might begin with an incline press or controlled incline fly, follow with a second press in a stable machine or Smith setup, then finish with a fly or cable movement. Three or four hard sets per exercise is plenty for most trained lifters. For shoulders, use a press plus dedicated side- and rear-delt work rather than assuming chest pressing already built everything you need.
You can also borrow the five-week progression without copying the exact numbers. For example, spend one week around twelve to fifteen reps, then ten to twelve, then eight to ten, then six to eight, before returning to higher reps with slightly better loads or execution. Keep isolation movements in safer moderate-to-high ranges if very low reps make the technique ugly.
Volume has to be scaled to the person doing the workout. A professional Open bodybuilder can tolerate and benefit from more direct chest and delt work than a lifter who also uses several full-body sessions, plays sport or trains around a demanding job. Start with enough sets to progress, not enough sets to imitate the photographs. If performance, joint comfort and motivation are sliding week after week, adding another machine because Ramy used it is not the solution.
Exercise selection should respect anatomy and equipment. Ramy can choose among many converging presses, Smith angles, cable stations and dumbbells. You do not need the same machines to reproduce the stimulus. A stable dumbbell press can replace a machine press; a cable fly can replace a pec deck; a chest-supported rear-delt raise can replace a reverse fly machine. Keep the function of the movement even when the hardware changes.
Progression is easiest to manage when the logbook records more than load. Note the bench angle, machine seat position, handle setting and rep target. Those details make a set performed this week comparable with the one performed next month. If the setup changes every session, a heavier stack number may simply reflect better leverage rather than more muscular output.
Recovery is the final filter. Chest and front-delt work overlap heavily, so placing the hardest shoulder pressing immediately after a brutal chest day may not suit everyone. Ramy’s historical split separated chest and delts across different days, giving each area a dedicated focus. Most lifters can use the same idea even with fewer sessions: distribute pressing volume so the shoulders are not constantly carrying fatigue from yesterday’s chest work.
Most importantly, copy the distinction between muscular effort and weight-room theater. Ramy’s chest training included enormous dumbbells, but the reports keep returning to control, tension, angles and progression. Open-bodybuilding size is built by accumulating a huge amount of effective training over years. The impressive weight matters only when the target muscle can still own the rep. Make the movement repeatable, make progression measurable, and make intensity serve the muscle rather than your ego.
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