Shaun Clarida provides a workout ahead of the 2022 Olympia.
Shaun Clarida has started preparing for the 2022 Olympia — and for good reason. The former Olympia 212 champion earned qualification to the biggest event of the year after winning the 2021 Legion Sports Fest in the Open division. Now, Clarida is sharing some of his workouts to get in championship shape.
Clarida finished second to Derek Lunsford in this year’s Olympia. Many considered Clarida to be the favorite but he ended up with a silver medal. Following the event, Clarida announced that he would test himself in the Open division but would not be leaving 212. After a victory, it is clear that he can compete and will continue. Clarida has expressed interest in competing in both divisions during the Olympia but it is unknown if that is allowed. It is also unknown which division Clarida will be apart of.
The 2022 event in Las Vegas is exactly one year away. Many athletes have begun training and sharing some workouts. Shaun Clarida recently shared a massive chest and triceps workout to his YouTube page.
Clarida’s day began with a quick calf exercise. He explained that this was an area that needed to be improved and this is how he is beginning workouts. Clarida performed three sets of standing calf raises on a machine before getting into chest work.
Chest Workout
Hammer Strength Incline Press
Shaun Clarida began the workout with hammer strength incline press. He explained that this is one of the main exercises that he performs and even uses dumbbells on compound days. The machine will work muscles in a similar way. Clarida performs three sets totaling between 10-12 reps and finishes with a back-off set, which is usually 10-15 reps.
“For those who don’t know what the back-off set is, it’s when you finish your last heavy set, you do one more set. There, you increase the weight by, I think like, 16 percent of what you just did,” Clarida explained.
Incline Barbell Pin Press
This variation was attributed to Clarida’s late coach John Meadows. It is a more explosive version of an incline press. Clarida has been focusing on his upper chest area and this is a lift that can help. He performs two sets of 8-12 reps with progressive overload. Clarida likes to do upper chest early in the workout to get the best results possible.
Seated Chest Press Cable Machine
Shaun Clarida performed two sets of 8-12 reps on this machine before deciding to add a third. He was going to stop but admitted that this did not challenge him enough. Clarida added plates onto the machine weight and performed a third set. This provided the necessary pump before moving on.
Dips
Dips are an exercise that can work either chest or triceps — or both. When leaning forward, this exercise focuses on the chest muscles. This is what Clarida was looking for an completed a continuous set of 30 reps to failure.
Incline Chest Flyes Cable Machine
This was Shaun Clarida’s final chest workout of the day. He used D-handles because the diameter of the handle is smaller towards the thumb and gets wider. This is so the athlete can eliminate sing forearm strength for a firmer grip. Clarida performs two sets of 12-15 reps to finish his chest workout.
Triceps
Rope Pull-Downs
Pull downs are a great way to get the triceps going early in the workout and this is how Clarida began. He performed three sets of 8-15 reps. He explained that ropes provide extra movement and because of this, the triceps are hit harder. Clarida does not train arms on their own day in the offseason. He adds triceps to chest day and biceps to back.
Standing Overhead Dumbbell Extensions
Shaun Clarida finished his day with three sets of 8-12 reps with progressive overload. He said this was one of his favorite workouts for triceps because of the work that it does.
“You put more stress in the triceps in a straight position but also a really good contraction at the top.”
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