I just started ABBH this week. I have to say WOW! because yesterday I walked into and out of the gym in 30 minutes. Loved It.
My question is that on the vertical day for chest & back would it be allright to substitute incline barbell press for dips? The reason is that I never feel my chest being worked when doing dips; only my tris. It has always been like this.
Also, due to my work schedule I have to be at work before the gym opens on Sunday. So would it be alright to do Friday & Saturday back to back or is the one day rest critical in ABBH? (This is pretaining to the first week because if you follow one day on and one day off you are to take Saturday off and workout on Sunday.)
As for the dip issue, you should try performing dips with your hand/arm spacing wider than you previously used. Hopefully you have access to a V-shaped dipping bar. If so, utilize the widest part of the V. Dips are an awesome chest builder if your technique is correct.
Regarding dips, also play around with the way your upper body and legs hang (does that make sense?). By doing that you can find the groove that hits your chest the best. Some people find that’s with their legs hanging straight down, others with their legs retracted (retracted?) and knees bent. Experiment.
Don’t be too concerned either if you feel a lot of triceps activation- Chad’s program doesn’t include direct arm work, so here you’re getting some. Dips can beef up the chest, tris and even the delts. I love 'em!
If you want to feel dips in the pecs, try leaning forward throughout the entire movement. You’ll naturally lean if you pull your heels all the way to you butt instead of using a 90 deg knee bend. More so if you do the heels-to-butt while squeezing a dumbbell between the knees.
Also on dips, you should go a little further than the back of your arm parallel with the floor. I use to do that until I read an article on proper tecnique and it said to go further. It makes quite the difference.