It’s not months, it’s not weeks; in just three days, top Men’s Open stars will battle at the 2026 Arnold Classic. On March 2, frontrunner Martin Fitzwater showcased his chest pump workout ahead of the show.
The stakes couldn’t be higher – Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the 2026 Arnold Classic Open winner will earn a historic $750,000 purse, higher than Mr. Olympia’s payout. Hadi Choopan and Chinedu Andrew ‘Jacked’ Obiekea stand out as the clear favorites: together, they secured spots second and third at the recent Olympia contest.
However, the lineup is loaded with big-name bodybuilders. Martin Fitzwater is one of them. He picked up massive momentum from two performances. First, he finished fifth at the Olympia, but then managed to beat Samson Dauda at the Prague Pro. Fitzwater has plenty of threats to handle onstage, including those mentioned, along with Nick Walker, Rafael Brandao, and Brandon Curry. Knowing he has to bring his best, Fitzwater hasn’t slowed down throughout prep.
Martin Fitzwater’s Final Touch Chest Workout 3 Days from the 2026 Arnold Classic
Find his exercises from the video below:
- Arsenal chest press machine
- Machine Smith Press
- Cable chest fly – (Superset A)
- EZ bar triceps pushdown – (Superset B)
- Hammer Strength chest press machine
- Standing lateral raise machine
Arsenal chest press machine
Fitzwater likes to push blood into his pecs before heading over to a fly movement.
“We’re going to start on a press. I want to get the pecs a little bit activated before we do some flies first. I know I usually start with flies, but I’m going to get on this flat here, where I still have just a touch of strength maybe, and try to just move a little bit of weight.”
Machine Smith Press
In between Smith press sets, he updated fans on how he’s feeling in the final stages of prep:
“Everything is heavy and hurts, but we can see the goal in sight,” he said.
Cable chest fly – (Superset A) & EZ bar triceps pushdown – (Superset B)
After warming up his chest fibers, Fitzwater used cable chest flies for a deep stretch and supersetted with triceps pushdowns to boost his overall calorie burn during the session.
Hammer Strength chest press machine
For a chest finisher, “The Martian” moved over to the Hammer Strength chest press machine.
“About finished up, we’ll do one more good set, good pump here, and then a little bit of lateral raises just to get some blood in there.”
Standing lateral raise machine
Then, he topped off his upper body pump with a little bit of shoulder work.
“Short, sweet, and to the point.”
Fans believe Fitzwater does have a legit shot at winning the 2026 Arnold Classic, yet bodybuilding veterans don’t seem to think so. Thus far, Dennis James, Chris Cormier, Jay Cutler, Iain Valliere, Seth Feroce, Shahriar Kamali, and John Hansen have all backed either Choopan or Jacked to win the title.
Fitzwater continues to dial in his physique as he aims to capture his first major bodybuilding crown. Don’t miss Fitness Volt‘s full coverage of the 2026 Arnold Classic, set for March 5-8 in Columbus, Ohio.
Watch the full video from the Martin ‘the Martian’ Fitzwater YouTube channel below:
Follow the 2026 Arnold Classic live – prejudging breakdowns, event recaps, expert analysis, and complete results as they happen. Get full coverage at our Arnold Classic hub: FitnessVolt.com/arnold-classic
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