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Everyone wants a huge chest, plain and simple. It is all too
common to see inexperienced lifters slaving away on endless sets
of bench presses and cable crossovers in search of full, thick
pecs. The reality is that there is nothing complicated about
building an impressive chest. The bottom line for huge chest
gains is consistency, effort and steady progression in weight
and repetitions.
The chest is made up of two main heads, the pectoralis major and
the pectoralis minor. To stimulate the chest using weights you
will be using one of two motions: a press or a flye. If you want
the greatest bang for your buck from your chest workouts, the
true gains lie in your pressing movements. Flyes may have their
place from time to time, but nothing can compare to the overall
anabolic effect of high intensity pressing movements. I'm
talking about the basic, bread-and-butter lifts such as heavy
barbell presses, dumbbell presses and wide-grip dips. Save the
pec-deck and cable crossovers for the pencil necked geeks on the
treadmill; real men train with real lifts.
Like I said before, building a thick and well-developed chest is
fairly simple. There are no secrets, magic formulas or killer
techniques that will "shock" your chest into massive growth.
Stick to your basic presses, focus on overload and progression,
and I promise that you will see impressive gains. Here are the
most effective lifts for packing muscle onto the chest:
Flat/Incline/Decline Barbell Bench Press:
A standard barbell press is the meat and potatoes of any
effective chest routine. This basic compound movement will allow
you to handle the most weight through the given range of motion.
The incline press will shift more of the stress to the upper
region of the chest while the decline does the opposite,
targeting the lower/outer region. The flat bench press works the
upper and lower regions equally. I highly recommend a standard
barbell press as a basic component of your chest routine.
Flat/Incline/Decline Dumbbell Press:
Dumbbell presses are another basic and highly effective movement
for stimulating chest development. The main advantage that they
have over the barbell is that they allow you to move through a
more natural range of motion, helping to prevent shoulder
injuries. They also prevent strength imbalances from occurring
since one arm can't cheat for the other. The only drawback is
that you are not able to handle as much weight. Overall, a
standard dumbbell press is an awesome movement that allows for
great chest stimulation.
Wide-Grip Dips:
An amazing movement for the chest that is often overlooked. Make
sure to use a wider grip and lean forward to shift the stress
from the triceps onto the pectorals. If pressing your own body
weight is not sufficient then you can always add weight using a
weight belt. Dips are an excellent compound movement for overall
chest development.
Here are a couple sample chest routines:
1) Flat Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7 Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 x
5-7 Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7
2) Incline Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7 Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7
Flat Dumbbell Press: 2 x 5-7
All sets should stay within the 5-7 rep range and should be
taken to complete muscular failure. Write down the details of
each workout you perform and focus on progressing in either
weight or reps from week to week. There is nothing more to it
than that. Good luck!
About the author:
Sean Nalewanyj is a bodybuilding expert and writer of
top-selling Internet Bodybuilding E-Book: The Truth About
Building Muscle. You can find more information by visiting
his website: http://www.MuscleGainTruth
.com/
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