training your chest shouldn't just be about the movements, a real workout where you can feel the stretching and squeezing of your pecs with every stroke until you are almost out of strength and stop the movement. Feel the expansion of your muscles and feel your pecs get another size in front of the mirror.
Chest training will naturally use the bench press, however, everyone has their own bench press method, as the old iron most familiar with the action, different methods will produce different results, to push better than others, pump feeling stronger, you mastered how much?
for many enthusiasts, training chest day will usually be the main training pectoralis major, training movements are generally sets such as
l flat bench press
l the upper incline bench press
l dumbbell flyes
l lower incline bench press
if you do the pectoralis exercises first, your body is likely to get fatigued during the next movements. This is why most of the little ones have a weaker upper chest.
1. Start with the upper pectoral movements
the easiest solution for upper pec training is to start with upper chest movements. So instead of starting with the flat bench press, try starting with the upper incline bench press.
This is when the body is at its highest level of strength and you can lift more weight when doing the upper incline bench press, forcing the upper chest muscles to lift heavier weights than before and stimulating muscle growth.
don't keep choosing weights that can be easily mastered and do 4 sets of 8-12 reps per movement. Training this way hinders muscle growth because the muscle fibres are not really challenged. Since you are starting with the upper incline bench press, try to push yourself by increasing the weight.
2. Don't do a fixed angle of the upper incline bench press
in most cases, the angle of the upward incline bench press is a fixed 30 degree angle. However, there is no science to suggest that the same angle should be used for every upper chest exercise.
it is important to find an upper incline bench with an adjustable incline, adjusted to your comfort level. This will help to lift the upper body muscles and train the muscle fibres in a different way.
3. Do more than one movement
doing another movement for a particular part of the body is a very good technique. Remember, doing the same movement does not help.
for example, if you want to do another movement after doing an upper incline barbell bench press, then doing the same movement on a smith machine will not be beneficial. It is better to choose an upward incline dumbbell bench press with less inclination, this will train to the upper chest muscle fibres in a different way and get more results.
4. Exhaustion doesn't mean it's over
if you want to build muscle, then don't be afraid of muscle exhaustion. If you are going to do a set of 10 reps and know perfectly well that you can do 1 to 5 more reps, then 10 to end is not the right thing to do.
there are several techniques you can try on chest training days, just make sure you have a workout partner by your side:.
L forcing reps
perform the workout as you would a normal workout and have a partner help you complete more reps when you are close to exhaustion.
L centrifugal phase
perform the movement normally and when you are close to exhaustion, have a partner stabilise you and take 5 seconds to slowly lower the weight and focus on the centrifugal phase of the contraction.
it's okay not to have a workout partner, here's a technique that people can train too:.
L pause for rest training
choose a weight that can lift 8 and do only 3-4 reps, then rest for 20 seconds; do another 3-4 reps and string 4-5 small sets together with 20 seconds rest in between so that you can do 15 reps with a weight that can only be lifted 7-8 times.
L decreasing sets
if the muscles are exhausted, rather than ending the workout, reduce the weight by 25% and continue until the muscles are exhausted again.
5. Try different upper pec training movements
assuming that the basic movements for the upper pecs are known, here are some movements to try that target the upper pecs
l higher incline upper incline bench press
whether with dumbbells or a smith machine, bench press at a 45 degree angle on an adjustable bench to give a variation to this classic exercise.
l upper incline machine bench press
choose equipment that is not used much, rather than commonly used. Alternatively, if the gym has a humongous pec machine, practice with both arms apart, sit on your side, support yourself with the other arm and bench press.
l upper incline flyes
add single joint movements to your training and focus on your upper chest muscles. Try rope cleats with a lower pulley: The upward incline rope flyover and the upward incline dumbbell flyover.
l reverse grip bench press
doing machine bench presses, flat barbell bench presses, etc. With a reverse grip can actually shift the weight to the upper chest. Start with light weights and, to be safe, make sure your thumbs are clasped on the barbell bar.
l upper incline supine dumbbell raises
to do dumbbell raises, switch from a flat bench to an upward incline ascent. Do 3 sets of 12 reps each, holding the last movement for 5 seconds to really feel the muscles burn.
pectoral muscle training programme
exercise movements sets reps
single arm hummer chest press 5 8-12
upper incline barbell bench press 5 8-12
upward incline dumbbell flyes 5 12-15
reverse grip bench press 4 8-12
dumbbell deadlift 4 12-15
to be a strength builder, add upper chest training to your chest exercises. It will improve the symmetry of your body and make your pecs visually fuller. Follow the exercises and you too will have big pecs with visible lines.