Full and shapely pectoral muscles are the aspiration of many fitness professionals. An enhanced pectoral muscle improves upper body strength, muscle tone and increases masculinity. Our rib cage protects our chest and if we have well-developed pectoralis major, the same is true for our own body.
What you can learn through this article.
1. What the pectoralis major is.
2、how to train the pectoralis major muscle most efficiently
3、a few practical movements dry
It's all very nice, but it's not easy to get good pectoral muscles. And it's equally not easy to get good-looking pectoral muscles. In order to train with volume and to have a full and shapely pectoralis major, it is essential to ensure that the upper and middle muscles of this area are developed in a coordinated manner. If any one of these parts is missing, then it will be difficult to fill out our pectoralis major or achieve the pectoralis major we want and are happy with.
This is something we must be aware of and must not forget this, otherwise it will backfire. So we need to understand the structure of our pectoralis major muscle in all aspects, master the basic knowledge and use it skillfully to improve the training efficiency of our pectoralis major muscle, to ensure the quality of training and to achieve our satisfactory requirements.
I. The basics of the pectoralis major muscle
1、location.
The pectoralis major muscle is in the upper front superficial layer of the thorax. Specific as shown in the figure.
2、function.
Contraction can make the humerus inward and rotate inward, which can make the raised upper limb extend backwards and promote breathing; contraction can make the shoulder joint flexion
3. Structural components.
Clavicle, thoracic ribs, abdomen. According to these three parts of the pectoralis major muscle, according to the direction of each part of the pectoralis major muscle fibres, choose different training movements and use the corresponding part of the muscle to do vertical work to achieve our requirements. At the same time this is also the principle of how we train our muscles.
This can be done through the most common push-ups, where the important factor to change the part is to change the angle of the push-up, through which we can meet our requirements. Also within these three parts there is a small part called the mid chest seam, which we also need to strengthen to increase the fullness of our chest.
Ii. Training movements and plans
1、upper chest training
Action 1: Upper incline flat bench press
Movement essentials.
① recline on the bench press chair, shoulder blades down muscle tightening, close to the back of the chair, chest up.
②grip the bar with both hands, slightly wider than the shoulders, ensuring that the arms are vertical to the floor during the movement.
③exit the bar directly above the upper chest, with the arms slightly tucked in, at an angle of about 60 degrees to the body.
④bend the elbow and lower the bar at a constant rate until it lightly touches the chest or close to it, feeling the upper chest stretch.
⑤ the pectoralis major pushes up the barbell with force until it resets.
Training plan.
Our plan for this movement is to do 8rm*4 sets of upper incline plank bench press. 8rm is a moderate weight that will help us build muscle. The number of sets can be changed according to your situation. Also this movement is relatively common in upper chest muscle training and is very effective for trainers of all ages. But try to ensure that the movements are as standard as possible in order to avoid causing accidental injuries.
Movement 2: Dumbbell upper incline bench press
①adjust the dumbbell bench to 30-45 degrees, recline, shoulder blades down muscles tightened, chest up.
(ii) dumbbells held in a single grip with both hands, arms up vertically, palms facing towards the feet, dumbbells located above the upper chest section.
(iii) with the large arms slightly tucked in at a 60 degree angle to the torso, bend the elbows and slowly lower the dumbbells to the sides of the body, keeping them as upright as possible throughout.
(iv) position the dumbbells on either side of the chest until the pectoralis major feels the muscle stretch and the large arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
⑤ push up the dumbbells with force until they reset.
Training plan.
Our plan for this movement is 12rm*4 sets of upward incline plank bench press. The upward incline dumbbell bench press will further stimulate our upper chest muscles and provide a more balanced training of both sides of the muscles to ensure balanced muscle development. This will ensure that the muscles are stimulated and active to meet the training requirements and ensure the quality of training.
2、mid chest training
Action one: Dumbbell flat bench press
Movement essentials.
① lie flat on the dumbbell bench, shoulder blades sunken muscles tightened, chest up, back against the back of the chair.
② hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight upwards, tigers facing each other, dumbbells directly above the chest.
(iii) slowly lower the dumbbells to the sides of the body by bending the elbows until they are on either side of the chest, keeping the small arms perpendicular to the floor throughout.
The pectoralis major pushes up the dumbbell until it resets.
The second movement: Barbell flat bench press
The key elements of the exercise are
① use a bench press rack to complete the training movement, lie flat on the bench press chair, shoulder blades down muscle tightening, chest up.
②grip the bar with both hands, keeping the small arms vertical to the ground.
③let the barbell sit above the chest with the large arms slightly inward, maintaining an angle of about 60 degrees with the torso.
④bend the elbows and lower the barbell slowly and evenly until it lightly touches the chest or is close to the chest.
⑤ the pectoralis major pushes up the barbell until it is reset.
Training plan.
The above two movements are planned for 8rm * 4 sets and 12rm * 4 sets respectively. The flat bench press is an effective way to increase the overall thickness of our pectoralis major. At the same time, the dumbbell plank bench press is more balanced on both sides of the muscles to ensure balanced muscle development. We need to pay attention to the standard of movement of both movements to avoid injuries.
3、lower chest training
Action: Double bar arm flexion
Movement elements.
①put your palms on the bar and hold your body up with your arms straight.
②tighten the core, tilt the body to the front by about 45 degrees, keep the body stable, keep the shoulder joints vertical to the palms of the hands.
③open the large arms slightly, turn the elbows out and bend the elbows to slowly lower the torso.
(iv) the large and small arms are vertical and the anterior deltoid muscle bundle is felt until stretched.
⑤ lower chest force to brace the body until reset.
Training plan.
Exhaustion*8 sets, to ensure that the movements are standard and avoid turning into a triceps training movement, which will affect the quality and efficiency of the training.
4. Supplements.
As mentioned earlier, apart from those three parts, there is a small one called the mid-chest seam, which increases the fullness of our chest. But this part is not very easy to train, but its embodiment of the pectoral dimension is a sign that many people would like to have. Here we introduce the swan push-up.
Movement: Swan push-up chest
Movement essentials.
①sit or stand, keeping the upper body straight, shoulder blades down and chest up.
② clamp the barbell piece with both hands, perpendicular to the chest, and clamp the barbell piece with both hands.
③push out the barbell piece horizontally along the chest to the far end.
④ retract the barbell piece by keeping the palms clamped and reset.
Training plan.
Here we recommend completing sets of 4 on the force* and the movement is also good for novice adaptations. Stimulates the muscles and fulfils the training requirements.
Full and shapely pectoralis major is the aspiration of almost all fitness professionals. Strong pectoralis major improves upper body strength, increases muscularity, adds masculinity and increases upper body size. As mentioned earlier, strong pectoralis major can protect our chest cavity very well. I believe that as long as you stick to the standard training methods and ensure the quality and duration of your training, then you will be able to achieve the body you want, not just the pectoralis major training we have mentioned today.