Building Chest Muscles
If you wish to develop that great chest like the male models on the popular fitness magazines, it will take some time. But don't worry, reaching any significant goal takes time and consistency, but if you stick with it and train properly it becomes a sinch. As with any other muscle group, there are some myths about the pecs that I want to put an end to.
Chest Muscle Myths
- "All you have to do is 3 sets of 10 on bench press"
Wrong. In order to develop a fully sculpted chest you must hit it from the necessary angles. The flat barbell press is the primary angle, but there are also angles that incline, decline, and dumbbell/cable flies hit which are different. - "Arching your back helps a lot"
Don't arch your back when you bench press, it is poor form. Keep your back flat on the bench while performing any lift, as this will help focus all of the stress on the chest allowing for maximum hypertrophy.
The necessary chest exercises
- Flat barbell / dumbbell press
I like to alternate between barbell and dumbbell on my chest days. I always start out with a flat (although sometimes I will start with incline) press as this is the core chest exercise. Performing 3 to 4 sets from 12 to 6 reps is usually sufficient to force your chest muscles to grow. - Incline barbell / dumbbell press
I also like to alternate between barbell and dumbbell incline presses. Most often this will be my second exercise and I follow the same rep scheme. - Flat or Incline Dumbbell Flies
This is a great way to stretch the chest muscles and focus on the sides of the pecs. I usually perform this as my 3rd exercise at about the same set / rep scheme. - Decline Press
Once in a blue moon I will do decline press with a barbell just to throw some diversity in my workout.
Performing those exercises approximately once a week will help you develop a great chest in time. If you're just starting out start with light weight you can control to help build a solid foundation.
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