There is arguably no other body part as impressive as a thick, full looking chest. Really, it should be the first thing that enters the room when you walk through a door. A good chest looks powerful, aesthetic, and full. And if you didn’t know already, most women love this. The problem seems to be that most men don’t know how to grow a thick and full chest and most of the time, place too much emphasis on the flat bench because, ‘’what do you bench bro’’ has become the most common phrase used in the fitness industry.
So how do we combat this? Well, we need to start with a look at the anatomy of the chest and what muscles we need to grow in order to adopt a powerful looking chest as well as the functions of the chest.
The chest is one of the larger muscle groups in your body (or will be soon after you read this article) and is involved in nearly all upper body pushing movements. The pectoralis major is the largest muscle in the chest and is shaped like a fan. This muscle inserts into the upper area of your humerus and originates at the sternum, clavicle and ribs. Its function is to help flex the shoulder joint and to also help move your arm inwards, across the chest. The pectoralis minor is a smaller muscle within your chest and found underneath the major. Its main function is to pull the shoulder down and forward.
So now you know the muscles in the chest and their functions, what exercises best build these muscles? Let’s have a look.
Barbell bench press
Would this really be a chest article without mentioning this exercise? It’s for good reason though, this really is the king of exercises for slabbing on pounds of muscle when performed correctly. Remember, I’m not just talking about flat bench press here, don’t forget incline, which will target more of the upper chest (pectoral minor).
Dumbbell press (flat and incline)
Similar to the barbell press, except this will allow for a greater range of movement, meaning more fibres are being recruited and the potential for growth is higher. This movement also works more stabilizer muscles and will likely improve your strength on the barbell bench.
Chest dips
These will work the pectoralis major more but you need to execute them correctly to avoid shoulder damage and too much tricep activation. To do this, you need to execute a wider grip on the handles and lean slightly forward when performing these to take the emphasis off the triceps and onto the chest.
Incline cable fly
Similar to incline dumbbell fly, but I feel this creates a much better tension throughout the muscle we are targeting, whilst being healthier on the shoulders. The emphasis is solely on the upper pectoral as the cable takes any stabilizing muscles out of the equation.
So now you have the exercises, how do you implement these into a training program to develop the ultimate chest?
You want to be hitting the chest between 2 and 3 times a week. If you have read any of my other articles then you will understand the importance of frequency if you are natural lifter. In this example, you will be training it twice a week and hitting different exercises on each day, so you don’t exhaust the same movement too quickly. This helps keeps progress linear for longer. As I don’t know how you split your week up, I will just go with Day 1 and Day 2.
Day 1
Flat barbell bench press – Set 1, 5-9 reps. Set 2 and 3, 10-15 reps.
Chest dips - Set 1, 5-9 reps (you may need a dipping belt to add weight). Set 2 and 3, 10-15 reps.
Flat cable fly – Set 1, 5-9 reps. Set 2 and 3, 10-15 reps.
Day 2
Incline barbell bench - Set 1, 5-9 reps. Set 2 and 3, 10-15 reps.
Incline dumbbell press – Set 1, 5-9 reps. Set 2 and 3, 10-15 reps.
Incline cable fly – Set 1, 5-9 reps. Set 2 and 3, 10-15 reps.
The reason behind to two different rep ranges is that it is good to get strong over all rep ranges, as they will complement each other in terms of progression and both have the ability to build muscle. You may also notice that one day focuses more on upper chest and the other, middle and lower. This is to make sure the whole of your chest is getting worked throughout the week.
So now you have the plan, what are you waiting for? You even have my blessing to do it on a Monday if you want, as that’s when everyone trains chest, right? Just make sure you are fully rested before your second chest workout. And one final thing, you won’t build an impressive chest (or any body part) with minimal calories. So get yourself into a surplus and eat big.
