Terrell Owens ,WR

Every guy dreams of it but very few attain it, a developed and strong chest. Not talking about the bulging almost breast-like chest that many body builders end up with. Gross. We’re talking about the perfectly proportioned, slightly squared and rock hard pecs you see on athletes and fitness models.

In pursuit of the perfect chest, lets first dispel some of the fallacies out there about how to build a great chest. First, while lifting heavy is essential, doing really low rep ranges will be counter productive to chest size as you’re working for neurological gain at that range, not hypertrophy. Second, Its impossible to isolate different parts of the chest (upper/lower) the chest is primarily composed of the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles. As the pec major is a single large muscle, areas of it can not be isolated, the whole muscle will always work during chest exercises, however the angle of the press can place a focus on targeting the upper section of fibers slightly more than the lower section and visa versa. Next, working your chest every day will not help you grow, it will do the opposite. Muscles only grow while resting and repairing, thus it’s essential to give your chest time to recover between workouts.

Chest Workout clearly working for our client, Grant!

Key Elements to Building a Bigger Chest:

1. Compound movement first – Do this on order to stimulate the highest number of muscle fibers as well as releasing the maximum amount of testosterone and growth hormone.
2. Work the chest at various angles – While areas of the chest can’t be isolated, they can be focused on, be sure to work at various inclines ranging from decline to 45 degrees.
3. Focus on dumbbells rather than barbells – You’ll get a better range of motion and force the muscle to work harder using dumbbells as opposed to a barbell
4. Use isolation movements at the end – once you’ve done your allotted presses for the day, finish up with isolation movements such as flies or cross overs. Work with lighter weights and higher reps for your isolation exercises.
5. Don’t forget your legs and back – I know this seems weird, but if you truly want chest gains don’t neglect training your legs and back. Heavy leg training promotes testosterone and releases growth hormone, which aids tremendously in sculpting a bigger chest. Training the back will ensure that that your posture and posterior to anterior strength remain in balance.

Article Featured in      MUSCLE & FITNESS

YOUR CHEST WORKOUT

• Multi-angle DB Press Superset – Do 3 sets
45 degree – 6 reps
Rest 10 seconds
30 degree – 6 reps
Rest 10 seconds
10 degree – 6 reps
• Decline DB Press – 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Flat Barbell Press – 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• DB Flies – 2 sets of 15-20 reps
• Cable Flies – 2 sets of 15-20 reps