Chest training Part 1

 

Let’s face it, whether you’re a bodybuilder or not, every one wants a bigger chest. Next to the biceps it’s probably the showiest muscle. Yet go into any gym and you’ll see guys doing endless sets of pec-decks and cable crossovers in their quest for Schwarzenegger-sized pecs. Six months later they’re still doing these exercises with nothing to show for it. Then they turn around and accuse the guys with great chests of using steroids. The fact that the latter group just happen to know a thing or two about proper chest training doesn’t seem to enter into the picture.

The key to building massive, full, striated pecs, is simple – get away from the fluff and start hoisting some serious iron. The greatest chests in bodybuilding history (Arnold, Ronnie Coleman, Lou Ferrigno, Serge Nubret) were all built exclusively with barbells and dumbells. Those great chest shots of Arnold from the 1970’s are not the result of cable crossovers. No, that 58-inch chest of Arnold’s was manufactured from thousands of hours pressing a barbell and dumbells away from his rib cage.

Understand that there are no shortcuts to building large muscles; and chest training is no exception. Some bodybuilders are genetically blessed for building great pecs, while for others it will take years of blood sweat and tears. But either way, you can’t go wrong by applying some hard work and dedication. 

The chest is really composed of two muscles; the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. The most productive ways to stimulate both sections of the chest is to do presses using barbells and dumbells, and dips. Flyes – whether using dumbells or machines - are great for refinement, but presses are the real key to power and size. If you want to get the most out of your chest workouts, the bulk of your exercises must be pressing movements. And the more weight you can lift through the full-range of movement, the more muscle fibers you can recruit.

Heavy barbell presses, dumbbell presses and weighted dips are the core lifts and should always form the nucleus of your workouts. Leave the pec deck and cable crossovers for the guys on the Stairmaster who just want to “shape and tone.” You’re a serious bodybuilder so you want to train with real mass-building exercises. You don't have to eliminate flyes and cables altogether, but save them until the end of your workout. 

There are no secrets to chest training. It’s quite simple. Stick to the basic movements and keep trying to get stronger in each of the lifts. In Part 2 we are going to look at the most effective exercises for packing slabs of meat across your upper torso.