I know for many of us the Chest is a favorite body part. And why not! The Chest is a strong show piece for the bodybuilder. Even in clothes, a heavily muscled chest shows. T shirts stretch and stand proudly under the duress of an expanding Chest. Dress shirts emphasize the difference between the waist and Chest. And in a tank top or shirtless at a volleyball game….well it goes without saying; the Chest is an eye catcher that projects strength and virility.

So how do you get Chest?

To develop the fullness and muscularity of the Chest (Pectoral Muscles), you must trained it from several different angles. Let's dissect 3 distinct areas of the Chest:

• Main or Center Pectoral Muscles (aka Pecs)
• Upper Pectoral Muscles
• Lower Pectoral Muscles

Building Enormous Center Chest Muscles

The staple of every good bodybuilding routine is the flat bench press. This exercise is done with barbell and free weights. A Smith Machine can be a good substitute for the standard bench if no spotter is available.

Go Heavy or go Home!

If you are going to force the pectoral muscles (Chest) to grow, heavy weight is an essential. Training the Chest is one of the muscle groups that training partner or at minimum a spotter is critical. You need help to force out those last few reps because that is where the growth is. Not going to failure is sure to leave gains on table that you could have had.

Many of you responded to me to be more specific on number of reps and sets. If every person was the same; that is the same genetic potential, same weight, years of training, same age etc, perhaps there would be a prescriptive golden number for everyone. But that is not the case, so you need to determine what is right for you. To do this please read my article on this subject.

With that said, I will layout my schedule for my Bench as it is right now. I use a pyramid schedule for the weight. That means I use lighter weights at the beginning, pyramid up with heavier weights in the middle and then back down with lighter sets. The middle set is my heaviest set and extremely difficult. I use this as a "barometer set". It tells me how I am feeling for the day. If my physical and mental are at the top, I will get 3 reps. On an off day, I might need help with just to get one rep.

See below my schedule (adjust weight for your specific needs)

• Set 0: 125 lbs: 10-15 reps- Warm up
• Set 1: 185 lbs: 7-12 reps
• Set 2: 245 lbs: 6-7 reps
• Set 3: 325 lbs: 1-3 reps
• Set 4: 245 lbs: 5-7 reps
• Set 5: 185 lbs: 5-8 reps
• Set 6: 145 lbs Optional Fun Set: 10 reps or more to full pump and failure

To continually make the Chest grow, you must eventually increase the weight for each set. (with the exception of the Warm Up set). I know I often get the question, "how much can I lift." In my mind for the bodybuilder, this is an irrelevant question. I care less how much I can lift but I do care if my Chest getting bigger. Bodybuilding is about development not about achieving the highest weight. With that said heavier weight does correlate to bigger muscle. So moving up the weight is important for development.

Tricking the Pecs to do MORE WEIGHT

After you have worked the Chest for a while, you'll notice that the Chest will get used to doing the weight. The Chest has gotten stronger. It is simple enough to increase the amount of weight for most sets little at a time but that Max weight set is very difficult. What I do, is trick my chest.

Let's say I normally do my Max set at 315 lbs but really want to move to 335. If I load the bar right at 335 you can bet that 90% of the time I will not get even one rep. Trick the Chest. Instead of loading 335 on the bar, load 350 on the bar. I try to do one rep but of course I fail. I take a quick 15 second rest, quickly back off to 335 lbs and all of sudden that 335 feels is noticeably lighter. About 75% I will nail it. I have tricked the chest and mind to push through the barrier to 335 lbs.

Upper Chest

Franco Colombo had one the best upper Chests ever. I still marvel at the distinctive striated muscle that laid above his main chest.

To hit the upper Pecs, the Incline Bench Press is primary. You can use dumbbells as a change up. Again, I use basically the same pyramid pattern for incline that I use flat bench only I don't do a max weight set. The Chest is fully warm at this point so no warm up set is required.

• Set 1: 185 lbs: 7-12 reps
• Set 2: 205 lbs: 5-7 reps
• Set 3: 225 lbs: 3-5 reps
• Set 4: 185 lbs: 8 or to failure

Lower Chest

Developing the lower chest finalizes the shape of the Pectoral muscles. A well defined lower chest distints those muscles from the upper Abdominals. In a tank top the lower pec is clearly visible from the side as that muscle cut around to the underside toward the back.

Decline Bench Press should be your main exercise to develop the lower chest. A decline bench under a Smith machine is a suitable substitute. Even dumbbells on a decline bench works well. Below is my decline bench routine:

• Set 1: 145 lbs: 7-12 reps
• Set 2: 165 lbs: 1-3 reps
• Set 3: 185 lbs: 5-7 reps
• Set 4: 205 lbs: 5-8 reps

Creating Striation and that Deep Groove Up the Middle

Even though the above exercises will develop all the major areas of the chest, striations and a deep groove down the middle of the pec muscle will give muscularity and vascularity. Do standing cable flies (my current favorite) or flat bench dumbbell flies.

Blast several sets here to make the chest look like Moses just parted the Red Sea. Do 4 sets.

The Rib Cage

While the Rib Cage is not actually part of the chest muscles, it is the shelf that supports and lifts the Pec muscles and makes them stand proud. Expand the Rib Cage and your Chest will look thick, deep and massive. It will also make your waist look miniscule even with a loose fitting shirt. The Chest will look unbelievably thick in a tank top or snug fitting T. Arnold had a huge Rib Cage and when he did a side chest pose, it is quite amazing.

Expanding the Rib Cage can be a challenging and time consuming but WOW well worth the effort. The primary exercise to accomplish this expansion is the dumbbell pullover. See picture. Lay your shoulders perpendicular to length of a flat bench. Hold a dumbbell between your hands. Hold the weight directly over your chest as shown. Lower the weight behind your head until your arms are parallel to the floor. Keep arms fairly straight. A slight bend in the elbows is okay to relieve excess strain there. Breathe! Breathe by sucking in air as your arms move toward the floor. Blow out the air on the upward movement.

Tip

Never work Chest after Triceps. Think about it. Your Triceps take a beating doing flat, incline and decline bench. If you do your Chest after Triceps, you will limit your attach on the Chest. Your Triceps will be so fatigued that you will not get the full Chest benefit.

Some Photos Compliments of Repetrope Muscle Videos

Sweat eventually hardens to Muscle".....Scott

This article is property of Bodybuilding Program Zone and may not be reproduced without written permission from Scott Jameson. Besides it wouldn't be right....Scott