Best of the chest exercises
http://www.fitnessregime.net/articles/11370/1/Best-of-the-chest-exercises/Page1.html
Tony Schwartz
Tony Schwartz created the Athletic Muscle System based on extensive research into strength training programs as well as his own work with collegiate and professional athletes.
Tony is the Director of Training for Momentum Athletics. He has a B.Sc. in Exercise Science from Indiana University, where he was a research assistant in the areas of biomechanics and exercise physiology. He has authored, edited, and contributed to many books and articles in the field of exercise science. By Tony Schwartz
Published on 09/9/2009
Three forgotten exercises for building a new chest, FAST!
Best of the chest exercises
A massive, hard, muscular chest is high on the list of most bodybuilders, both pro and amateur. Unfortunately, there is so much bad info out there when it comes to properly training the pectorals that chests like I just described are becoming a thing of the past.
The big key to building the chest you want is to select movements that powefully stimulate the chest muscles. The first exercise that springs to mind for most bodybuilders when they think of chest exercises is the bench press. But the bench press is not a great pec builder unless you happen to have the optimal leverage for it. On top of that, most people do the bench press incorrectly. If you are combining bad leverages and bad technique it's no wonder you feel the bench more in your front deltoids and triceps than in your chest!
I am going to show you 3 of the best chest exercises. But keep in mind that if these are done with bad technique you are short-changing your muscle gains and may be setting yourself up for injury. To prevent this from happening make sure to get some technique advice from an expert so that you can build the chest you want without getting hurt.
Standing High-to-Low Cable Crossovers
While variations of the bench press are good, to really focus on the chest you need to work on the flying motion. This can be done with many different exercises, but I really like cable crossovers here because of the constant tension the pulley gives you during the complete range of motion. The key is to focus on a good stretch at the beginning and keeping constant tension on the chest during the movement. This is a fantastic concluding exercise to any chest training session.
Pause Bench Press
I realize I just got finished saying that the flat bench press is not the best chest builder, however there are certain variations that do hit the chest well, provided you perform them correctly. The paused bench press is one such variation. By pausing the bar at the chest for 1 to 10 seconds before pressing it back to lockout you kill the stretch reflex and lose any stored energy you created while lowering the weight. This will make pressing the weight back up much harder, but it will also require your pecs to produce a massive amount of force in order to press the weight from your chest back to the starting position.
Incline DB Bench Press
One of the most common complaints of lifters is not just their overall chest size, but their upper chest size especially. Incline chest exercises are a great solution to this because they emphasize the upper portion of the pectorals, which gives the appearance of a more full chest, without giving you droopy pecs. The use of dumbbells is a good idea here as they will allow you to get a deeper stretch at the bottom of the exercise. This deep stretch activates a lot of underused muscle fibers in the chest which can spur new muscle growth.
Keep in mind that while these exercises are fantastic for building powerful pecs, they must be done with the right technique in order to get the most from them.
See video and get tips on flat DB bench press and other exercises in the free bodybuilding exercises technique guide
The big key to building the chest you want is to select movements that powefully stimulate the chest muscles. The first exercise that springs to mind for most bodybuilders when they think of chest exercises is the bench press. But the bench press is not a great pec builder unless you happen to have the optimal leverage for it. On top of that, most people do the bench press incorrectly. If you are combining bad leverages and bad technique it's no wonder you feel the bench more in your front deltoids and triceps than in your chest!
I am going to show you 3 of the best chest exercises. But keep in mind that if these are done with bad technique you are short-changing your muscle gains and may be setting yourself up for injury. To prevent this from happening make sure to get some technique advice from an expert so that you can build the chest you want without getting hurt.
Standing High-to-Low Cable Crossovers
While variations of the bench press are good, to really focus on the chest you need to work on the flying motion. This can be done with many different exercises, but I really like cable crossovers here because of the constant tension the pulley gives you during the complete range of motion. The key is to focus on a good stretch at the beginning and keeping constant tension on the chest during the movement. This is a fantastic concluding exercise to any chest training session.
Pause Bench Press
I realize I just got finished saying that the flat bench press is not the best chest builder, however there are certain variations that do hit the chest well, provided you perform them correctly. The paused bench press is one such variation. By pausing the bar at the chest for 1 to 10 seconds before pressing it back to lockout you kill the stretch reflex and lose any stored energy you created while lowering the weight. This will make pressing the weight back up much harder, but it will also require your pecs to produce a massive amount of force in order to press the weight from your chest back to the starting position.
Incline DB Bench Press
One of the most common complaints of lifters is not just their overall chest size, but their upper chest size especially. Incline chest exercises are a great solution to this because they emphasize the upper portion of the pectorals, which gives the appearance of a more full chest, without giving you droopy pecs. The use of dumbbells is a good idea here as they will allow you to get a deeper stretch at the bottom of the exercise. This deep stretch activates a lot of underused muscle fibers in the chest which can spur new muscle growth.
Keep in mind that while these exercises are fantastic for building powerful pecs, they must be done with the right technique in order to get the most from them.
See video and get tips on flat DB bench press and other exercises in the free bodybuilding exercises technique guide