Growing a respectable chest isn’t easy work, especially if your only tool in the box is the bench press. Defeat flatness and increase your chest size with these training tips.
First of all, these two are the most common chest building mistakes that are probably hindering your progress without you even noticing it: too much isolation work and too little food.
Nope, you can’t stimulate decent chest growth by performing endless reps of isolation exercises. Chest muscles demand the challenge presented by compound movements in order to grow. In addition, you must make sure to eat plenty of high-protein foods, as well as great sources of carbs that will replenish your body’s depleted glycogen stores and support maximum muscle growth.
Now, here’s the right way to grow some pecs of steel:
- Eat! – Depending on the frequency of your workouts, aim for 4-6 calorie-dense meals per day, but make sure they’re made from top quality protein, carbs and fat sources. Here are the top 10 foods to build muscle.
- Train with compound exercises – If you want to trigger optimal release of muscle building hormones, heavy-weight compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses and overhead presses must be a staple of your training routine.
- Perfect your form and technique – Even the best exercises are worth nothing if they’re performed with bad form and incomplete technique. Learn how it’s done the right way and keep your performance tight.
- Allow yourself enough rest – Since your muscles grown when they rest, you need plenty of that. Hit your chest twice per week. Overtraining will only leave you right where you’ve began.
- Lift fast – Try to lift as fast as you can on the way up while maintain good form. This will enhance the recruitment of more muscle fibers and enable you to use more weight. Lower the weight down in a controlled, but not slow manner.
- Be patient – Extraordinary results don’t happen overnight. They need to be earned with plenty of hard work over the course of a longer period of time. Make sure you have a decent training and eating program and sooner or later, results will follow.
That being said, here are the best 4 exercises of all time to build bigger chest muscles:
4 exercises build bigger chest muscles
1. Bench Press
All hail the king! This exercise engages more than one muscle group and allows you to use heavy weights. Here’s how to correct your technique for a bigger bench press.
2. Weighted parallel bar dips
The weighted dip is a prime old-school exercise for building a thicker chest. As long as your shoulders are up to the task, this move will ensure your pecs are getting all the attention they need. Besides the chest, heavy dips work the delts, triceps and all stabilizing upper body muscles.
3. Dumbbell Press
The dumbbell press is one of the best exercises for building bigger chest muscles. Although you can’t use as much weight as you normally do with barbells, you can trigger a stronger growth response by stretching your pectoral muscles on eccentric part of the lift. Here is a whole article comparing dumbbell press vs barbell press for chest size and strength.
4. Weighted Push-ups
The push-up effectively hits your whole upper body, but if you place your hands wider than your shoulders, your pecs will be greatly challenged to grow faster and bigger. Here’s how to make push ups harder.
There are many ways to train your chest, but these three exercises are a part of any serious chest routine. It’s best to include them on every second or third gym session (as we’re sure you’ve already noticed, pecs don’t like to be overstimulated and they assist in most upper body movements) but make sure to use heavy weights for best results.
You might also be interested : The complete guide for a bigger chest.
