In this article I will show you my favorite exercises for working the pecs or the pectorialis major. It is only two exercises, but each comes with three different variations to target the whole pecs from all angles. Lets get to it..
The Bench Press
The first exercise that I think everyone knows or has heard of, is the bench press. The Bench press is a great compound movement. It is not a isolation movement so you wont maximize your muscle gains due to the fact that the triceps and shoulders takes some of the work from the chest. Although it is not optimal for muscle gains it is ideal for working strength and avoiding muscle imbalances, which you do not want.Main Muscles That Are Being Worked
- Chest
- Triceps
- Deltoids
How To Perform A Bench Press
Step 1: Start with an empty bar and grip the bar. Your hands should approximately be shoulder width apart
Step 2: Lower the bar and make sure that the bar touches your chest on the way down. Do 8 reps just to warm up.
Step: 3: Put the desired weight on the bar, and un-rack the bar. You can now performed your reps.
Side note: When performing a Bench Press, pack your shoulders to get a solid foundation and decrease the chance of getting injured. If you don't know what I mean by "pack your shoulders", read this post.
Also keep your back arched to get maximum strength and a more solid foundation
Variations
As I mentioned earlier in this article you can add some variation to work different parts of your chest.
Flat Bench
If you lie on a flat bench you are going to work the whole chest. You are not going to isolate different parts of the pecs, but instead give the whole chest a workout. This will develop the whole chest area.
Incline Bench
If you lie on a incline bench while performing the bench press you are going to work the upper pec. You are going to isolate the upper pec more and will therefor develop the upper part of your chest. Did you get that? - The upper pec, you are going to target the upper pec. Not the lower, the upper.
Decline Bench
By setting the bench at a decline, you are going to target the lower pecs. This will do the same as with the incline only with the lower pec.
To give your chest a all round workout you should try to hit your chest from every angle. This will give you the maximum results.
The Dumbbell Fly
The dumbbell fly is more of a isolation exercise than the bench press. It will develop your pecs in terms of muscle mass and leave out muscles like triceps and shoulder. You will not be able to lift nearly as much weight as on the bench press so it is not as good a strength developer than the bench press.
Something you got to keep in mind when working your chest is that you also have to workout your back.
The first goal of a new bodybuilder is often to get huge pecs, but neglect the back.
This will lead to over development of the chest and give you a hunched over back. This should not be a goal, but should be avoided, so work out you back. You promise? Great. Now lets get to the dumbbell fly
You perform the dumbbell fly by laying flat on the floor with your legs bent 45 degrees. Don`t forget to pack your shoulders to get maximum strength and limit the chance of getting injured
Grab a dumbbell in both hands and stretch out your arms (don't lock your arms). You should be able to draw a straight line from the one hand to the other.
While stretching out both of your arms bring the dumbbells closer to each other, until they almost touch each other over the chest area. Remember to squeeze your pecs at the end of the movement.
Bring the dumbbells down, so they touch the floor, and repeat the movement.
Now that you got the dumbbell fly down, you got a great chest mass builder. Just remember what you promised me - workout your back.
You can also vary the angle on the bench when performing a dumbbell fly so you hit all the different parts of your pecs with a squeezing movement.
If you do all the six variations of the two exercises I just showed you, you will have a great chest. Although it is great to perform all the movements, you don't have to do them all in one workout. That would just be way to much.
I would instead choose 2-3 of the variations which you want to perform in one workout. Then you can always change them along the way to getting those huge pecs or if it is strength you want, those strong pecs.
Hope this helped!
But before you go, here is a very very short quiz.
- What do you have to do when you are developing your chest?
- Train you Back! ;)
