5 Movements Needed for Chest Growth

5 Movements Needed for Chest Growth

In this article, I will breakdown the 5 movements that I feel are necessary to keep in your routine in order to pack on the size to your chest. Let's be honest, we all want big arms and a big chest. So I have decided to give you the exercises I have used over the years to help add size to my chest. The chest is very important since it is the second most shown off muscle group after the bicep. For this reason, whether you are a bodybuilder, powerlifter, or just someone who is into training, a workout routine that trains the chest is going to become a priority at some point. Your pecs are one of the major muscle groups involved in power lifting. Increasing chest mass improves the overall performance of several other muscle groups, mostly in the arms. If you are having trouble with other areas try switching it up and incorporating these 5 chest movements and watch as those trouble areas begin to show improvement again. Understanding the function of the chest muscles is a vital step before throwing yourself into a vigorous routine. A basic knowledge of how the groups function together will help prevent you from causing injury, while simultaneously informing you of how and why the workout works. This knowledge will help you concentrate on your form and performance. Your chest is made up of two muscles, the Pectoralis major, and the Pectoralis minor. For all the gurus out there, here are the dictionary definitions of those two muscles: Pectoralis Major – Is the large fan shaped muscle that is located on the front of the chest. It originates from both the sternum (breast bone) and the clavicle and inserts into the humerus. This muscle is responsible for flexing and extending the humerus, as well as adducting and medially rotating. Pectoralis Minor – Lies under the pectoralis major, and is a much smaller triangular shaped muscle that stabilizes the action of the scapula. There are a number of exercises that will work your chest, but over the years I have found that only a few will achieve real results. The chest, as stated previously, provides support for many other muscles, and therefore is more responsive to targeted training over the long-term. Free weights are assumed to be the only tools available in most of the descriptions of these exercises, but there are some machines that are designed with some of these exercises in mind. Once you grasp the concept of how the muscles work together, you can alter the workouts to accommodate whatever machines you may desire to use that fit your target workout style. Number 1: The Bench Press. This is the undisputed king of chest expansion for hundreds of years. The bench press has been the standard for increasing strength and size in the chest by experts around the globe. Over the years too many have strayed away from this movement, but in all honestly it is the one that will really pack on the mass to your chest. Number 2: Dumbbell Bench Press. Extremely similar to the first chest exercise, the dumbbell bench press more accurately follows the intended function of the pectoral muscle. Instead of driving the weight straight up, it allows you to bring it in towards the midline of the body. It is also easier to maintain an even level of strength with the dumbbell bench press because the free weights that you are holding aren't connected in any way. When I am getting ready for a show, I primarily stick to dumbbell pressing movements, as it allows me to get a better feel and squeeze of my chest. This has helped me dramatically on stage when it comes to my chest presentation. Number 3: The Push-Up. The standard bench press will only get you so far when trying to attain more muscle mass in the chest. To supplement normal weightlifting, it is important to incorporate more rapid motions into any chest program. This is difficult to do safely with weights, so smart bodybuilders turn over and put their nose to the floor for some push-ups that will create the most powerful resistance through explosive movements. Here is how I look at it: Guys who are in prison that are limited to their time using weights, have built some d-bow ass chests by just doing simple push-ups. Number 4: Incline Bench Press. This top chest exercise is extremely similar to the standard bench press, in that it works the same primary muscle groups (pectorals, deltoids and triceps.) The incline of the bench press however places a great deal more of the workload onto the upper chest. The incline bench press was a staple in my last show prep. It really helped bring up my upper chest to help match my shoulders on stage. Number 5: Decline Bench Press. Again, another workout that is very similar to the standard bench press. It works the same muscle groups (pectorals, deltoids and triceps). The decline of the bench press however puts a great deal of emphasis on the lower chest muscles. Here are some workouts to try: Workout #1: Barbell Flat Bench Press - 3 Sets of 8 Reps Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 Sets of 8-10 Reps Push-Ups - 2 Set to Failure Workout #2: Incline Bench Press - 3 Sets of 10-8 Reps Barbell Flat Bench Press - 2 Sets of 8 Reps Decline Bench Press - 2 Set of 12 Reps Push-Ups - 2 Sets to Failure Workout #3: Barbell Flat Bench Press - 4 Set of 8-4 Reps Incline Bench Press - 3 Sets of 8 Reps Dumbbell Bench Press - 2 Set of 10 Reps Decline Bench Press - 3 Sets of 8 Reps Push-Ups - 2 Sets to Failure The important thing is to integrate these exercises into your daily routine. You do not want to have a series of "target chest muscle" days. Combine individual workouts with your other muscle group routines to get the optimal increase in mass for your chest. Increasing the size of your chest takes significant effort and a lot of time. Train hard, but train smart.

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Animal Arms, Volume 1

Animal Arms, Volume 1
by G Diesel

Arms. Bulging, peaked biceps, gnarly brachialis, freaky forearms and jagged, thick triceps that resemble sides of beef are needed if you dare to bang heads with the fucking big boys. Ever see seam-splitting mass that doesn't come and go with a pump? The kind of arms that provoke the frightened gasps of unsuspecting onlookers? The kind of guns that swell, ridden with snakelike vascularity when performing simple everyday tasks like brushing your teeth? Shit yeah. That's what we all want. Now it's time to get them.

There have been many theories over the years as to how to build serious pipes. Guys like Arnold and Sergio bombed there guns for hours on end and built some of the sickest arms of all time. Later, the advocates of high intensity training like Mentzer and Yates would do a few of the most insane sets of curls using weights mere mortals don't use on the bench press and call it a day for biceps in a matter of minutes. These two theories have a single underlying theme in common: To build the guns of a champion, you've got to train your arms hard and heavy.

You want arms, you gotta avoid the laundry list of exercises with a predetermined set and rep ranges. Sure, you know you need the free weight basics: barbell curls, dumbbells curls, preachers, hammers, skull crushers and the like. Experiment with rep ranges. Try some high rep sets of 15-25; do some sets so heavy that you'll need a spot on your third rep… it all works. It just doesn't all work all the time. Instead of all the usual recycled bullshit, examine some intensity techniques and exercise tricks you can do to hit those deep fibers and to give you that last inch or two you need to achieve true freakdom.

Exercise 1: Running the Rack
Here you are going to do six sets of six alternating dumbbells curls. Choose a weight to start with that you can curl for a good set of eight, but this time you are going to stop at six… and this is where it gets ugly. You are going to immediately re-rack the weight and grab the next pair of dumbbells in descending order (e.g. 45-40-35-30-25-20) and do a set of six, you are going to continue in this fashion, without pause until you have completed six total sets of six. You will just have completed 36 consecutive reps ranging from moderately heavy to light in a minute's time and your arms will know it. This exact same technique can be employed when doing alternating hammer dumbbell curls to place greater emphasis on the brachialis… and by the way, don't feel like a pussy when you are tearfully struggling with the twenty pounders on your sixth set.

Exercise 2: Dropset 21s
This is the combination of two intensity techniques to create a completely torturous biceps-expanding experience. You will need two barbells, one loaded with a weight you can curl for a good 12 and the other with weight for 15. Take the heavier barbell and do 7 reps using half of the range of motion of a standard barbell curl from the bottom to the middle. Now immediately do a set of 7 from the middle of the movement to the top. Follow that immediately with 7 complete reps (7+7+7=21). As if that wasn't bad enough, you are to drop that barbell and immediately pick up the lighter one and perform the exact same exercise, with the same reps in the same fashion. If every last synapse in your arms hasn't sputtered and died by now, we will try one more exercise.

Exercise 3: Buddy Curls
For this one you'll need a training partner with a similar level of strength. Load up a barbell with a weight with which you could perform 15 strict reps. Standing directly in front of your partner in crime, bang out 10 reps and then immediately hand him the bar, at which time he will proceed to do 10 of his own. Without pause, he will hand the bar back to you and you will perform 9 reps-you see where this is headed. Back and forth until you can barely complete one good rep. You will each have just completed 55 reps in a matter of a couple of minutes, and for the next couple of days, your arms will be of no fucking use to you. You'll be glad you brought your boy with you. He can pour your post-workout shake into your quivering gullet.

You hear the weak excuses all the time: “No matter what I do, my arms won't grow” or “It's not my fault, I have shitty genetics” or “I think my arms are overtrained… from now on I'll do six sets for arms every other month.” These are all copouts. The bottom line is that you don't believe you can build great arms and thus you never will. It applies to every facet of life. Genetics or luck or privilege mean nothing in the face of a positive attitude and a relentless will. If you are truly hungry to succeed and are willing to accept nothing less of yourself, then all out, balls to the wall effort, then you cannot be stopped. Those arms you see as you close your eyes each night are out there waiting for you. Now it is simply a matter of whether or not you've got the balls to go get them.

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