bigger chest
- Thread starter lindy012
- Start date
dave@maximushrt.com
New member
Lindy,
What rep ranges are you doing?
What is your build like?
MAXIMUS HRT
Dave Bergstrom
Consultant
Direct: (978) 761-4051
Fax: (248) 694-0983
e-mail: dave@maximushrt.com
- Maximus HRT
shainesboostin
New member
Bench
Incline
Weighted Dips
Flies
Incline
Weighted Dips
Flies
dave@maximushrt.com
New member
All great exercises. But the key is how you perform the exercises to achieve the most growth.
There are several factors which come into play which affect growth in chest. Here are a few which you can mull over.
1) Rep Range- a lot of people are misled by the belief that high weight -low reps is best for growth. Not always the case. In order to get the most growth in a targeted area you must be able to keep other muscle groups from recruiting to handle the weight load. A lot of times people recruit the front delts too much in bench pressing with barbell or dumbbells. Thus this takes the full stimulus from the pectoral muscles.
Form is key, if you can't perform 8-12 solid reps keeping perfect form you are not going to grow the chest. Going heavy may make you stronger but never bigger in the targeted area. The reason being is that you are unable to hit all the muscle fibers of the pectorals because the weight load is too heavy hence the recruiting of the delts.
Drop the weight and make sure you can feel the pectorals fully working. 10-12 rep range is what Arnold did because he believed that these reps were your growing reps. I know a lot of people will frown at my belief that I consider 10-12 reps are the "growth reps" but its more than growth its about proper muscle development and using correct form. You need to decide if you are a power-lifter or a bodybuilder- huge difference in overall growth and goals.
2) Sets- The biggest mistake people make is doing too many sets and over-training. In this instance discussing chest, I believe the idea is to max the pectoral muscles. For your first set (after warm-ups) you should be doing weight that you can do 10-12 reps with. If you can get 12 reps without a spot then your 2nd set you can raise the weight 5-10 lbs and see if you can crank out another 10-12 reps. More than likely because you were strong on your first set, the 5-10lbs increase should not keep you from performing 10-12 reps but the weight should be heavy enough to need a spot to complete 12 reps. This is maxing the muscle out to failure. This method allows all the pectoral muscle fibers to be involved and be stimulated. Now your
3rd set weight depends on how many reps you got on the 2nd set. If you achieved 10 reps- drop weight to the first set weight load. If you achieved 12 reps -stay at that weight and aim at getting 10-12 reps again.
Now your pectoral major is cooked. You have maxed the muscle. The next exercise Incline dumbbells or bench-press to target the upper chest region. The key here is to be cognizant of the fact that because your chest was just intensely worked -you need to use weight loads again that target the upper chest region and don't recruit the front delts to take on the brunt of the weight load and pull your chest out of the exercise. You want to more than likely drop 20-30lbs to perform 10-12 solid reps. Your chest should be burning as the muscle fibers normally inadvertently missed because of heavy weightloads and poor form are now stimulated because the confidence is there to execute the movement without relying on other muscles (front delts). You will follow the same format as you did with the flat benchpress/dumbbell press. Remember form is so huge during this juncture of the workout. You will then will move onto decline bench press or dumbbell press. Again remember your chest is now 3/4 complete- any more stress on it is going to require you hitting the muscle fibers which are so commonly missed because again using too much weight and forcing the front delts to recruit to handle the weightload. Decline bench or dumbbell bench is designed to hit the lower pectoral area on the chest located right in the nipple region. So your range of motion should allow you to feel only that area being worked. Go too heavy and you miss that area completely and basically end up doing your pectoral major again and of course the front delts are relied upon. Keep elbows tucked in and shoulders pinned against bench. You should feel that chest muscle area being worked completely. Lastly you move onto pectoral flys, another exercise that is done more than often wrong because of people going too heavy.
Pectoral flys are designed to hit the inner pectoral muscle fibers that create the ripped and striated look. Take into account you have just done flat, incline, and decline presses. Your chest is fried but you have those inner muscle fibers that if worked properly will allow to get 2-3 more sets of 12 reps with the utmost perfect form and execution. The challenge is use weight that will hit those inner fibers and allow a 1-2 second squeeze and hold with each repetition. This exercise is your icing on the cake. Fully designed to develop the chest down to the core. This is what creates the separation in the middle of the chest and promotes a hard ripped look so many people strive for but can't get because they go too heavy and in turn end up doing nothing but straining the front delts and/or doing a modified chest press. Total sets with all four exercises 10-12.
3) Form- Bad form creates nothing but injuries and false confidence. Perform full extension and flexion with each exercise. Do not lock out elbows. Keep constant movement. Feel the muscle working not going through the motions. Sure its tougher this way but it makes a world of difference when looking to grow and develop muscle. Doing shortcuts and cheating amounts to nothing.
Perfect form creates a strong and formidable foundation that you can build on.
Perfect form develops impressive eye popping muscle. Forget the weight. Concentrate on the form. There's a saying that states "No one cares how strong you are. Its how you look. You can't bring your weight bench and weights to the beach..."
Follow these principles and with the right rest, recovery,diet and nutrition you will see growth.
MAXIMUS HRT
Dave Bergstrom
Consultant
Direct: (978) 761-4051
Fax: (248) 694-0983
e-mail: dave@maximushrt.com
- Maximus HRT
dave@maximushrt.com
New member
Thanks Pinga.
numba1scrapper
Beast in training
id drop the flat bench and replace with declined dumbell press and alternate the next week doing inclined dumbell press and declines bench.
barrysanders
LIVING THE DREAM
Very good read & info. Makes perfect sense in all accounts.
I really can't tell, I just use a mix of the lighter good form as well as focusing on going heavy(usually the first exercise). If I don't do at least one weight focused exercise, where you are using most of your body to lift something, my lbm will not increase.
I would go so far as to say concentration about the mind-muscle connection matters as well.
I would go so far as to say concentration about the mind-muscle connection matters as well.
SenseiMiagi9494
New member
very good write up
