The program of training the pectoral muscles for mass. The best chest exercises: review, description and effectiveness. Warm up before chest workout

03.12.2021Heading: Solution

How can beginners grow massive breasts? Try these 5 great chest building workout programs and find out for yourself.

Beginner's Guide to Pectoral Muscle Building

Does your chest look more like a sheet of plywood than the mountain of muscle you've always dreamed of? Do you spend endless hours doing bench presses but your chest size doesn't increase? Have you already begun to think that you are simply not destined to have developed? Stop immediately, you're wrong.

I can't promise you that you will someday have breasts like the great Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I can promise you that if you listen to me, you will be able to develop your chest to an impressive size.

Later in the article I will tell you about the anatomy of the chest, its function, location in the body and some exercises for each section of the pectoral muscles. Finally, and this is exactly what you've been waiting for, I'm going to share with you five of my favorite workout routines that will help you turn your flat chest into bulging muscles.

Breast Anatomy

The chest is made up of two muscles that work together to make the chest work. These muscles are the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor. Typically, the pectoralis minor is located directly below the pectoralis major.

Location:
It starts in the inner half of the clavicle, passes through the sternum to the armpit (humerus).

Functions:
Performs 3 different functions:

Rotates the shoulder
Raises and lowers the hand to the sides
Performs an arm wrestling move

Exercises:
Barbell press and swing with dumbbells

Bench press on a horizontal bench perfectly trains the middle section of the pectoral muscles

Although the chest consists of a single muscle mass, it must be trained as if it consisted of three parts. The upper, middle and lower parts of the chest are better pumped depending on the angle at which the exercises are performed.

The upper chest develops best when doing exercises on a bench at an angle of 30-45°. For example, barbell presses and dumbbell presses or incline dumbbell curls are great upper chest exercises.

The middle part of the chest receives the best stimulation if the exercises are performed on a horizontal bench. For example: a barbell press and a dumbbell press or a reduction-breeding of arms with dumbbells on a horizontal bench perfectly train the middle part of the pectoral muscles.

The lower chest is best trained with exercises performed on a bench with a reverse incline (30-45 °). For example: barbell press and dumbbell press or incline dumbbell incline presses are great for lower pectoral muscles.

I find that all sections of the pecs respond best at first to low (4-6) or medium (8-12) reps. I very rarely include high reps for beginners, as I find that heavier weights help build the solid foundation that beginners need. I also believe it's best to focus on free weights early in your workouts, especially if your chest is your weak point. In my opinion, free weights much better develop pectoral muscles than simulators.

Now that you understand what muscles make up the chest muscles, and know their functions, location, and the exercises needed to grow them, let's look at some training programs that will help you build chest size.

All exercises must be performed exactly according to the rules, because doing the exercises incorrectly becomes a habit that will haunt you and prevent you from achieving great results, or in the worst case, lead to injury. Therefore, first read the section.

My 5 Favorite Chest Building Workout Programs

Upper pec day

: 3 sets of 8 reps

Day of the middle part of the pectoral muscles

: 3 sets of 4-6 reps
: 3 sets of 8 reps
: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
(lowering should take 5-10 seconds): 3 sets of 12 reps

Day of the lower part of the pectoral muscles

: 3 sets of 4-6 reps
: 3 sets of 8 reps
: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
(lowering should take 5-10 seconds): 3 sets of 12 reps

Barbell Day

: 3 sets of 4-6 reps
: 3 sets of 4-6 reps

represent a system of hypertrophy of muscle fibers due to the permanent progression of the load. The pectoral muscles are related to large muscle masses, so they should be trained hard and in the first place. Training the pectoral muscles for mass involves the use of heavy basic exercises, since it is they who are able to provide an increase in strength in terms of bodies and, as a result, a constant progression of the load. In general, the training of any muscle groups for mass and for the development of strength indicators is pre-la-ha-et use, first of all, basic exercises, since they provide -chi-va-yut co-ot-vet-with-t-woo-y-shchy hormonal background, the greatest innervation of target muscle groups and, as a result, hypertrophy of muscle fibers. Formative exercises are just as important, but they are correctly called auxiliary, because they are able to pro-ti-mu-li-ro-vat the development of the capillary network, stretch muscle fascia, but hypertrophy and hyperplasia of muscle cells are provided by severe basic exercises.

Recommended materials: how to pump up breasts; chest training; chest exercises;

So, to train any muscle group, you need to use heavy basic exercises, but the load should always be emphasized on “weak” places. If we are talking about breasts, then in this case the “weak” places are the top and middle. The bottom line is that the muscle-muscular fibers are attached to the tendons at different angles, in this case, this allows you to innervate the lower segment of the pectoral muscles faster, therefore, deliberately no-ro-vat it makes no sense. Yes, this makes sense for the development of power-for-tel-lei, but for the development of hypertrophy of the pectoral muscles, this is useless. In order to not-ve-li-ro-vat this pre-and-mu-shches-t-in the lower segment of the chest, you should lie on a bench at an angle of 30-45 °. It should be noted separately that there is no “lower” and “upper” chest, the pectoralis major muscle is a solid muscle, therefore, when performing an exercise for the chest, you, in any bom the case, you innervate the entire muscle, only the accent of the load-ruz-ki changes. Namely, but in a way to train pectoral muscles on the mass it is recommended such exercises-not-no-I-mi, some load “weak” places, because the lower chest is still its part on-g-ruz-ki in a lu-chit. Denis Borisov tells about the basic training of the pectoralis major muscle in detail!

Conclusion: pectoral muscles should be trained with heavy basic exercises, since they allow you to achieve the greatest innervation of muscle fibers, but the load should be focused on “weak” areas, namely on the upper and middle segments -max pectoralis major muscle. You can perform exercises both in simulators and with free weights, since the “basic” of the exercise depends on the number of working sus-ta-vs, and not on kind of weighting. However, it is better to perform exercises with free ve-sa-mi, as they allow you to create a more in-di-vi-du-al-ny vector on-g-ruz-ki, and simulators set one vector for all athletes, without teaching them in-di-vi-du-al-nye especially ben-nose-tee. The best exercises for training breasts on mas-su are

The higher the intensity of the workout, the greater the increase in muscle mass it will give. It's been a long time known fact. Meanwhile, the intensity directly depends on our working weights - the higher they are, the higher the intensity of the load, respectively. However, you can’t just increase working weights, especially if you are already working at the limit - this requires a special training program and a special regimen.

Our article today will be entirely devoted to the issue of increasing working weights in chest exercises, and in particular, the issue of increasing the strength of the pectoral muscles.

Principles of chest strength training

Before starting to write a training program, it is necessary to formulate the basic principles of the future complex:

Cyclical increase in working weight with a decrease in the number of repetitions

It will not work to increase from workout to workout, so we will use microcycles with increasing working weights every second week and working out the increased working weight with a small number of repetitions.

Emphasis on basic exercises

The mistake of many athletes is the desire to increase the working weights in isolated exercises, while many of them perform these movements as basic ones - they do not pay due attention to technique and use a small or medium number of repetitions. Such training is fundamentally wrong. It is necessary to work on increasing the working weight only in basic exercises, while isolation exercises should always be performed with perfect technique and in a large number of repetitions. As the strength of the pectoral muscles in the base increases, the weights in isolation will also increase.

Creatine intake

Since chest strength training involves high intensity, necessary condition efficiency is acceptance. If this is not done, its reserves in the muscles will be used up quickly enough, which will lead to the impossibility of maintaining high level workout loads.

Training complex for the strength of the pectoral muscles

Based on the above principles, we will compose a training program. A detailed methodology for its implementation will be described below.

Weeks 1, 3, 5, 7

Weeks 2, 4, 6

Program execution methodology

Every second week (2, 4, 6) it is necessary to increase the working weight in the first two exercises by 2-2.5 kg and perform 4 repetitions with it.
In weeks 3, 5, 7, we work out the increased working weight, trying to complete not 4, but already 6 repetitions with it.
Do not try to add more than 2.5 kg in weeks when you need to complete 4 repetitions. Keep in mind that with this weight you will be doing 6 reps in the next week.
The total duration of the complex is 7 weeks.
This program can be performed on back or bicep days.

What results can be expected from the program?

With the correct implementation of this complex, observing the diet, training and rest, you are guaranteed to increase the working weights in basic exercises for the pectoral muscles by about 7.5 kg.

At the end of the complex, you can switch to any program for mass - due to the increased strength of the chest, such a program will be intense and, as a result, more effective in terms of gaining muscle mass.

I really like to train on various simulators and free weight machines. Sometimes I even buy a one-time membership in order to try out the equipment that is not in my gym. However, as much as I love machines, when it comes to mass training programs, I go for the good old base.

Therefore, my chest training program is very simple and includes only four (or rather, four and a half) exercises. About why I included them in the complex and how exactly I do them, and will be discussed further. But first…

Warm up before chest workout

Why warm up before a chest workout, I will not tell, and I will also keep silent about the importance of warming up and triceps. But I’ll tell you about two important aspects of preparing for doing exercises for pumping chest, which few people know about:

Back warm-up. The back is the antagonist of the chest, just as the triceps are the antagonist of the biceps or the quadriceps. At first glance, it seems that there is no point in wasting time on their warm-up, but any professional will say that the back is actively working in any basic chest exercise. Therefore, before starting chest training, the back must be warmed up. This, albeit not much, but improves the quality of any pressing movement. I warm up my back in the gravitron by doing 2-3 sets of pull-ups of 12-15 reps until you feel light blood filling in the lats.
Breast pumping. Having “pushed” blood into the pectoral muscles, I manage to control them more easily during the main exercises of the complex. Therefore, before starting its implementation, I do 3-4 approaches with a minimum weight. I chose this exercise not by chance, because it immediately loads the entire array of pectoral muscles and ideally copes with the task of filling them with blood.

Of course, such a prelude to training the pectoral muscles can be abandoned so as not to waste time and precious glycogen and immediately take the bull by the horns, moving on to heavy bench presses.

Frankly, these "chips" are not mine, I overheard them in an interview with Kai Greene. So, this is not a gag, but two professional training secrets of people who know well how to pump their chest.

Conclusion: proper pumping of the chest begins with a warm-up of the back and a light pump.

A set of chest exercises

Exercise 1. Incline Dumbbell Press

Volume: 6 sets of 7-9 reps each. Why the dumbbell press, why on an incline bench and why as many as 6 approaches? I explain in order:

Why pumping the pectoral muscles starts from the top?

I (and most tall people) . Therefore, it is logical and natural to start pumping the chest from the top of the exercise. The principle of priority in action is that the lagging muscle (or part of the muscle) is trained first.

12 best exercises for the chest, swing the chest correctly

As long as we are full of energy, and nervous system cheerful and ready to work, such a technique will allow you to use the maximum weight in the exercise and make the exercise itself more effective. For this reason, all pros. Pumping the upper chest is the “nail” of any well-designed program.

Why am I pumping my chest with dumbbells and not a barbell?

I know people who have built great upper pecs with bent over bench presses, but there are very few of them. The bench press, even on a horizontal bench, even on an inclined one, loads everything (front delta, triceps, lower chest), except for the top. The only exception is the guillotine press, which I talked about earlier. According to Vince Gironda, the guillotine bench press is the best exercise for pumping chest muscles. Classic barbell presses don’t breathe into his navel.

Incline dumbbell press is the main exercise for pumping chest muscles

I really like to do the guillotine press, but I have very strong front delts by nature and they frankly steal the load from the chest in all exercises with a barbell. But the dumbbell press does not lock the body into a rigid frame, so the load on the front deltas in it is lower than in the barbell press.

In addition, the incline dumbbell press allows you to stretch the pectoral muscles at the bottom and contract them at the top. So, 2:0 in favor of dumbbells. But I can’t say that this exercise is simple, technically, it is more complicated than a barbell bench press and therefore not everyone can get the proper return from it. I propose to watch the story about the errors in performing the dumbbell bench press in an incline:

Dumbbell bench press on an incline bench, execution errors

Why does the incline dumbbell press have as many as 6 sets?

All sets of exercises for the chest, like a blueprint, bequeathed to do 4 sets in each exercise, but since my goal is to pump the upper chest (lagging behind in development), why not increase the amount of work by one and a half times?

Also, I start incline presses with the bench set at 45°, do two sets and decrease the angle. I do two more approaches and again reduce it, already to 30. Thus, I pump the upper section at three different angles, which allows me to load the chest areas, which usually shirk from work. For these reasons, there are 6 approaches.

Conclusion: you need to start any chest training program from a lagging area and spend maximum time and energy on eliminating its lag.

Superset on the chest. Exercise 2 and 3.

Dumbbell bench press on a horizontal bench with a wide and narrow grip

Volume: 5 sets of 8-10 reps. Why a superset and why does it have two dumbbell presses?

Why pump your chest with a superset?

- These are two exercises performed without a break. This technique is shock and forces the body to connect all the muscle fibers in the reserve in order to cope with it. In other words, a superset on the chest (and on any other muscle group) is an excellent method of gaining muscle mass.

You can combine any exercises into supersets, but my task is to pump the pectoral muscles into mass, so I include two basic exercises with dumbbells in it. Among other things, this allows you to reduce training time.

Note: I do both bench presses with the dumbbells in a parallel (neutral) grip. He is underestimated by many, but he, meanwhile, allows you to hold heavier shells and treat the elbow joints much more carefully.

Dumbbell bench press with a neutral grip, Branch Warren likes to use it very much. So this is not my know-how.

First exercise, dumbbell bench press wide grip(I mean, with a wide setting of the arms), it pumps the outer sections of the chest, stretching it in width. And the second, aiming, while forcing the muscles to work in a reduced state.

Such a superset on the chest allows you to load the external and internal muscles of the chest in one fell swoop, and do it quickly and with the highest quality. There are not many exercises for training the middle of the chest:

bringing hands together in a crossover
butterfly in the simulator

But their effectiveness pales in comparison to the dumbbell press with a narrow grip. If only because this exercise is basic and, in addition to the very middle, loads a wider area of \u200b\u200bthe chest, making it really powerful.

Conclusion: superset on the chest is a shock technique for pumping the chest, aimed at increasing the volume of muscles and improving their shape.

Exercise 4. Push-ups on wide bars

Volume: 4 sets of 10-12 reps

This is the last exercise for pumping the chest and the penultimate one in our complex. Its task is simple - to further stretch the pectoral muscles and make them as wide as possible. The dumbbell press with a wide grip pulled them in the horizontal plane, and push-ups on the bars do it in the vertical plane.

There is nothing unusual about this exercise, except that it is performed without weight and with a slow down phase. The purpose of the dips in my chest training program is not to increase the mass of the already large bottom of the pectoral muscles, but to stretch and give them maximum width. but making it wide is much more difficult. For this reason, I advise you to do push-ups on the uneven bars without weight. Slow and controlled.

Note: unfortunately, due to the triceps received many years ago during training, I cannot do push-ups on the uneven bars, so I do the exercise in the gravitron. This is the only deviation from the basic exercises in the direction of the simulator on my part.

Conclusion: push-ups on wide bars - an exercise for stretching the chest in a vertical plane.

Exercise 4.5. Army bench press

Volume: 3 sets of 15 reps

Stop, stop, you say, the military bench is a shoulder exercise, not a chest exercise, what does it do in this mass training program? Yes, indeed, the bench press from the chest while standing is a classic exercise for the shoulder girdle. But I include it in a set of exercises for pumping chest for a different reason ...

The load during the bench press falls on many large and small muscles, but I am only interested in one - the subclavian. This is a very small but important muscle. And its importance is that, increasing in size, it covers the collarbone, being in fact the uppermost section of the pectoral muscles. If the subclavian muscle is not developed, the upper chest remains empty.

And now, by the time the army bench is done, my deltas and triceps are already so tired from dumbbell presses that they no longer respond to the load. And this means that there is a chance to pump a small, but extremely important section of the pectoral muscles and make it grow a little. True, my military bench press technique is different from the classic one. I do it like this:

I press my elbows tightly to the body, so as to squeeze my chest with them, I strain the pectoral muscles and protrude forward and upward, and I bring the shoulder blades together and lower them down
I keep the body as even as possible, and I perform the bench press in a shortened amplitude (I don’t fully straighten my arms at the top, and I don’t put the barbell on my chest)
I lower the bar under control, consciously keeping the upper chest in a strong state of tension throughout the entire approach.

The peculiarity of the military bench press is that the movement vector in the exercise is almost vertical, so the load for the top of the chest is unusual, and for the subclavian itself, it is extremely stressful.

Army bench press is also an exercise for pumping chest

I decided to try using the military bench press in the chest training complex after reading about the training of Denis Wolf. Due to his high growth, it was difficult for him to pump up the top of the pectoral muscles, and only with the help of a bench press, he managed to solve this problem.

Conclusion: the military press at the end of a chest workout allows you to pump the subclavian muscle and gives you a chance to complete the creation of a powerful top of the chest.

What are the benefits of such a chest training program?

Of course, there are other programs for training pectoral muscles for mass. But this, in my opinion, has a number of advantages:

Specialization. The main emphasis is on pumping the upper chest. It takes a lot of effort and time to work on this section. This allows you to quickly eliminate the lag in its development.
Time. In total, there are 18 (including the army bench) working approaches, so a high-quality pumping of the chest takes only 30-35 minutes. This means that all exercises are done with maximum working weight and maximum mental concentration.
Full study. All sections of the chest are loaded from top to bottom and from the middle to the outer edges. Pumping the top of the chest is of course a priority, but you should not forget about other departments.
Muscle fibers. Various are involved in the work, due to the fact that exercises for pumping the chest are performed with a range of repetitions from 7 to 15.
Efficiency. The program includes the most effective basic exercises for each individual section of the chest. Due to this, the rate of weight gain in breasts increases.

Conclusion: such a mass training program rationally uses time and effort and at the same time allows you to pump up a chest that is large, wide and well-developed.

Conclusion

I hope the story about my chest training program will be interesting and useful and will allow you to simultaneously significantly increase the volume of the chest and improve their shape. May the force be with you. And mass!

The pectoral muscles are conditionally divided into three zones: top, middle and bottom. In bodybuilding, various exercises are used to train the chest muscles, which are divided into basic and isolated.

If you have recently started bodybuilding (less than a year), then it is best to use basic exercises, because thanks to them, you will progress faster and chest. And when you already have more or less developed pectorals, then you can already connect isolated exercises (no more than two).

What grip to use when training the pectoral muscles?

For safety, it is best to use a "closed" grip, when the thumb wraps around the neck (under the letter B in the figure). This way you will insure yourself against the fact that the bar can simply slip out of your hands (the palms will sweat and the bar will “go”). In addition, do not grab the bar with a too wide grip, as this will create additional stress on the shoulder joints, which is not good. The best option is a grip slightly wider than the shoulders. When laying under the bar, make sure the bar is at eye level. This is the correct position.

Correct technique

If you are doing pressing movements, then make sure that your elbows do not diverge to the sides and are not pressed to the body. The correct position of the elbows is approximately 45 degrees in relation to the body. At the bottom, your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor.

If you are doing wiring, then make sure that your arms are slightly bent at the elbow joint throughout the exercise.

Do not tear your lower back off the bench and rest your feet on the floor.

Insurance

In all benching exercises, it is better to use the help of a partner or ask someone from the gym to insure you. So you can better focus on the exercise and not think that if you can’t squeeze the bar again now, then it will crush you.

Also, be sure to put locks on the bar so that if the bar is skewed, all the pancakes do not fall.

How often to train chest muscles?

Through many studies, it has been concluded that the optimal number of chest workouts is once a week. But there are exceptions, because each person reacts to training differently.

How many reps and sets to do?

In all basic exercises, do 6-10 reps, 2-3 work sets and 2-3 warm-up sets. In isolation, do 10-12 reps and 2 working sets (warm-ups can be omitted).

What exercises to use to train the pectoral muscles?

First of all, as mentioned above, you need to use basic exercises. First of all, this is a bench press from the chest lying down and its various variations (on an incline bench, head down, dumbbell press). Also a great exercise for working out the lower chest is push-ups on the uneven bars.

Try to use in combination to achieve maximum results in breast development.

The best exercises for chest training: video

You should also remember that no matter what you train, you need to eat right to gain muscle mass and well. Then your results will be an order of magnitude higher.

A set of exercises with dumbbells to increase the pectoral muscles

If you want your pecs to act like Roman armor, you should try this two-dumbbell workout at the gym or at home with a bench press. This workout is so good because it first stretches the pecs, then you add weights to increase strength, then you end up with chest pumps to pump as much blood through the pecs as possible.

4 sets, 12-15 reps
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Breeding hands with dumbbells on an incline bench 4 times 12-15 repetitions
Bench press with dumbbells on a horizontal bench 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Reduction of hands on a bench with a negative slope 4 sets 12-15 reps

The exercise can also be performed on a block machine without the use of dumbbells to give the muscles a constant load and stimulate their growth.

Pullover with dumbbells

Although the pullover also loads the latissimus dorsi, this variety also pumps the pectorals. As you pull the dumbbell forward, imagine that you are squeezing it and pushing it away from you. This may take a little practice, but this tactic will keep the load on the pectoral muscles. You will feel that the chest is working.

Feel the characteristic tension in your upper body. Hold it for as long as possible as you pull your arms back. Just don't let your hands get past your ears.

It is advisable to reduce the muscles of the chest as much as possible, if you go too far, then the latissimus dorsi will already tighten, and we do not need this here.

If necessary, reduce the weight or slow down the exercise until you feel a full contraction of the chest during the pullover.

Incline Dumbbell Press

Use the first set as a warm-up or stretch to prepare your muscles. Save the heavy weights for the next three sets. The dumbbell has its advantages over the barbell - it will allow you to go a little further in the lower part of the amplitude, stretching the muscles after each contraction.

You will have to reduce the weight a bit, but it will only benefit your chest as you will get a slight stretch after each rep. Resist the temptation to immediately increase the weight after completing a rep. You can only increase the weight when you can easily complete 15-20 repetitions.

Raising your arms on an incline bench loads the upper chest in the same way as the anterior deltoid muscle. If you feel like your biceps are doing most of the work, turn your palms in or out, whichever works best for your chest.

Dumbbell Isolation Press

Another plus of dumbbells is that you can work each side of the body separately. In this exercise, you will raise both dumbbells, then hold one hand while lowering the other, turning your palms as you lower the dumbbell. Make sure the dumbbell is right at chest level before you lift it back up.

You can use heavier dumbbells if you can do 15-20 reps. Choose a weight with which you can complete the specified number of repetitions.

Doing the exercise with one arm also engages the stabilizing muscles. But the exercise must be done carefully. Strictly follow the technique.