A big chest is one of the most awesome features to develop as a bodybuilder. While big arms and toned abs might impress the ladies, a huge chest makes you look powerful like a Superhero and helps you to move huge amounts of weight on the bench press.
But there is an art to building a great chest and many people find it’s a stubborn area to train and to get to respond. So how do you build a massive chest? Read on and let’s find out.
Inner/Outer/Upper/Lower?
When reading about training the chest – or the pecs – you will often hear about exercises that target the upper chest, the lower chest, the inner chest and the outer chest. What’s the deal here?
Actually, it’s only technically possible to train the upper and lower chest directly according to most people. That’s because the pec is split into two ‘muscle heads’ which are the clavicular head and the sternal head AKA the upper and lower. Exercises like the incline bench press target the clavicular head more, while the decline bench targets the sternal head, though both also target both.
While this is generally accepted, some people will tell you that you can’t use exercises to completely isolate one of the pectoral muscle heads. Others meanwhile will tell you that you can and must, and that you can also target the outer and inner portions of the chest through exercises like pec flyes and close-grip dumbbell press.
For the purpose of this article we are going to recommend hitting the pecs from every angle to get that chiseled Superman look. It certainly can’t hurt right? And at the same time, it will also increase your chances of getting those super cool cuts and striations across the chest, and of making your clavicular head bulge just below your collar bone.
Diet
Your diet also plays a big role in the appearance of your chest. A lot of guys appear to have large lower pecs compared to upper pecs but often this is just a collection of fat on the lower portion. If you want a chiseled chest then you need to eat clean while the protein will see to the size!
Without further ado then, here are the exercises you need:
Best Pec Exercises
General
- Bench press
- Chest press – essentially bench press but on a machine and pressing outwards
- Dumbbell press – a bench press with dumbbells that is great for building more symmetry across your pecs
- Press ups – old favorites and there are countless variations you can do too
- Dips – for a slightly harder alternative to the press up that also works the shoulders and triceps
Upper Chest
- Incline bench press – as with all upper chest moves, this will also work the shoulders
- Decline press ups
- Pullovers
Lower Chest
- Decline bench press
- Muscle ups – where you do a pull up then lift yourself onto the bar and push your body straight upwards
Outer Chest
- Pec flyes – also cable flyes, and dumbbell flyes
- Wide grip bench press
Inner Chest
- Narrow grip bench press
Combine these exercises into your chest day, train with intensity and restrict calories and you’ll build a ma
