In this Built by Science video, Mike Robertson explains how to correctly develop your chest through your workout. For him, it’s all about science and anatomy. You can develop and maximize your strength efficiently, but only if you truly understand how your muscles and joints really work. Once you understand how your body actually moves and functions, then you may be able to attain the best physique you can possibly have.
Most young guys go to the gym and start focusing on their chest. Quite a few guys do 20 or even 40 bench presses in one workout, and sometimes they do it on most days of the week. The problem is that if you do this, then you’ll likely to develop bad posture at the very least, or a shoulder injury. With the video, you’ll learn how to do your workout more efficiently and more effectively. And you can do that with smart, targeted pec and chest training.
An Anatomy Lesson
This is quite a lengthy portion of the video, which lasts until the 8:53 mark. Robertson goes into some detail about the muscles, bones, and the joints in the chest area. He also covers the movements of those bones and joints.
It’s a bit fascinating really, but Robertson essentially provides the scientific justification for all the exercises he will be recommending later in the video. He explains how each important muscle group works, and how particular exercises affect those muscle groups.
The Application
The real fun for bodybuilders starts at the 8:53 mark in the video. That’s when the right exercises you should be doing are demonstrated, and Robertson throws in quite a few tips to help you along. Just keep in mind that the guy demonstrating the video is quite a physical specimen and the weights are a bit light (at least for him). For you, you need to make sure that you use the correct weight so that you actually work at it. You really need to push yourself so that you can develop your chest properly.
- Dumbbell incline bench press. When you set up, you need to make sure that your abs are nice and tight. You also need to keep your feet on the ground and your legs tight as well. That way, you can move more weight. You should also tuck your elbows slightly when you come down. When your elbows are flared out to the side, you put a lot more stress and torque on your shoulders.
If you have any shoulder issues or feeling some discomfort in that area, lift the weight with your hands facing each other. That should make it easier for your rotator cuffs.
- Dumbbell fly. You set yourself up in a stable position with your abs and legs tight once more. In the video, you’ll see Robertson pointing out how this exercise trains particular parts of your chest. This exercise helps your balance and pec development.
- Pushup. This is the last exercise, so you may as well see how it really should be done. While you may probably know how to do it since you’ve been doing it for years, Robertson provides some hints and tricks that you may not have heard of before. For example, you have to finish strong. You have to push your body as far from the floor as possible when you do your pushups. When you go down, you have to be controlled.
With this video, you get an accelerated PhD course on how to really develop your muscles and shoulders. So stop your mindless workouts and start doing exercises which may actually help you achieve the body you want.
