How to build Perfect Pecs
04/17/2002
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How do I get a full chest like Arnold's? What
exercises best hit the upper chest? What angle should I set the bench
to hit my upper chest? What exercises can I do to build the bottom part
of my chest? Are dumbbell flys a shaping exercise? These are by far the
most popular questions thrown my way while people are training their
chest.
To help answer these questions, you must first begin to look at genetics. Our
abilities to gain muscle are as different as we look. Some people seem to be
able to build a great looking chest no matter what they do. However, these people
are few and far between. Most people must work hard and have a properly structured
training program in order to build a decent size chest.
Everybody's chest will grow at different rates and have its own distinctive look.
You cannot change the basic shape of your chest. Only Arnold can build a chest
like Arnold. Using the "Austrian Oak" as motivation can be very helpful
in attaining your goals, but thinking you can build a chest like his can be counterproductive.
Let's put it another way: If you trained like Michael Johnson, the world record
holder in the 200-meter dash, do you think you ultimately could run as fast as
he can? Do you think you would even come close? This is not meant to discourage
anybody but to help you make reasonable goals. Take what you have and strive
to make it better.
In some poses, Arnold's upper chest looks so thick that it seems as though he
could set his beer on it. Wouldn't that be awesome to be able to do that at a
bar? What exercises did he perform to get that look? At what angle did he set
the incline to target that area? Let's look at this from an anatomical viewpoint.
Is the upper pec really a body part? No, it's not. Actually, what is considered
the upper pec by most is really the clavicular part of the pectoralis major.
When the pectoralis major is fully developed, it does give the impression of
a "shelf-like" appearance to the clavicular portion of the chest.
As to the questions about actually training to target the clavicular part of
the pectoralis major, there are studies that suggest an increase in the angle
of the bench does not mean an increase in the work load to the upper pec. Many
studies have also pointed to the fact that the higher the incline, the more you'll
activate the deltoid muscles. To make matters even more confusing for you, the
Journal of Strength and Conditioning has published a few studies showing that
using a narrower grip is much better at stimulating the upper pecs than adjusting
the angle. Now what do we do?
What we're going to do is start from the beginning. I am going to give you a
workout that I promise is going to stimulate your pectoralis major more than
it ever has been. But, we must first concern ourselves with the basics. As I
alluded to earlier, the shape of your chest is the shape of your chest. Don't
think that there is a magical exercise that's going to change that fact. This
goes for any body part for that matter. If we could change the shape of our muscles,
don't you think all pro bodybuilders and fitness athletes would be doing it?
Our muscles will grow in a genetically predetermined fashion. In many books and
magazines, several authors talk about mass exercises and shaping exercises. Whatever!
Show me the proof. Arnold is by far the most accomplished and admired bodybuilder
in history, yet I haven't see anybody with arms or a chest like his in any gym
or contest I've ever been to. Is it because nobody wants to look like him? Don't
get caught up in the game of trying to make your muscles look a certain way.
Take what you've got and make it the best it can be by working your chest correctly.
When working your chest, don't be so concerned about what part of the muscle
you're stimulating. You'll be hitting your chest from a variety of angles with
some basic guidelines, so all your bases in that regard will be covered. It's
important that you first learn how to feel the muscle that you're working. I'm
sure that many of you have heard of the "mind/muscle link." Concentrating
on and feeling your chest work is as important as the exercises themselves. Using
tempo during your sets is going to help your concentration level.
Many of you who have read my previous articles
are familiar with tempo.
It is one component of weight training that's commonly overlooked.
I cannot talk about designing a workout without talking about tempo. It's
widely accepted among bodybuilders and strength athletes that you should
lift weights under control, yet most of them haven't a clue as to what
that really means, or how it can affect their training. Tempo is by far
the least-used tool by most people who weight train, including bodybuilders
and strength athletes.
To understand tempo you need to understand "time under tension," TOT
or TUT. TUT is simply the amount of time a muscle is under tension. To
develop muscle mass the appropriate amount of time a set should last is
between 20 and 60 seconds.
Tempo is the speed of your reps. It is expressed and recorded
by three- or four-digit numbers representing the seconds required to complete
a rep. Example: 402 (four, zero, two) or 50X0 (five, zero, explosive, zero).
Using the bench press, the first digit is the speed at which the weight
is lowered (negative), the second digit is the amount of time you pause
once you've reached your chest, the third digit is the amount of time you
take to raise the weight (positive), and the fourth digit, if used, is
the amount of time you take before lowering the weight again. If an "X" is
used, it means explosive, or as fast as possible.
When the proper use of tempo is employed, the muscles are truly
doing the work. Slow speeds make the muscles work harder by eliminating
momentum and bouncing. Slowing down the pace increases the amount of muscle
tension and the duration of the stimulus. Tempo will also force you to
pay close attention to form. This will help you concentrate on the movement
and the muscle you're working. However, as with any other aspects of training,
it should not be used by itself.
Slower speed training should comprise most of your training.
But just like you need to vary your reps, varying your speeds will also
elicit a greater effect. As stated earlier, muscles require a variety of
stimuli. Stick with the basic principles, find out what works for you.
Then, throw in a wrench once in a while to keep your muscles and nervous
system guessing and adapting.
The following workout is for the first four weeks of a 12-week
program. A workout should be altered in some way every three to five weeks.
In the first four weeks your average TUT is going to be 50-60 seconds.
The second four-week program in your cycle should use rep ranges and tempos
that yield a lower time under tension. For instance, instead of performing
eight to 10 reps with a 4020 tempo, try six to eight reps with a 3020 tempo.
The TUT will be a little lower, but you're going to be lifting heavier
weight, thus changing the stimulus. Variety in training stimuli in a systematic
fashion is crucial to your success.
And remember, always train to get strong. The stronger you
are, the more tension you put on your muscles. The more tension on the
muscle, the greater the growth response. Strength is relative so don't
compare your dumbbell press with somebody else's. As long as you're making
progress, you're getting the job done.
Now let's get down to business. The first exercises (that's
right, exercises -- plural) we're going to do are the flat dumbbell fly
and the Iso-wide chest press. We're going to superset these two exercises.
If you don't have a Hammer Strength Iso-Wide Chest Press then use another
type.
The superset is going to last approximately 60 seconds. To
accomplish this we are going to need to do relatively low repetitions.
We're going to do between four and six reps on each exercise. The tempo
is going to be a little on the high side. For the flat flys the tempo will
be 4030, and on the Iso-row the tempo will be 3030.
The set will go like this. After you warm-up
properly, perform a set of flat dumbbell flys to a point at which you
fail between four to six repetitions. Make sure to use the specified
tempo.
Once you finish your last rep, immediately go to the Iso-row
or whatever press you're going to use and perform four to six repetitions
to failure. Again make sure to use the specified tempo. Take a three-minute
rest after this set is complete.
The second exercise is going to be an incline press. My exercise
of choice for this particular workout is the Incline Iso-chest Press. Choose
whatever exercise you would like to do for an incline movement, but don't
use an incline with an angle more than 35 degrees. As the incline increases
the use of your anterior deltoids (front of the shoulder) increases. Reserve
working your delts on the day you train them. Use a 4030 tempo and do between
six to eight repetitions. Take a three-minute rest after the set is complete.
The third and final set for chest is going to be another superset.
The first part of the set is going to be kneeling cable x-overs. Use a
4030 tempo and do between four to six reps. Once you finish your last rep
of cable x-overs immediately move to the second part of the set, stability
ball push-ups. Use a 4040 tempo and do between four to six reps.
The closer the ball is to your feet the more difficult the
exercise becomes. If you need more resistance, have somebody push down
on your traps and scapulas while performing the negative portion of the
exercise. But if you've done the workout correctly you probably will not
need the extra resistance.
As you probably noticed, there are only three working sets
used in this high intensity routine. For this to work you must take the
muscle to failure on each set. For most of you this type of training is
probably very foreign. This type of training, however, is very effective
and is gaining popularity. I've been using high intensity training (HIT)
since 1994 and believe it's the most productive. In future articles I am
going to go into great detail as to why HIT training is so effective and
how you can incorporate it into your routines.
Got a question for Mike? Send it to mike@bullz-eye.com.
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