A massive, hard, cut chest is high on the list of most body builders, both pro and amateur. Unfortunately, there is so much bad info out there when it comes to properly stimulating the pectorals that chests like I just described are becoming a thing of the past.
The big key to building the pecs you need is to choose movements that maximally stimulate the pectoral muscles. The first movement that springs to mind for most lifters when they think of pec exercises is the flat barbell bench press. But the bench press is not a great pec builder unless you happen to have the optimal leverage for it. On top of that, most people do the bench press incorrectly. If you put together bad leverages and bad technique it's no wonder you feel the bench more in your shoulders and triceps than in your pecs!
Let's take a look at 3 of the best chest exercises. But keep in mind that if these are done with bad technique you are cutting your muscle growth short and may be setting yourself up for injury. To prevent this from occurring make sure to get some technique tips from an expert so that you can build the pecs you want without getting injured.
Flat Paused Bench Presses
I realize I just finished saying that the bench press is not the best chest building exercise, but there are particular variations that work the pecs well, assuming you perform them properly. The paused BB bench press is one such variation. By pausing the bar at the chest for 1 to ten seconds before pressing it back to lockout you kill the stretch reflex and lose any stored elastic energy you created while lowering the weight. This makes pressing the weight back up much harder, but it will also force your pecs to produce a huge amount of force in order to press the bar from your chest back to the starting position.
Cable Crossovers
Even though different versions of the bench press are good, to really isolate on the chest you need to work on the flying motion. This can be done with a variety of exercises, but I really prefer cable crossovers here because of the consistent tension the weight stack gives you throughout the entire range of motion. The key here is to concentrate on getting a good stretch at the start and keeping constant tension on the chest throughout the movement. This is a fantastic concluding exercise to any chest session.
Inclined Dumbbell Bench Presses
One of the common complaints of bodybuilders is not just their overall chest mass, but their upper chest size in particular. Incline presses are a great solution to this because they emphasize the upper portion of the pecs, which gives the appearance of a higher chest, without giving you man boobs. The use of dumbbells is a good addition here as they will allow you to get a deeper stretch in the bottom of the exercise. This deep stretch activates a lot of untrained muscle fibres in the upper chest which can jump start new muscle growth.
Keep in mind that while these exercises are fantastic for building powerful pecs, they must be done with the right technique in order to get the most from them.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.home-business-source.com/articles/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
