Tips: Chest
assssssssssssss
1. Don't Overrely on Barbell Bench Presses
This usually leads to overdeveloped lower chest relative to under chest.
Solutions
• Do sets of 8 to 12 reps, only occasionally going as low as 6 reps.
• If you always do barbell benches first, start with incline presses–with barbells one workout and dumbbells the next.
Same effect as above
Solutions
• Do incline presses with a barbell or dumbbells first in your routine.
• In each chest workout, include at least as many sets of upper-chest work (incline presses and flyes) as you do lower chest work (flat and decline presses and flyes, and dips).
3. Don't Over Rely on Machines
• Do mostly free-weight and body-weight basics.
• Do less than half of your exercises with machines.
• If you’re not strong enough for bodyweight dipping, use a dip assist machine.
4. Fully Contract
When using free weights it is sometimes hard to perform maximum contraction.
Solutions
• Do one exercise per workout with a machine or training bands.
• Although your triceps will do much of the work at the end, you can still maximally flex your chest at contractions by mentally focus on the last few seconds of each rep.
5. Work the Muscles, Not the Weight
This means not using correct form and focusing only on how heavy you can lift with no regard for how well you are lifting. (Using speed, momentum or swinging and using other body parts to assist)
Solutions
• Visualize each muscle group you wish to work out before each set.
• Always utilize strict form. This is both safer and more effective for maximizing your workout.
• Control the negative part of reps.
6. Change Your Rep Amounts
7. Reverse Grip Beats Incline
Research from the “Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research” says that when performing incline bench presses, the muscle activity of the upper pecs is about 5% more than that during flat bench press.
Whereas Canadian research has found that with reverse-grip bench press, the muscle activity of the upper pecs was 30% greater than that with a standard overhand grip.
Therefore since muscle activity is greater in reverse grip bench press, be sure to add a few of these into your workouts.
8. Try Instability Tactics
Perform flys on a flat bench with dumbbells that allow you to do 8-10 reps. Then with no rest do 10-15 flys on an exercise ball with a lighter weight.
By doing the ball exercise immediately after the traditional version (supersetted), the lighter weight now becomes more of a challenge for the chest because those muscle fibers are already fatigued.
9. Try Partial Reps
A partial rep is a rep that stops short of the typical range of motion for that exercise. If you continue with partial reps until you can no longer budge the weight, you know without doubt that you taxed the muscle to its upper limits.
By doing reps in the lower bench range of motion, you minimize the role of the triceps and maximize the use of the pectoral muscles. This is very tiring so make sure to use it sparingly.
Perform your standard chest presses, and when you can no longer do complete reps, continue with a smaller range of motion until you can no longer push the weight to the halfway point. Make sure to have a spotter nearby for these.
10. Try Eccentric Training
There is larger potential energy built up in the muscles when you lower heavier weights, meaning you will be stronger on the way up.
Therefore perform your chest presses with 6-8 reps, and on each rep of the third set, have a spotter push on the bar as you resist it down to your chest. Then your spotter lets go and you push the weight up with your enhanced strength.
11. Try Maxing Out First
Choose a weight with which you can bench press for only about two reps and do one set of one rep. Rest and do a set with a weight that allows you to normally get 6-8 reps. You should be able to get 10 reps out of this second set.
Performing one rep of an extremely heavy weight primes your chest to use as many muscle fibers as possible. Then when you use a lighter weight, your chest will be used to using the same amount of muscle fibers as when were pushing your one rep maximum, allowing you to push many more reps.
12. Try Explosive Reps
When you do a bench press, you push the weight off your chest as fast as possible, but you have to slow it down at the top due to the length limit of your arms. This reduces your power and strength because you spend part of the lift pulling and not pushing.
Set up a Smith machine with a weight that lets you get only about 6-8 reps. Do one set of normal bench presses with that weight. Immediately strip off about 50%-70% and do 3-5 ballistic bench press reps.
The benefits of this are essentially that of plyometric training.
Start: For the plyometric portion, push the bar off your chest as fast as possible, letting it go at the top.
Finish: As it comes down catch it and then move into the next rep by bringing the bar to your chest and exploding back up. Only use enough resistance to the bar to stop it hitting you in the chest.
13. Triset Pushups After Workout
Use trisets after your chest workout, with flat, incline and decline pushups to push your chest beyond fatigue.
14. Lift Your Legs
Lifting your legs off the ground can be a great way to isolate your chest and not use the rest of your body to help with your exercises.
You will need to be wary that it will force you to use your core and stability muscles, so it is best to start off light to get used to having to stabilise yourself.
15. Don't Perform With Shoulders
Occasionally it is fine, however frequent routines with shoulders and chest (thus many heavy pressing exerises) can be detrimental to joint and bone health.
Thus it is recommended to give a days rest in between chest and shoulders (if you train chest on Monday then wait until at least Wednesday to perform shoulders).
