Most of us weren’t born with a natural body. Better yet a chiseled chest BUT with the proper guidance you can overcome your chest weakness! Yes, but you have to train with intelligence, efficiency, and consistency. I train chest 2x each week, something I’ve done consistently for the past 20 years. To increase and stimulate the size of your muscle, you have to shock it and tear down the muscle fibers with quality, intense workouts.
The chest comprises the pectoralis major (located on the front of your rib cage) and the pectoralis minor (located underneath the pectoralis major). Both areas need to be targeted from every angle for optimal results. When training your chest or any other body part, dont forget to breathe properly and squeeze with each repetition. While this might sound cliche, it’s important to feel the muscle working when you train a particular body part. Its all about the mind-muscle connection.
You must give yourself at least 3 days rest between your chest workouts when training it 2x per week. In the gym, you may see others doing crazy 50-60 set routines but you can literally do more than half of that with proper form, consistency, and with intensity. Some of those individuals are able to recover faster with those added skittles (if you know what I mean) that is in their system. Nonetheless, the routine Im giving you is more than enough as you will be shredded with this program.
While you might be sore from mere quantity, doing a few dozen sets is actually counterproductive—especially when completing a shorter routine will effectively train and immediately stimulate the body part you target. More isn’t necessarily better when it comes to muscle growth—proper form is.
Here are two routines you can integrate into your weekly routine to help sculpt your chest. They work all parts: incline exercises to target the upper region, flat-laying exercises to target the middle, and decline exercises to target the lower region. When executing these exercises, focus on achieving a full range of motion.
Rest for no more than one minute between sets to enhance muscle growth. Train with intensity, then get back up, and attack the next set to achieve a fuller physique.
Equipment/Accessories Used
Exercise Routine
Barbell Bench Press – Medium Grip
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Cable Crossover
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Butterfly
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Decline Push-Up
4 sets of 15 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Decline Barbell Bench Press
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Dumbbell Flyes
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Incline Push-Up
1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 working sets of 10-12 reps
Dips – Chest Version
4 sets of 10-12 reps
Dont Forget About Balance
With so much focus placed on your chest, other non-mirror body parts can easily be forgotten. In particular, the back can be left behind. As you blast your chest, don’t neglect to keep your back training volume at least twice that of your chest. It can lead to imbalances that cause shoulder pain, poor posture, and a weaker chest. Just like stretching, training your back is crucial to posture. If all it took were a little chest stretch and a bit more back training to broaden your chest, wouldn’t you do it? Absolutely!
Putting on the Finishing Touches
Did anyone say food? Your chest needs sufficient calories and protein to recover and grow. In order to have productive workouts, it’s also recommended to have a small pre-workout meal with carbs and protein. This will spare muscle during the workout and give you energy to train hard. Eating enough and healthy foods during the day is one of the most overlooked factors in getting a ripped chest is body fat. Most men will naturally carry a little fat on their chest and it’s one of the first places men lose fat. Obviously, this is not at all the case for women. This is all due to the differences in natural hormone levels. In addition, most of the time we don’t have enough time to sit down during the day to eat a proper meal due to our work schedule and lifestyle. As well, most of us don’t get enough proper nutrients from the correct foods to allow our body to recover more efficiently and properly. Below are some suggested supplements that will ensure all that hard work with the weights won’t be a waste!
To show off the best chest possible, you won’t just want to rely on your body’s tendency to store fat in other places. To get the lines or striations across the chest, you’ll need fairly low body fat levels. That means less than 10% for men. While you eat up to bulk and build your chest, remember that consistency and persistence is key to seeing these results. Its one of the most important tips in training if you want to achieve your goals. Unfortunately, this is where the majority of people fail with the consistency because they tend to lose interest and motivation. Remember, if you want something bad enough you can definitely achieve anything you want!! So, what are you waiting for? Now, go get it!
