The chest is one of the most overtrained bodyparts and for obvious reasons. People will try pumping out more reps on the bench press than that of the previous day. These people are not educated on how to properly bodybuild, let alone on how to build a decent sized chest. This article is for those uneducated people who would like to learn the basics of the chest and incorporate that learnt knowledge into their own workout program. The two primary muscles that make up the chest are the pectorolis major and rotator cuff. The pectorolis major allows for flexion, adduction, and medial rotation, while the rotator cuff allows for medial rotation, supraspinatus, and abduction. The muscles that contribute to the thickness of the chest are the latissimus dorsi muscles of the back. When this muscle is contracted, the measurement of the chest can be significantly increased. Thick pectorals will add greatly to the height of your chest, while strong pecs become useful when feats of strenght are needed. The variation of exercises performed will vary on the individual and what type of equipment available. Most bodybuilders start their chest workout with some sort of incline exercise, but be careful that you do not overdevelop your upper chest. Also be careful when working the lower and middle chest fibers, overdevelopment of these can give a person a droopy look to his/her chest. There are no rules stating how many exercises and how much weight that should be used. When it comes to building mass, everyone responds differently so don`t be afraid of trying something new. Making progress over the long term means switching intensity from one workout to the next. You should also vary the exercises performed and the type of sets that you decide to use, no workout should ever be the same. Doing the same workout every week, for months at a time can become dull and heighten your risk of reaching a plateau. To avoid a plateau, simply add more machine and dumbells to your training routine. Some people say that machines don`t build size, these people are wrong! If you train hard and heavy on a machine and work the muscle right, it will grow just the same as if you used free weights. Muscles respond to resistance, but how well a person responds to certain equipment varies on the individual. Don`t get me wrong, the chest is one of the funnest muscle groups to train, but very few people know how to train it correctly. Your chest routine should emphasize each section of your chest so that you don`t look unproportioned. Finding the right workout that suits your needs takes years of trial and error to get correct, so don`t expect to get everything right on the first try. Have fun with it is the most important advice I can give you. If you`re not having fun you won`t want to workout, and that state of mind is spelling recipe for disaster. Until next time, later! |
