3 techniques to make chest muscles grow

Article provided by the website ironmonster.ru.
2015-01-06

Good day to you, friends! I will say right away that this article will not cover the general principles of muscle growth; I have already discussed all of this in the article: Training program for gaining muscle mass. There is also a program specialized for chest muscles.

This post is intended for those whose chest muscles are lagging and refuse to grow under standard training schemes.

Why aren't chest muscles growing?

It has happened that genetically, some muscles respond well to load while others clearly start to lag behind. In our case – the chest muscles.

There are many reasons that can affect training results as a whole. But if we highlight one main reason, it would be poor neuromuscular connection. That is, during chest exercises, we feel their work poorly or do not feel it at all.

As an example, we can take the well-known

This exercise is one of the favorite exercises since it allows for competition in strength. However, it is far from being the best exercise for gaining muscle mass in the chest.

Many may argue, stating that some athletes mainly used this exercise to build their chest. Let's remember about genetics; thus, for these athletes, the chest is a muscle that responds excellently to load, but not everyone is so blessed by their parents. So, let’s discuss some tricks that will help fully develop our lagging chest muscles.

Techniques for Chest Muscle Growth

1. Incline Bench Press

When working on muscle mass for the chest, preference should be given to incline presses. Specifically:

It is not entirely correct to say that the horizontal press involves all bundles, while the incline primarily engages the upper bundle of the chest muscles.

During horizontal presses, the lower chest primarily works, along with the shoulder girdle. In horizontal barbell presses, a bridge is formed (you can easily slide your hand under your lower back). This bridge allows us to lift a greater weight by engaging other muscle groups. Consequently, the load on the chest muscles decreases.

To work the chest effectively, it is recommended to set the incline of the bench to 30 degrees. With this incline, the biomechanics of the movement change, and the load is primarily distributed to the chest muscles. At this incline, the chest works fully. Both the upper and middle to lower bundles of the chest muscles are well-loaded.

2. Dumbbell Press

A great solution is to replace the barbell bench press with:

This is very relevant for guys with a narrow chest. When working with dumbbells, a significant advantage is the greater range of motion compared to the barbell.

Tension in the chest muscles should be maintained throughout the entire set; therefore, do not fully extend your arms at the top position, keeping the elbow joint slightly bent, and without a pause, repeat the movement.

3. Bridge in Horizontal Presses

If you absolutely do not want to give up horizontal presses, there is one option: exclude the bridge, thereby redistributing the load primarily to the chest muscles.

This is done easily: during the exercise, lift your legs and bend them at the knees (you can place your feet on the bench or keep your legs crossed in the air). The lower back will be pressed tightly against the bench, making it harder to press the barbell. This means we have turned off the unnecessary muscles from the exercise, and all the work will be on the chest. However, it should be noted that in this position, the working weights will be lower than in the usual barbell bench press.

These recommendations will help reduce the lag of the chest muscles compared to the rest of the muscular corset. Don't forget that you need to work with maximum weights and maintain progressive overload. It is also recommended to use periodization in bodybuilding for better progress in training and recovery of the body.