Chest Exercise Program for Mass: 7 Finest Pec Workouts

Many gymgoers suppose that the one train you want for a huge chest exercise is the bench press.

Whereas it’s true that the bench press is likely one of the very finest chest trains for gaining dimension and power, it’s not sufficient by itself to develop actually spectacular pecs.

A real chest routine for mass should embody workouts that permit you to practice your pecs with heavy weights, by means of lengthy ranges of movement, and at various angles. What’s extra, these workouts should permit you to elevate progressively heavier weights over time, since that is important for muscle development. 

From my expertise coaching hundreds of individuals, the workouts that work finest as the premise of a chest day exercise routine are:

1. Barbell bench press
2. Incline barbell bench press
3. Dumbbell bench press
4. Incline dumbbell bench press
5. Shut-grip bench press
6. Dip
7. Excessive-to-low cable fly

On this article, you’ll study why these workouts needs to be the inspiration of each good mass-building chest exercise program, uncover methods to carry out them appropriately, perceive methods to arrange them into an efficient chest exercise, and extra. 

Chest Anatomy

As you’ll be able to see, the pectoralis main has two sections or “heads:” the sternocostal head (“mid” and “decrease chest”) and clavicular head (“higher chest”). To develop full, proportional pecs, your chest exercise routines for mass should embody workouts that emphasize each sections.

The opposite noteworthy a part of the pecs is the pectoralis minor. The “pec minor” lies beneath the pectoralis main and pulls the shoulder blade ahead and towards the center of your chest.

The identical workouts that practice the pec main additionally contain the pec minor, so it isn’t mandatory to incorporate workouts in your chest exercise program that particularly goal the pec minor (and even in case you did, it’d be onerous to see whether or not or not your pec minor was rising). 

The 7 Finest Chest Workouts for Mass

To construct full, proportional mass in your pecs, you need to carry out workouts that make it simple to progressively overload your chest. In different phrases, you need to do workouts that permit you to deal with heavy weights safely and elevate progressively heavier weights over time.

These workouts also needs to work your pecs by means of a full vary of movement, which research present is essential for muscle development. Moreover, they need to goal your chest from totally different angles to make sure balanced growth.

The next seven workouts meet all these standards, and that’s why they’re good for a chest exercise designed so as to add dimension to your higher, mid, and decrease pecs.

On this part, you’ll discover ways to carry out every train and methods to incorporate them into efficient chest exercises for mass, together with professional ideas and steering on units, reps, and relaxation durations.

1. Barbell Bench Press

Why: The barbell bench press is likely one of the single finest chest workouts for mass as a result of it hits the higher, mid, and decrease parts of the chest and permits you to practice with heavy weights and progress frequently. That’s why all good chest day exercise routines start with the bench press. 

Learn how to:

1. Lie on a flat bench and place your ft flat on the ground. 
2. Pull your shoulder blades collectively and down, and with out lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, barely arch your again. 
3. Seize the bar with a barely wider than shoulder-width grip and unrack the barbell.
4. Decrease the barbell to your chest, protecting your elbows tucked 6-to-8 inches out of your sides.
5. Press the bar again to the beginning place.

Knowledgeable Tip: As you arrange for the bench press, think about screwing your ft into the ground by turning your toes out to the aspect. This creates pressure in your legs, which will increase the soundness and rigidity of your whole physique and ensures you don’t waste vitality making an attempt to take care of stability.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation : 3 units of 4-to-6 reps with 2-to-4 min relaxation

[Read More: How to Increase Your Bench Press: 12 Science-Backed Techniques]

2. Incline Barbell Bench Press

Why: The incline barbell bench press is a part of most nice chest exercises for mass as a result of nothing trains your “higher chest” extra successfully. In different phrases, it’s the finest chest train for “filling out” your whole pecs.

Learn how to:

1. Lie on a bench angled at 30-to-45 levels and plant your ft on the ground. 
2. Pull your shoulder blades collectively and down, and with out lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, barely arch your again. 
3. Seize the bar with a barely wider than shoulder-width grip and unrack the barbell.
4. Decrease the barbell to your higher chest, protecting your elbows tucked 6-to-8 inches out of your sides.
5. Press the bar again to the beginning place.

Knowledgeable Tip: Take into consideration snapping the barbell in half together with your fingers. The objective right here is to take care of higher physique rigidity, which helps you elevate heavier weights safely.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation : 3 units of 4-to-6 reps with 2-to-4 min relaxation

[Read More: Should You Incline Bench Press to Grow Your Upper Chest?]

3. Dumbbell Bench Press

Why: Most good chest exercise routines for mass embody the dumbbell bench press as a result of it trains the higher, mid, and decrease parts of the pecs and either side of your physique independently. This makes it superb for growing balanced, symmetrical dimension. It additionally trains your pecs by means of a barely longer vary of movement that barbell presses, which additional advantages mass achieve.

Learn how to:

1. Whereas sitting on a flat bench, maintain a dumbbell in every hand and relaxation them in your thighs. 
2. Lie again and deliver the dumbbells up so that you’re holding them on both aspect of your chest by giving them a nudge together with your thighs.
3. Press the dumbbells over your chest till your arms are straight and your elbows are locked. 
4. Decrease the dumbbells to the beginning place.

Knowledgeable Tip: Workouts that practice either side of your physique independently—”unilateral workouts”—are usually higher for boosting athletic efficiency than bilateral workouts (workouts that practice each side concurrently). Subsequently, in case you’re searching for an efficient chest train for athletes, the dumbbell bench press is a good choice. 

Units, Reps, and Relaxation : 3 units of 4-to-6 reps with 2-to-4 min relaxation

4. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Why: The incline dumbbell bench press is likely one of the finest chest trains for constructing your higher pecs and making a fuller, extra balanced chest

Learn how to:

1. Whereas mendacity on a bench angled at 30-to-45 levels, maintain a dumbbell in every hand and relaxation them in your thighs. 
2. Lie again, hoisting the dumbbells up so that you’re holding them on both aspect of your chest by giving them a nudge together with your thighs.
3. Press the dumbbells over your higher chest till your arms are straight and your elbows are locked.
4. Decrease the dumbbells to the beginning place.

Knowledgeable Tip: Set the bench to a 45-degree angle or decrease to make sure your pecs do nearly all of the work, not your shoulders.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation : 3 units of 4-to-6 reps with 2-to-4 min relaxation

5. Shut-Grip Bench Press

Why: Whereas many consider the close-grip bench press as a triceps train, it’s additionally extremely efficient for coaching your pecs (and your higher pecs specifically). Taking a slender grip and tucking your elbows tends to be gentler in your shoulders, too, which most individuals welcome after a number of heavy units of urgent. 

Learn how to:

1. Lie on a flat bench and place your ft flat on the ground. 
2. Pull your shoulder blades collectively and down, and with out lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, barely arch your again. 
3. Grip the barbell with a shoulder-width grip or barely narrower and unrack the barbell.
4. Decrease the barbell to your decrease chest, protecting your elbows tucked 2-to-4 inches out of your sides.
5. Press the bar again to the beginning place.

Knowledgeable Tip: The close-grip bench press is a superb addition to a chest routine for power as a result of it strengthens your triceps—the muscle tissue that usually restrict how a lot you’ll be able to bench. By constructing stronger triceps, you’ll be able to elevate extra weight on the common bench press, which permits for larger progressive overload in your pecs and results in extra chest development.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation : 3 units of 4-to-6 reps with 2-to-4 min relaxation

6. Dip

Why: The dip trains your pecs by means of a full vary of movement and whereas deeply stretched, which advantages development. It additionally doubtless trains the decrease pecs barely higher than different chest workouts, so it’s helpful for rounding out pec growth. 

Learn how to:

1. In the event you’re utilizing a dip belt, wrap the chain round your waist, add the specified quantity of weight to the chain, and fasten the carabiner.
2. Seize each handles of a dip station, then press your self up by straightening your arms and gently leaping off the bottom so your arms are straight and supporting your whole physique weight. 
3. Barely bend your knees to maintain your ft from touching the bottom, then decrease your physique by bending your elbows till your higher arms are roughly parallel to the ground.
4. Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.

Knowledgeable Tip: To emphasise the pecs, lean barely ahead whereas performing the dip. 

Units, Reps, and Relaxation : 3 units of 6-to-8 reps with 2-to-3 min relaxation

[Read More: The Ultimate Guide to Chest Dips for Building Your Chest]

7. Excessive-to-Low Cable Fly

Why: The high-to-low cable fly is a helpful train for ending a chest program for mass as a result of it permits you to practice the pecs with the quantity (units) they should develop with out different muscle teams turning into the limiting issue. Just like the dip, it additionally could emphasize the decrease pecs, which is necessary for balanced development.

Learn how to:

1. Alter each pulleys on a twin cable machine to shoulder top and fix the single-handle attachments. 
2. Seize a deal with in every hand and stand centrally between the pulleys in order that the cables pull your arms out to your sides. 
3. Sustaining a slight bend in your elbows, take 1-to-2 steps ahead so your arms are a little bit behind your torso together with your palms going through ahead.
4. Holding your elbows barely bent, deliver your fingers towards one another in an arc.
5. Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place. 

Knowledgeable Tip: Improve the vary of movement by permitting your fingers to cross over one another in entrance of your chest. If mandatory, flip your wrists so your palms face down as your fingers cross to forestall the handles from hitting one another.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation : 3 units of 10-to-15 reps with 2-to-3 min relaxation

What Are the Advantages of Chest Coaching?

Higher Aesthetics

The pecs are one of many largest muscle teams within the higher physique, in order that they have a major affect on how your torso seems to be. Nicely-developed pecs create a balanced, proportional look to your higher physique by tying collectively your shoulders, arms, and abs.

Elevated Higher Physique Power

Enhanced Athletic Efficiency

A robust chest contributes to higher efficiency in sports activities that contain pushing, throwing, or placing, comparable to soccer, basketball, and martial arts. 

Improved Posture

Tight pec muscle tissue may cause your shoulders to spherical and your higher again to hunch. Doing chest workouts that practice your pecs by means of a full vary of movement and whereas deeply stretched helps loosen these muscle tissue, which might scale back tightness and make it easier to preserve a extra upright, assured posture.

The Finest Chest Exercise for Mass

That’s why I like to recommend taking a deload after 8-to-10 weeks of coaching, after which swapping a number of the workouts within the above chest day exercise for a number of the options we mentioned earlier. For example:

• Exchange the barbell bench press with the dumbbell bench press
• Change the incline dumbbell bench press for the incline barbell bench press
• Swap the dip for the close-grip bench press

With these adjustments, you’ve a extremely efficient full chest exercise that feels contemporary. And after one other 8-to-10 weeks of coaching you’ll be able to both return to the unique chest exercise program, or rejig the workouts above to create one other new routine. 

3 Suggestions for the Excellent Chest Exercise

1. Finish each set 1-to-3 reps shy of muscle failure.

As I clarify in my health books for males and ladies, to maximise your outcomes, you could take many of the units in your chest exercise program to inside a rep or two of failure.

Ask your self on the finish of every set, “If I needed to, what number of extra reps might I’ve gotten with good type?” If the reply is greater than two, enhance the load or reps to make your subsequent set more difficult.

2. When you hit the highest of your rep vary for a set, transfer up in weight. 

Comply with this sample of making an attempt so as to add reps or weight to each train in each exercise.

3. Take the best dietary supplements.

• Protein powder: Protein powder, comparable to whey or casein, offers your physique with the vitamins wanted to construct muscle tissue and get well from exercises. 
• Creatine: Creatine boosts muscle and power achieve, improves anaerobic endurance, and reduces muscle harm and soreness out of your exercises. 
• Pre-workout: A high-quality pre-workout enhances vitality, temper, and focus, will increase power and endurance, and reduces fatigue.

(In the event you’d like much more particular recommendation about which dietary supplements it’s best to take to succeed in your well being and health targets, take the Legion Complement Finder Quiz, and in lower than a minute, you’ll know precisely what dietary supplements are best for you.)