Muscles grow best when you load them— the heavier the stress, the more they grow. You can load and build the chest muscles better when you do multiple joint exercises, such as bench presses and incline presses. These exercises allow you to use heavy weights and overload the chest muscles to the max. They also build accessory muscles, such as the triceps and deltoids, that allow you to work the chest muscles harder. Finish off your chest-building program by doing exercises that isolate the chest muscles, such as incline dumbbell flyes and pec deck flyes.
LIFT #1: BENCH PRESS
The bench press is a mainstay for developing the pecs, deltoids and triceps. This is an important exercise because you can overload your pecs and develop upper-body strength better than with almost any other exercise.
Lie on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the bar slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Move the bar from the rack to a point over your chest. Lower the bar in a straight line slightly below your nipples (end of the breastbone). Push the weight straight up to the starting position.
Most people use poor technique when doing the bench press. Use the major muscles in your body to assist with this lift— tighten the muscles in your legs, abs and back and squeeze your shoulder blades together. When lowering the bar to your chest, inhale and expand your chest and belly. This will help you generate more power during the lift.
Keep your elbows in so your upper arms are at 45ยบ angles to the sides of your body. Bench pressing with your elbows sticking out places too much strain on your shoulders, and reduces power. As you push the bar upward, contract your glutes, press your feet into the floor and drive the bar upward explosively, exhaling as you perform the lift.
LIFT #2: BARBELL INCLINE PRESS
This is an excellent exercise for developing mass in the upper chest. Do it on an incline bench with a built-in rack. Use a spotter— even when lifting a light weight— because when setting up for the exercise, you grasp the bar with your shoulders externally rotated, which is a vulnerable position. The spotter will protect your shoulders from injury.
Lie or sit on the incline bench and grasp the bar slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Have the spotter assist you to move the bar directly over your upper chest. Lower the bar to your upper chest and press the bar to the starting position. Use the same techniques described for the bench press for increasing power during the lift.
LIFT #3: INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS
This exercise is excellent for isolating and balancing the muscles of the upper chest. Grasp the dumbbells and sit or lie on the incline bench. Place the right-hand dumbbell on your lower quad and boost it to chest level using your thigh. Do the same with the left-hand dumbbell. Keeping the dumbbells high on your chest, press them overhead and then return to the starting position.
LIFT #4: INCLINE HAMMER PRESS
Doing inclines on this machine helps build the upper chest because you get a superior overload without having to balance the weights.
Load the appropriate plates on the sides of the machine. Grasp the handles, sit on the bench, stabilize your body and push forward; return to the starting position.
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