It’s time to make a change. It’s time to throw away the system of pectoral training that you’ve been using, if only for a little while, and move to a new method of training your chest muscles. You’ve undoubtedly used the same movements for the past several years, and you probably have a decent chest today. You likely have spent a lot of time using heavy presses and flyes, and well as the occasional cable and frequent machine work. You know how to feel the pump as blood is drawn into the various fibers of the chest. What you may not know is that it takes a precise balance of deep and limited range movements which target both the inner and upper pectorals. Also, a workout should funnel down from free weights to machine use as your ability to control the weight lessens. Here is a sample workout which helps you to follow these rules.
Movement 1: Partner assisted incline dumbbell press
Start hard and start heavy. Incline dumbbell presses are top notch for allowing the bodybuilder to go deep with a very heavy weight, in a very safe manner. The nature of dumbbells is nice as you are able to break parallel against the chest plane which would normally limit you to a repetition stopping when the bar touches the rib cage. Let those dumbbells go down nice and low, with your training partner cupping your elbows at the bottom of the repetition for support when you are unable to get over the ‘hump’ to the next repetition. Complete 4 sets of 7 to 12 repetitions.
Movement #2: Flat bench press
Now that you’ve successfully targeted your upper pectorals using a movement that invariably hits every possible upper chest fiber as deeply as possible, it’s time to move to a more limited range of motion which emphasize lifting power. It’s time to bench press. Move the weight down to a point where your elbows are parallel with the floor, then press the weight back up. Don’t go as deep as you did with the incline presses. Complete four sets of 10 to 14 repetitions with the assistance of your training partner.
Movement #3: Incline dumbbell flyers
You know the drill on these deep incline movements. It’s time to stretch that muscle fascia as much as humanly possible. Keep the dumbbell weight moderate and move through the repetitions slowly and with total focus. Pause for just a moment and the top and bottom of each repetition. Four sets of 12 to 20 repetitions are desirable for this movement.
Movement #4: Machine movement of your choice
By this point in your routine, muscle stability will become a concern. Holding up a free-floating barbell after completing twelve very heavy repetitions is a fairly dangerous prospect. You just don’t know when muscle failure is going to occur. However, you should be able to guide a weight through a range of motion by simply pressing it, without balancing or controlling the weight. Keep the weight moderately heavy for 4 sets of 8 to 15 repetitions.