Chest Training by Joe Meeko |
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| CHEST TRAINING – by Joe Meeko I think chest has to be the worlds first most loved body parts to train. What’s the first thing any guy or gal asks you if they see that you’re a weight lifter? How much can you bench press right? This is usually the first thing anyone does upon joining a gym. Myself included - I did the same. I hit the flat bench for about my first few years in weight lifting but guess what? My chest did NOT grow much at all. Although I did get much stronger at the bench press my chest just refused to pack on much size. There are some guys I know that only used the flat bench and did grow themselves a nice chest. But there weren’t many. I used to train at a YMCA at one time and I noticed that the guys that were doing dumbbell presses had really nice thick chests that balled out nicely and were very thick. Although I didn’t see them use that much weight with the dumbbells their chests still looked 100% better than mine did. I thought that dumbbells were kind of a wimpy thing to use because I always heard of everyone flat bench pressing. I didn’t even try the dumbbell presses. I just kept pounding away at the flat bench for years and not much happened. Then I had to do something to get the results I was looking for so I tried the incline bench press with still the same Olympic straight bar. I then started to notice some thickness developing in my chest. I finally broke down after a few years and tried the dumbbell presses for chest. Although they felt very awkward at first to handle it just took me a while to get used to the movement. But let me tell you this - the results came fast. You see, when you use a straight bar for pressing you can’t come in at the top of the pressing movement and squeeze your pecks at the top. You are limited by holding on with a stationary grip while using a straight bar. It’s the squeezing together at the top when using two separate dumbbells that really packs on the meat and thickens the chest. Using two individual dumbbells “makes you work your chest” or you will lose control of them, and it also makes you push equally with each side or your Chest. When you’re on a straight bar you push with your triceps more than with your Chest. That’s the big difference between the two. Now you also have to figure out which angle is best for your particular muscle insertions and body structure. I got more of a hit on my chest from incline barbell and incline dumbbell presses. Flats just didn’t do anything for me. I guess it’s because of my individual body structure. Some will respond to flat and some more to the incline dumbbell presses. But most guys I saw with the best developed chests did all inclines. I didn’t particularly like the conventional 45% angle incline benches so I adjusted it to about 30%. I felt too much in my frontal deltoids if I went any higher on the angle. You’ll have to figure that one out on your own. In my book I always start every body part including chest with the heaviest and hardest exercises first. These of course are the heavy pressing movements - the incline barbell press then onto my favorite incline dumbbell presses. When I found and exercise that worked I stuck with it and did a lot of sets . Why do a few sets of this and a few sets of that when you can get better results from one major exercise that you know is working? The heavy pressing exercises were done first when I was fresh and strong at the beginning of my workout – it just made sense to me. I always warmed up with just the bar on the incline bench then started adding weight and dropped reps each set. This way you warm up the joints, tendons and muscles and it also prepares your body for the next jump up in weight. Since I didn’t get as much out of the incline straight bar exercise I only pyramided up for 5 sets. Something like this - 25 reps with the bar, then added one 45lb. plate on each side for 20 reps, then another 45 on each side that’s 225lbs. for 15 reps, then to 275lbs. for 10, then 315 for 8, then 365lbs. for 4 to 6 reps. I always had a training partner help me squeeze out one or two more reps on the heavier weight sets from 275lbs. on up. Then it went to my favorite exercise incline dumbbell presses! Since I got the best results from these I did about 10 sets pyramiding up in weight and down in reps as before. I would start with about the 80lb. Dumbbells and work my way up to the 140lb. dumbbells in 10 lb. increments. Once I hit about the 100lb. dumbbells I had my training partner put his hands on my elbows and help me force out one or two more reps on each set on the way up the pyramid. I see so many guys just get on the bench and put on too much weight to start with. This will definitely result in an injury!!! When you see even Power lifters come out to the platform to perform their bench press they were back stage warming up just like I did. There is no way someone can just slap on 500lbs. and push it up. You have to pyramid up slowly to allow everything to warm up and also to get blood in the muscle to give it its strength. Now you’re done with the MASS building exercises – I did two of those, the incline barbell press then the incline dumbbell press. Now it’s onto the easier stuff (the shaping exercises) I picked two of those - either dumbbell flies or a peck deck. I would alternate from time to time. After those I would then go to parallel bar weighted dips. This will hit the outer portion of your Chest. I only did 5 sets of each of these two exercises, but again always pyramiding up in weight and down in reps. Don’t forget to squeeze at the top of each rep on your flies or on the peck deck. Now on my dumbbell flies, I got a better hit doing them flat! Who knows why I just went by the feel the exercise gave me. This might seem like a lot of sets to do just for one body part. But then again I only hit one major body part each day. This is the routine that worked best for me. But like I always say – “you have to find out what works for you and do it” Until next time….. BACK training! Love in Christ Joe Meeko Web site www.power-grips.com |
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