If you want to build the ultimate chest you have to train frequently and on a consistent basis. It’s ideal to include a chest workout that is used two days a week with optimal rest time in between. You want your muscles to actually grow and be healthy not fatigued and stressed.

It’s also important to remember that heavy resistance and intensity is your key to success.

Super speed principle

Use joe wediers super speed principle: It basically consists of a 1:3:1 ratio. You explode with speed and power against the resistance as fast as possible for 1 second, you then slowly negate the weight moving with the resistance for 3 seconds.

You finish the rep with a 1 second pause. I personally have seen substantial muscle growth from using this principle. You want to start off with 50% of your 1RM=1 Rep Max for 8-12 sets. You then move into 70% to 80% of your 1RM for 5-8 reps.

You then will finish off with 90% to 100% of your 1RM max with 1-3reps.

Intensity

Your intensity is key so you have to make sure you are exerting as much force as possible. Explode with speed and power, but you must make sure your form is aligned and correct.

Pectoralis major and minor

There are two main muscles that make up your chest region. It consists of the pectoralis major and Pectoralis minor.
The pectoralis major stretches across the chest region which is attached to the head of the humerus.

This muscle is responsible and plays a key role in arm movements. It concentrically (creating force) accelerates shoulder flexion, horizontal adduction and internal rotation.

The pectoralis minor extends from the ribs to the coracoids process of the scapula. This muscle is more responsible for the movements in the shoulder region and the rib cage. It concentrically (creating force) protracts the scapula.

Ultimate goal

Strengthening of both areas of the chest can help your shoulder movements and help obtain all functions of the kinetic chain to work properly. The ultimate goal is to have the body in a complete functional state firing on all cylinders without any muscular imbalances, synergistic dominance or pain.

Training your body correctly and safely is extremely important and making sure your presses and fly’s are done properly. The chest press with the different grip angle’s will help target the different areas of the chest and will also help develop the triceps and shoulders.

The fly’s are my favorite exercise because they isolate the chest making it an activation site for just your chest muscles. The triceps and shoulders don’t assist you like in press’s.

This gives more attention to your chest actually doing the work and can help when you get into other exercise’s to actually use your chest! The incline will help target that upper chest and the decline will help target that lower chest area.

Chest press rules

1. Make sure to keep shoulders back and do not let them extend too far over your chest
(This will cause an adverse effect on your chest giving your shoulders and traps more of the workout leaving your chest flat and dull)
2. Make sure to keep a slight curve in your lower back( It’s a natural part of your structure so let it happen! Seen too many people lay directly flat and try to fight it)
3. Don’t over extend your deltoid( I see this in the gym daily! People overextending their shoulders when doing presses. When you come down with the resistance just go parallel to your chest don’t go below. You want to take care of your shoulder because shoulder injuries HURT and cause a lot of problems in the upper extremities.

 Dumbell fly rules

1. Make sure when you take the resistance away from your chest you bend your elbow’s slightly(this will target the pectoral region more)
2. Pause at the bottom of the fly for 2-3 seconds when you go against the force , make sure to really squeeze that chest and concentrate on USING those muscles.
3. If you really want to get Crazy with the fly’s start lifting your feet off the ground when you get to the top of your contraction.

Workout program (pick two days out of week)

Day 1

Exercise/sets
Incline bench 2-3 sets each
( normal, wide grip)
Decline bench 3 sets each
(Wide grip, normal)
Flat bench 2 sets each
(Normal, wide grip, close grip)

Day 2

Exercise/sets
Dumbbell chest press flat bench 3 sets
Dumbbell fly’s flat bench 3 sets
Dumbbell decline chest press 3 sets
Dumbbell fly’s decline chest press 3 sets
Dumbbell chest press incline 3  sets
Dumbbell fly’s incline 3 sets

• With these dumbbell workouts you can add on rotation as well.
• Also include different fly forms, palms in, palms facing away from you and palms facing you.

*Chest building circuit training interval:

• pick one day out of the week to do this workout

• This circuit training workout will be great for building muscular endurance while the other two workouts will build muscle based on volume and speed.

Exercise/sets/time
Mountain climber pushups 2 sets 30 second intervals
T-Pushups 2 sets 30 second intervals
Wide out pushups 2 sets 30 second intervals
Diamond pushups 2 sets 30 second intervals
Clap pushups (front) 2 sets 30 second intervals
Clap pushups (back) 2 sets 30 second intervals