Arm and chest workout. How to quickly pump up your chest - an effective exercise program. Exercises for chest muscles

is one of the most important components of a bodybuilder’s entire training split. The peculiarity of the pectoral muscles is that they are always in sight, so pumping them up is one of the highest priority tasks, in addition, the pectoral muscles constitute a large muscle group, and it is the large muscles that should be given attention first. However, although this article will discuss all aspects of training the pectoral muscles, the anatomy of the chest structure, practical recommendations for working out different parts of the pectoral muscles, the reasons for chest lag, how to properly train the chest and what should be emphasized, but still in this In this case, we are talking about a training program that specializes in the development of the pectoral muscles, and not on the basic principles of chest training.

If you are just starting to work out in the gym, then we recommend that you familiarize yourself with chest workout plan , as well as study material about bodybuilding for beginners . However, this article will also be useful to you, but before you start studying the intricacies, we recommend that you study the basic information. Also required subscribe to updates so as not to miss other useful information!

What are breasts? The pectoral muscles consist of the external pectoral muscles, internal intercostal muscles and the diaphragm. Bodybuilders, naturally, are primarily interested in external ones, since it is their hypertrophy that is most noticeable. The most important muscle is the pectoralis major muscle, which is paired, that is, located on both sides of the chest. Less important is the pectoralis minor muscle, which is of interest because it pushes the pectoralis major muscle forward, causing the breasts to appear larger. Athletes usually do not train the remaining muscles, but this, of course, is wrong, since these muscles also perform important functions. Moreover, for example, if you feel discomfort in the collarbone area, then you definitely need to work out the subclavian muscle.

Pectoralis major muscle - takes up the lion's share of chest training; it is this that is trained with all kinds of barbell and dumbbell presses. The functions of this muscle include bringing the arm towards or away from oneself; accordingly, due to this muscle, a pushing movement is performed - a press. This muscle also performs a rotational function, it is due to the pectoralis major muscle that a person can rotate his arm, well, in this case, if we are talking about bodybuilding, then this is dumbbell fly. This is very important, because during training the athlete trains muscle fibers that perform certain functions, and accordingly, since the functions are different, the muscle fibers are used differently. This does not mean that the bench press trains some fibers, and the fly trains others, but the emphasis of the load shifts and, yes, additionally different muscle fibers are involved.

Since the pectoralis major muscle, one way or another, is the target muscle, it will be given special importance in chest training. Conventionally, the chest can be divided into middle, upper and lower, although they will all be the same muscle. The reason for dividing the pectoralis major muscle into segments is that the muscle fibers have different attachment points, some are attached to the middle of the chest, others to the collarbone, and all of them are attached to the humerus. Accordingly, depending on the position of the body, different fibers will be at different angles; when the athlete lies on a horizontal bench, then those fibers that are attached to the middle of the chest are at right angles; when the athlete lies at an upward angle, then those fibers are at right angles , which are attached to the collarbone. And it is anatomically more convenient for you to use those fibers that are exactly at right angles, therefore, in order to shift the load to the desired muscle fibers, it is necessary to change the load vector.

Pectoralis minor muscle And subclavian muscle are similar in many ways, but the first is responsible for bringing the shoulder blades down and forward, and the second is responsible for bringing the collarbone down and forward. In order to load these muscles, it is necessary, while performing fly-ups, preferably on a block, to perform additional force when bringing the arms together, bringing the shoulder forward. That is, you can simply bring your arms together, or you can additionally contract the pectoral muscle a little more by bringing the scapula and shoulder forward, this is training the pectoralis minor and subclavian muscles. From a practical point of view, bodybuilders are not interested in the remaining muscle groups. The only thing that can be useful for those athletes who use strength training program , this is intra-abdominal pressure, which can be increased with the help of a safety belt. The pressure increases due to compression of the diaphragm, which allows you to bench press heavier weights, which is why powerlifters even train the chest at the waist.

Causes of breast lag

Lack of progression – this is the most important reason for the lag of something, because if an athlete progresses the load at the expense of the target muscle group, then, one way or another, its hypertrophy will occur. From a practical point of view, the key points that make progression possible are training diary and system. You can progress the load in different ways, but this is most effectively done by increasing the working weights on the bar. In practice, no matter how effective your chest workout is, you will make progression, both through working weight and by increasing repetitions in working sets. The optimal number of repetitions for building muscle mass is 8-12 repetitions per set. In this range you will manipulate the number of repetitions.

After you have increased the weight on the barbell, you will perform 8 repetitions, gradually trying to increase the number of repetitions per set to 10-12, and then move on to a new weight and 8 repetitions. This doesn't mean you have to increase the weight or reps on all sets at once. Let's say you performed 12 repetitions in the first approach with your working weight, respectively, in the next workout you put more weight and performed 8 repetitions in the first approach, and 7 in the second. This means that in the third approach you drop the weight to the previous one and perform with it maximum number of repetitions. In the next workout, you perform 8 repetitions in the first approach, in the second you try to perform 8, if it works, then in the third you try to perform 8 repetitions with the new weight. If you succeed, then in the next workout you try to do more in the first repetition, etc. If you follow the principle of progression in your chest muscle training, then it will not go anywhere and will still grow!

Poor muscle feeling – this is also an important reason, since the progression of loads should be carried out due to the target muscle group, that is, when you increase the weights in the bench press, this should happen by increasing the load on the chest, and not on the shoulders, latissimus dorsi, triceps, legs or anything else. What do you need for this? Correct technique! But not only, muscle feeling can be developed, so experienced athletes can afford to cheat.

Wrong priorities – this reason can be expressed in the fact that the athlete gives preference to strength indicators, or to the wrong segment of the chest. Training the chest for hypertrophy is training specifically the chest muscles, therefore, if you use a power press, and your chest is a genetically lagging muscle, then there is nothing to be surprised that the chest does not grow. Lagging muscle groups need to be isolated, since stronger muscles will naturally steal the entire load. This is precisely the principle of progression of loads at the expense of the target muscle group. As for the lag of the breast segments, everything is the same! If your upper chest lags behind, and you stubbornly do bench presses on a horizontal bench, then your upper chest will never grow, since in order to shift the load to the upper chest, you need to perform the bench press at an angle. The priority muscle areas should be those that are lagging behind!

Features of chest training

Expansion of the skeleton - this is a very effective technique that allows you to expand the chest not through muscles, but through bones, which not only makes the chest visually larger, but increases the final potential of its growth. We have already written about how such training looks in practice in an article about breast expansion .

Pre-fatigue - This is a way of emphasizing the load on the pectoral muscles in conditions where the auxiliary muscle groups during chest exercises reach positive failure before the chest. For example, you are doing a bench press, you have done 6 repetitions, your chest is still capable of performing 1-2 repetitions, but your triceps are already tired and you cannot press the barbell any more. Accordingly, in such conditions the chest does not work properly, but if you first tire it with an isolation exercise, then it will already be tired, and you will be able to achieve positive failure in the chest earlier than in the auxiliary muscles. In addition, this method allows you to stretch your chest well, filling it with blood, and tune your brain specifically to working the pectoral muscles.

Supination and pronation - these are methods of complicating the load in isolated exercises, but their main advantage is not only that they allow you to load the muscle more, but also that they load the desired segments of the chest. Supination is turning the hand towards the face, and pronation is turning away from the face. For example, you are doing dumbbell flyes, your hands at the bottom point are in a neutral grip, and when you lift them up, you pronate your hand, turning it away from you, that is, as if trying to bring your thumbs together. During supination, on the contrary, you try to bring your little fingers together, while in the lower phase the palm may not be in a neutral grip, when the palms are facing each other, but in a pronated state. That is, at the bottom point the palms are turned towards the legs, and at the top point towards the face. Very important rotate the hand by rotating the shoulder, not the elbow joint.

Chest and triceps workout - This is one of the most commonly practiced types of chest muscle training, which during the workout itself does not provide any special benefits to the pectoral muscles, but this method does have an advantage in terms of recovery. The bottom line is that during triceps training, the chest also indirectly receives a load, especially during bench presses, and if you combine triceps and chest training, then, accordingly, the contractile proteins rest more fully.

Chest and biceps workout – this is also a type of combination of muscle groups in which the chest gains only slightly during the workout itself. Yes, of course, as in the previous case, you combine chest muscle training with training a small muscle group, which allows you to concentrate more on the pectoral muscles. This workout is one of the most optimal if you do not specialize in the chest, since during the triceps workout the chest is indirectly involved, which, in essence, is an easy workout for it that maintains energy.

Chest and back workout – this is already a fairly advanced option for training the pectoral muscles, since it involves combining antagonist muscles. The chest is a pushing muscle group, and the back is a pulling muscle group, but both are large muscle groups, as a result of which it is difficult to fully pump both of them. A huge plus is that during back training you stretch your chest. When specializing on the chest, you can apply this training using supersets, but in this case the back should be trained with lighter weights.

Chest and Shoulder Workout - this is also training antagonist muscles, so with the chest you will not train the front delta, but the middle and rear ones. This workout allows you to pump up your shoulders if you have nowhere to put them into training, which, in fact, is the advantage of this combination of muscle groups. That is, there are no particular advantages, but there are no disadvantages either. If you need to train your shoulders, but there is nowhere to put them, then you can use this kind of training.

Chest and Leg Workout - this is a very effective scheme for training the chest muscles, but, of course, the legs are not the goal in this case, that is, they are trained exactly as much as it helps train the pectoral muscles. At the beginning of the workout, you perform light squats at 50% of the working weight for 5 sets of 10 repetitions, after which you proceed directly to training the main muscle group. The bottom line is that squats stimulate the production of testosterone, making further training much more fun. The only negative is that squats will take you about 10 minutes, and the workout must be completed in 1 hour.

Training program on the chest

Monday – heavy chest and light legs Two days of rest and then the program repeats again. Very important perform all chest exercises within the amplitude, that is, without fully extending your elbows, so that the load does not go from the pectoral muscles to the triceps and elbows. In general, for a better muscle feeling, you should imagine that your arms end at your elbows and mentally squeeze not the barbell, but your elbows. Try, experiment, the one who walks will master the road!

I really enjoy training on various machines and free weight machines. Sometimes I even buy a one-time membership to try out equipment that is not available in my gym. However, as much as I like machines, when it comes to a mass training program, I choose the good old basics.

Therefore, my chest training program is very simple and includes only four (or rather, four and a half) exercises. Why exactly I included them in the complex and how exactly I do them will be discussed further. But first…

Warm up before chest workout

I won’t tell you why you need to warm up before training your chest, and I won’t talk about the importance of warming up the triceps either. But I’ll tell you about two important aspects of preparing to perform exercises for pumping up the chest, which few people know about:

Back warm-up. The back is an antagonist to the chest, just like the triceps are to the biceps or quadriceps. At first glance, it seems that there is no point in wasting time on warming them up, but any professional will tell you that the back actively works in any basic chest exercise. Therefore, before starting chest training, your back must be warmed up. This, although not much, does improve the quality of any pressing movement. I warm up my back in the gravitron, performing 2-3 sets of pull-ups of 12-15 reps until I feel light blood flow in my lats.
Breast pumping. By “pushing” blood into the pectoral muscles, I can more easily control them during the basic exercises of the complex. Therefore, before starting to perform it, I do 3-4 approaches with minimal weight. I chose this exercise not by chance, because it loads the entire array of pectoral muscles at once and ideally copes with the task of filling them with blood.

Of course, you can avoid such a prelude to training the pectoral muscles so as not to waste time and precious glycogen and immediately take the bull by the horns by moving on to heavy bench presses.

To be honest, these “tricks” are not mine, I overheard them in one of Kai Green’s interviews. So, this is not a gag, but two professional training secrets of people who know well how to pump up their chest.

Conclusion: Proper pumping of the chest begins with warming up the back and light pumping.

A set of chest exercises

Exercise 1. Incline Dumbbell Press

Volume: 6 sets of 7-9 reps each. Why exactly the dumbbell press, why on an incline bench and why as many as 6 approaches? I'll explain in order:

Why does pumping the pectoral muscles start from the top?

For me (and most tall people). Therefore, starting to pump up the chest by performing an exercise on the top is logical and natural. The principle of priority in action is that the lagging muscle (or muscle section) is trained first.

12 Best exercises for the chest, pumping up the chest correctly

While we are full of energy, and the nervous system is alert and ready to work, such a technique will allow us to use maximum weight in the exercise and make the exercise itself more effective. For this reason, everyone is a pro. Pumping up the upper pectorals is the “highlight” of any well-designed program.

Why do I pump my chest with dumbbells and not with a barbell?

I know people who have built great upper pectoral muscles with the bent-over barbell press, but such individuals are very few. The barbell press, whether on a horizontal bench or an incline bench, loads everything (front deltoid, triceps, lower chest) except the upper part. The only exception is the guillotine press, which I talked about earlier. According to, the guillotine barbell press, invented by Vince Gironda, is the best exercise for pumping up the chest muscles. Classic barbell presses don’t even breathe into his navel.

Bent over dumbbell press is the main exercise for pumping up the chest muscles.

I really like to do the guillotine press, but I have naturally very strong front deltoids and they frankly steal the load from my chest in all exercises with a barbell. But the dumbbell press does not lock the body into a rigid frame, so the load on the front delts is lower than in the barbell press.

In addition, the incline dumbbell press allows you to stretch the pectoral muscles at the bottom and contract them at the top. So, 2:0 in favor of dumbbells. But I cannot say that this exercise is simple; technically, it is more complex than the barbell press and therefore not everyone can get the proper return from it. I suggest watching a story about errors in performing dumbbell bench presses:

Incline dumbbell press, execution errors

Why are there 6 sets of dumbbell incline presses?

All sets of chest exercises, like a carbon copy, promise to do 4 approaches in each exercise, but since my goal is to pump up the upper pectorals (lagging behind in development), why not increase the amount of work by one and a half times?

And also, I start doing incline presses, setting the bench angle to 45°, do two sets and reduce the angle. I do two more approaches and again reduce it, to 30. Thus, I pump the upper section from three different angles, which allows me to load the areas of the chest that usually shirk from work. For these reasons there are 6 approaches.

Conclusion: You need to start any chest training program from a lagging area and spend maximum time and energy on eliminating its lag.

Superset on the chest. Exercise 2 and 3.

Dumbbell press on a horizontal bench with a wide and narrow grip

Volume: 5 sets of 8-10 reps. Why a superset and why does it have two dumbbell presses?

Why pump up your chest with a superset?

- These are two exercises performed without interruption. This technique is a shock and forces the body to connect all the muscle fibers available in reserve to cope with it. In other words, a superset on the chest (or any other muscle group) is a great method of gaining muscle mass.

You can combine any exercises into supersets, but my goal is to pump up the pectoral muscles for mass, so I include two basic exercises with dumbbells in it. Among other things, this allows you to reduce training time.

Note: I do both presses holding dumbbells with a parallel (neutral) grip. Many people underestimate it, but, meanwhile, it allows you to hold heavier projectiles and be much more gentle on your elbow joints.

The Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press is something Branch Warren really likes to use. So this is not my know-how either.

The first exercise, the dumbbell bench press with a wide grip (I mean, with the arms placed wide), pumps the outer parts of the chest, stretching it across the width. And secondly, it is targeted, while forcing the muscles to work in a contracted state.

This superset on the chest allows you to load the external and internal muscles of the chest in one fell swoop, and do it quickly and with the utmost quality. There are not many exercises to train the middle of the chest:

bringing hands together in crossover
butterfly in the gym

But their effectiveness pales in comparison to the close-grip dumbbell press. If only because this exercise is basic and, in addition to the very middle, it loads a wider area of the chest, making it truly powerful.

Conclusion: A superset on the chest is a shock technique for pumping the pectorals, aimed at increasing muscle volume and improving their shape.

Exercise 4. Push-ups on wide bars

Volume: 4 sets of 10-12 reps

This is the last exercise for pumping up the chest and the penultimate one in our complex. Its task is simple - to further stretch the pectoral muscles and make them as wide as possible. The wide-grip dumbbell press pulled them in a horizontal plane, while dips on the parallel bars did this in a vertical plane.

There is nothing unusual about this exercise except that it is performed without weight and with a slow descent phase. The goal of the dips in my chest training program is not to increase the mass of the already large lower pectoral muscles, but rather to stretch and give them maximum width. but making it wide is much more difficult. For this reason, I advise doing push-ups on parallel bars without weight. Slow and controlled.

Note: Unfortunately, due to a triceps injury I received many years ago during training, I cannot do push-ups on the uneven bars, so I do the exercise in the gravitron. This is my only deviation from basic exercises towards the simulator.

Conclusion: Push-ups on wide bars - an exercise for stretching the chest in the vertical plane.

Exercise 4.5. Military bench press

Volume: 3 sets of 15 reps

Stop, stop, you say, the military press is an exercise for the shoulders, not for the chest, what does it do in this mass training program? Yes, indeed, the standing chest press is a classic exercise for the shoulder girdle. But I include it in the set of exercises for pumping up the chest for a different reason...

The load during the bench press falls on many large and small muscles, but I am only interested in one - the subclavian. This is a very small but important muscle. And its importance lies in the fact that as it increases in size, it covers the collarbone, being essentially the uppermost section of the pectoral muscles. If the subclavius muscle is not developed, the top of the chest remains empty.

And so, by the time I do the military press, my deltoids and triceps are already so tired from dumbbell presses that they no longer respond to the load. This means there is a chance to pump up a small but extremely important section of the pectoral muscles and make it grow a little. True, my technique for performing the military press differs from the classical one. I do it like this:

I press my elbows tightly to the body so as to squeeze my chest with them, I strain my pectoral muscles and protrude forward and upward, and I bring my shoulder blades together and lower them down.
I keep my body as straight as possible, and perform the bench press with a shortened amplitude (I don’t fully straighten my arms at the top, and I don’t put the barbell on my chest)
I lower the bar under control, consciously keeping the tops of my pecs in a very tense state throughout the entire approach.

The peculiarity of the military press is that the vector of movement in the exercise is almost vertical, so the load for the upper pectorals is unusual, and for the subclavian itself, it is extremely stressful.

The military press is also an exercise for pumping up the chest.

I decided to try to use the military press in a chest training complex after reading about the training of Denis Wolf. Due to his height, it was difficult for him to pump up the upper pectoral muscles and only with the help of a standing barbell press was he able to solve this problem.

Conclusion: The military press at the end of a chest workout allows you to pump up the subclavius muscle and gives you a chance to complete the creation of a powerful upper chest.

What are the benefits of this chest training program?

Of course, there are other programs for training the pectoral muscles for mass. But this, in my opinion, has a number of advantages:

Specialization. The main emphasis is on pumping the upper pectorals. The maximum amount of effort and time is spent on working on this area. This allows you to quickly eliminate developmental delays
Time. There are 18 working approaches in total (taking into account the military press), so high-quality pumping of the chest takes only 30-35 minutes. This means that all exercises are done with maximum working weight and maximum mental concentration.
Full elaboration. All parts of the chest are loaded from top to bottom and from the middle to the outer edges. Pumping up the upper chest is, of course, a priority, but you shouldn’t forget about other departments.
Muscle fibers. Various muscles are involved in the work, due to the fact that exercises for pumping up the chest will be performed with a repetition range from 7 to 15.
Productivity. The program includes the most effective basic exercises for each individual section of the chest. Thanks to this, the rate of breast mass gain increases.

Conclusion: Such a mass training program rationally uses time and effort and at the same time allows you to pump up large, wide and well-developed breasts.

Conclusion

I hope that the story about my chest training program will be interesting and useful and will allow you to simultaneously significantly increase the volume of your chest and improve their shape. May the force be with you. And the mass!

How can beginners build massive breasts? Try these 5 great workout programs for building chest muscle and find out for yourself.

A Beginner's Guide to Building Pecs

Do your chest resemble more of a sheet of plywood than the mountain of muscles you've always dreamed of? Do you spend endless hours doing bench presses but your chest size isn't increasing? Have you already begun to think that you are simply not destined to have developed ones? Stop it immediately, you are wrong.

I can't promise you that you will ever have breasts like the great Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I can promise you that if you listen to me, you can develop your breasts to impressive sizes.

Later in the article I will tell you about the anatomy of the chest, its function, location in the body and some exercises for each part of the pectoral muscles. Finally, and exactly what you've been waiting for, I'll share with you five of my favorite workout routines that will help you turn your flat chest into ripped muscles.

Anatomy of the Breast

The chest consists of two muscles that together provide the function of the chest wall. These muscles are the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor. Typically, the pectoralis minor muscle is located directly below the pectoralis major muscle.

Location:
Starts in the inner half of the clavicle, passes through the sternum to the axillary fossa (humerus).

Functions:
Performs 3 different functions:

Rotates the shoulder
Raises and lowers the arm to the sides
Performs an arm wrestling move

Exercises:
Barbell press and dumbbell swings

The barbell bench press perfectly trains the middle section of the pectoral muscles.

Although the chest is made up of a single muscle mass, it must be trained as if it were made up of three parts. The upper, middle and lower parts of the chest are better pumped depending on the angle at which the exercises are performed.

The upper chest develops best when performing exercises on a bench at an angle of 30-45°. For example, barbell and dumbbell presses or incline dumbbell flyes are great exercises for pumping up your upper chest.

The midsection of the chest receives the best stimulation if the exercises are performed on a flat bench. For example: barbell and dumbbell presses or raises and raises with dumbbells on a horizontal bench perfectly train the middle section of the pectoral muscles.

The lower chest is best trained with exercises performed on a bench with a reverse incline (30-45°). For example: barbell presses and dumbbell presses or incline dumbbell flyes are great for increasing the size of your lower pecs.

I find that all sections of the pectoral muscles respond best to low (4-6) to moderate (8-12) reps initially. I very rarely include high reps for beginners as I believe that heavier weights help build the strong foundation that beginners need. I also believe it's best to focus on free weights when starting out, especially if your chest is your weak spot. In my opinion, free weights develop the pectoral muscles much better than machines.

Now that you understand what muscles make up the pectoral musculature and are aware of their functions, location, and the exercises needed to grow them, let's look at some workout programs that will help you increase chest size.

All exercises must be performed exactly according to the rules, because incorrect execution of exercises becomes a habit that will haunt you and prevent you from achieving great results, or in the worst case, lead to injury. So first, read the section.

My 5 Favorite Workout Programs for Building Chest Muscles

Upper pectorals day

: 3 sets of 8 reps

Day of the middle part of the pectoral muscles

: 3 sets of 4-6 reps
: 3 sets of 8 reps
: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
(lowering should take 5-10 seconds): 3 sets of 12 reps

Lower Pectorals Day

: 3 sets of 4-6 reps
: 3 sets of 8 reps
: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
(lowering should take 5-10 seconds): 3 sets of 12 reps

Barbell Day

: 3 sets of 4-6 reps
: 3 sets of 4-6 reps

Any workout begins with a warm-up. This is a prerequisite for long-term progress and effective injury prevention.
To see how your body changes, adhere to the principle of progression of loads. In other words, in each workout you should do a little more than the previous one. But at the same time The exercise technique should not be violated.
The pectoral muscles love variety. You will make progress faster if you regularly modify the load: add new exercises, swap them, alternate working with weights and with your own weight, etc.
It is important not only to contract the working muscles, but also to stretch them, so pay special attention to the negative phase of the amplitude in each exercise. Deep push-ups on dumbbells or kettlebells are a great way to feel the tension in your pectoral muscles.
Don't stop working with your own weight. Buy a pair of collapsible dumbbells specifically for home workouts, so you will progress much faster. For push-ups, you can use a backpack with additional weight.
Follow the correct breathing technique - this is the basis for performing any pressing exercises for the pectoral muscles at home. In all types of push-ups, inhale when lowering while lying down, and exhale when lifting. In the dumbbell press, you exhale as you lift the dumbbells up.
Focus not on the number of repetitions or heavy working weights, but on the feeling of the pectoral muscles working. If we pump the pectoral muscles at home, then a burning sensation in them will be the main indicator of proper functioning.
Use static dynamics from time to time when performing any type of push-ups. The pectoral muscles respond well to this technique.

The best exercises for chest muscles at home

The main basic chest exercise performed with your own weight is push-ups. It is around them that we will build the entire home training process. Let's look at the most common variations of this exercise.

Push-ups with wide arms

This exercise is often called the “reverse bench press” - the biomechanics of the movements are almost identical, so they will be basic as part of home training.

Use the maximum possible amplitude: at the lowest point between your body and the floor there should be no more than 5 cm. If your physical fitness for this exercise is not yet enough, first perform push-ups from your knees - this way you will strengthen the muscle frame and prepare the joint-ligamentous apparatus for more serious work.

is an explosive movement that uses all the fibers in the pectoral muscles. The most common variation is clap push-ups. Excellent for developing explosive power and strengthening the entire shoulder girdle. More complex variations: with two claps, with a clap behind the back, superman push-ups, etc. Alternate them from workout to workout.

Deep push-ups

For this exercise you will need a pair of dumbbells (weight is not important) or a small elevation (alternatively, you can use two chairs). The amplitude is greater than in classic push-ups, so you stretch the muscles more strongly at the bottom. The result is new stress and more incentives to grow.

If you have special sports equipment at home (dumbbells, weights, barbell), then you can do more strength work. This will create even more prerequisites for gaining muscle mass.

This is the only strength exercise for pumping up the pectoral muscles at home, which does not require a special bench or other equipment. You simply lie on the floor, bend your knees for greater stability and press the dumbbells up, then lower them until your hands touch the floor. The amplitude will be less than when pressing on a bench, so if it is available, it is better to perform the exercise on it.

A combined option is possible: bench press + fly-out. To do this, you need to spread your arms further to the sides and bend your elbows less.

It is possible to perform this exercise using two weights. You can press them similarly to dumbbells or one at a time:

Dips

Often at home there is a wall bars with bars, or a similar apparatus is in the nearest yard. These push-ups are one of the main basic exercises for the pectoral muscles.

To maximize the load on your chest, the distance between the bars should be slightly wider than your shoulders, and when performing the movement, lean forward slightly and do not fully extend your arms. This is how you can almost completely “turn off” the triceps.

Pullover with dumbbell

This exercise perfectly forms the “collar” - the middle of the upper part of the pectoral muscles. It does not require a lot of weight; it is much more important to feel the work of the pectoral muscles, and not the serratus or latissimus dorsi muscles. To create the correct angle of inclination of the body, an ordinary chair or stool will be enough.

Also, the pectoral muscles work indirectly when performing some abdominal exercises, for example, when rolling on a roller, running in a prone position, or lifting from a plank. To further strengthen your core, we recommend performing one of these exercises at the end of each at-home chest workout.

Training program for the pectoral muscles at home

The classic option is a split, in which the chest is pumped once a week together with the triceps.

Option with dumbbells and parallel bars:

Body weight option:

You can watch another version of the program with your own weight in the video:

If you want to make a small specialization in developing the pectoral muscles, we recommend doing two workouts per week. Follow the diagrams below to get started, and as you gain experience, tailor your workouts to suit your priorities.

First workout:

Second workout:

The rest time between sets is 45-60 seconds. During breaks, it would be useful to stretch the pectoral muscles a little, this will improve blood flow to them. With the help of these two complexes, you can pump up your pectoral muscles at home in a few months. It all depends on regular training, proper nutrition and recovery.

Ways to progress loads

If you want to see improvements in your fitness day after day, you must increase the volume and intensity of your training with each workout.

There are several ways to do this:

Reduce rest time between sets. For example, from 1 minute to 30 seconds.
Increase the number of working sets and repetitions.
Use additional weights (place a plate on your back while doing push-ups, wear a backpack) or increase the working weights in exercises with dumbbells.
Use combination sets (supersets, drop sets, giant sets, etc.). For example, you can do one set for the upper and lower chest at a time.
Increase the number of exercises performed during training. But do not do more than 4 exercises of 3-4 sets per muscle group.
Apply the rest-pause principle (after reaching failure, rest 5-10 seconds and do a few more final reps).
Work your slow-twitch muscle fibers harder. They respond well to the static-dynamic style of performing exercises. This will make the entire shoulder girdle stronger.

Recommendations will help you progress faster. However, remember that if your training is too intense and you cannot create all the conditions for quick and complete recovery, there is a high probability of developing overtraining and stagnation.

Let's talk about killer training for your pecs. Over the next two months, you'll shock your pecs with this program and be sure to notice growth. We advise you to start ordering shirts in a larger size right now.

You're not happy with your breasts, are you? If it were otherwise, you would not have paid attention to this article. I know it's frustrating, you're working out as hard as you can, but nothing is happening to your breasts? Where has the progress gone?

Let's assume that you have good neuromuscular connection and know how to engage your pectoral muscles while switching off your deltoids and triceps. Let's also assume that you are in good physical shape and are giving your all in training. If all of the above is true, then most likely the problem is not with you, but with your program.

One common mistake is that people do the same exercises in the same order, the same number of sets and repetitions at the same pace. This doesn't lead to growth. You must constantly surprise your muscles with new exercises and techniques that you have not used before. This is where your mistake lies, but luckily I have a ready-made solution for you!

The next three workouts are designed to shock your pectoral muscles, which will inevitably lead to their subsequent growth and progress.

This workout is aimed at training the upper part of your pecs. This department is often ignored by athletes who are more focused on actually lifting the weight than on working the target muscle group. This workout will explode your chest and eventually make the top of your chest as tight as a thick cut of beef steak.

2-3 sets of warming up

4 working sets with increasing weight.

2. Incline press on the Smith machine

4 sets, 6-8 reps

Superset:

Crossover

4 sets of 10-12 reps

Push ups

4 sets to failure.

Exercise technique

Landmine press

Get on your knees and grab the end of the barbell with both hands. Keep your elbows close to your body, and at the bottom of the movement, touch your hands to the top of your pectoral muscles. Push the weight away from you. Keep your pectoral muscles tense throughout the exercise by squeezing them.

Smith Machine Incline Press

Choose a weight with which you can perform 10-12 repetitions, while leaving a few more repetitions in reserve. Remove the barbell from the retaining loops and slowly lower it to the top of your chest. Allow the barbell to come to a complete stop, do not let it spring away from your chest.

You will feel a strong stretch in your pecs as the bar stops at the bottom of the movement. Holding in this position eliminates inertia and significantly increases the difficulty of execution. Don't be surprised if you can only complete 6-8 reps with minimal weight.

Superset: crossover raises, push-ups

Raising arms to the sides in a crossover and push ups. Take a position on an adjustable incline bench. Place the crossover cable attachment points in the lower position. Choose an appropriate weight for yourself and work with that weight. Once you complete the crossover set, immediately lower yourself to the floor and perform standard push-ups to failure. You might be concerned that this exercise won't hit the middle and bottom of your chest. Don't worry, this superset works the upper chest well.

Workout No. 2. Pre-fatigue method

Chest training will give you an idea of how the pre-exhaustion method works. This method is used in chest training because many athletes find that their front deltoids and triceps tire out before their pecs get the proper workout. Pre-exhaustion through isolation exercise solves this problem.

1. Exercise “Butterfly”

3 sets of 10-12 repetitions. Increase the weight on each set, followed by two more 21-style sets with lighter weights.

2. Dumbbell bench press

5 sets with increasing weight – 12, 10, 8, 8, 6 reps each.

3. Superset:

Crossover mixing

4 sets, 10-12 reps.

1 set, 10 reps

Execution technique

Exercise "butterfly"

Chances are you've never done this exercise first on your chest day. Maybe you wanted to do pressing movements first with fresh energy, or you just never thought of trying this order of exercises. I assure you, if you put this exercise first in your workout, you will be surprised at the new sensations.

Perform three sets of progressively increasing weights, followed by two more 21-style sets using the following pattern - 7 full-range reps, then 7 partial-range reps from extended to mid-range, then 7 reps from mid-range to fully contracted. .

Dumbbell chest press lying on a bench

Don't make anything fancy about this exercise - just regular hard work with serious weight. Your pectoral muscles will be burning from the previous exercise, which will allow you to fully work them before the assistant muscles - the triceps and anterior deltoid - get tired. Vigorously squeeze and contract your pecs with each repetition.

Superset. Crossover crunch, reverse push-ups

Just like with the butterfly exercise, get your pecs on fire and then do some push-ups. In order to load the pectoral muscles more and turn off the triceps, lean forward a little.

Workout #3. Insane intensity

Another method of developing the pectoral muscles is to use the rest-pause method. During this workout, we will use this method in different variations at different tempos, and in the last exercise, we will hold the iron in our hands for 8 sets, doing 80 to 120 repetitions.

1. Incline Dumbbell Press with Parallel Grip

4 approaches using the “rest pause” technique. 10-12 reps

2. Seated bench press

Different tempo. 4 sets, 16 reps (8 slow, 8 fast)

3. Superset

Incline Dumbbell Flyes

4 sets of 10-12 reps

Dumbbell press

4 sets 10-15 reps

Execution technique

Incline dumbbell press with parallel grip - Rest-pause

The rest-pause method is an incredible technique that allows you to perform more reps with heavier weights. After you've warmed up, pick up a weight you can do 6 reps with, do those 6 reps, then rest for 12 seconds. Then do 3-4 repetitions again. Rest again for 12 seconds. Do a couple more final reps until failure. Complete the approach. Notice that during this set you performed twice as many reps as usual!

Seated Press - Various Tempos

Take a seat in the machine to simulate a bench press. Set a weight that you can perform about 12 reps with. Perform 8 repetitions at a very slow pace. 2 seconds rise, pause at the top for peak contraction of the pectoral muscles, 4 seconds lowering the weight. Then perform 8 more repetitions in a fast, continuous manner without any pauses at the extreme points of the amplitude. If you can't complete 8 reps in the fast phase of the set, simply lower the weight.

Supreset: Incline dumbbell flyes, dumbbell press

Supersets are very effective, in which you use the same equipment for both exercises. Perform dumbbell flyes on the bench 10-12 times, and then perform bench presses with the same dumbbells. It's possible that your pecs will be very fatigued by this time and you won't be able to do more reps.

As with all other arm raise movements, don't skimp on the weight. The pectoral muscles must be well worked before you begin pressing exercises. Maintain high intensity throughout your workout.

How to use this program

For maximum effect, repeat these three workouts consecutively on your chest training day. This will allow you to add more variety to your chest workout than your usual routine.