Best of the Chest

We're going to continue with our body part isolation routine today with almost everybody's favorite, chest. For some reason chest day tends to be the favorite of most gym rats, especially the men. The bench press, for better or worse, is used as a universal measure of overall strength. A strong chest that is well developed is asthetically pleasing because it adds symmetry to the body. More importantly, a powerful set of pecs will protect your skeleton from impact, add stability to your torso, and assist in the heavy lifting of daily life. Again, I am a proponant of total body workouts in most cases. You burn more calories that way and you won't get stuck obsessing or overtraining one body part. But if you are in need of improvement on a specific bodypart, focusing on one area per workout is not at all bad from time to time.

Here is a a good routine to use when trying to improve your overall pectoral power and get that beach bod look. Incorporate these three exercises with a standard 3-4 sets on the flat bench. Do 3 sets x 10 reps for each exercise. As always, eat asap after you're done. A whey protein shake or a PBJ should do the trick.

Incline Dumbell Press: I like this the best because it allows you to use a greater range of motion than simple bench presses with a barbell. Plus it forces the stabilizers in your shoulders to get into the act.

1. Grab two dumbbells and rest them on your quads. Carefully and one at a time, use your legs to assist you in lifting the dumbbells to the starting position as you lie back on the incline bench, which should be set at a fairly low angle (< 45 degrees).

2. Flex through your pecs and triceps to press the dumbbells up toward the ceiling, stopping just short of elbow lockout. Pause, then slowly lower the weights until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.

Decline Barbell Press: This move is great because it really concentrates a lot of effort to the pecs without demanding too much from the triceps or shoulders. I suggest using a Smith Machine until you are comfortable using free-weights.

1. Set the angle on the decline bench between 30 and 45 degrees below horizontal.
Lie face up on the bench, securing your feet under the rollers. Your head, shoulders and glutes should touch the bench, with no arching or rounding of your back.
Grasp a barbell with a pronated (overhand) grip so that your hands are spaced a bit wider than shoulder width.
Lift the bar out of the rack and start the exercise with your arms fully extended but not locked out at your elbows.

2. Inhale and hold your breath as you lower the barbell at a moderate pace to your lower chest (at or just below the nipple line). At the bottom of the movement, your elbows should point out to your sides.
Before the barbell touches your chest, reverse the movement and push the weight up until your arms are fully extended.
Exhale forcefully at the top of the movement or just after you pass the most difficult portion of the up phase.
The descent and ascent should be continuous, with no pausing or holding.
After you reach the top position, pause momentarily, then repeat for reps.

Cable Flyes: These are great at the end of the workout to get that last pump and burn into your muscles.

1. Start by standing between two upper pulleys and take a split stance. Lean forward slightly, arms extended to your sides, keeping your elbows slightly bent.

2. Using your pecs, pull the cables in a wide arc out in front of your body as if hugging a big tree, bringing the handles all the way together at the bottom.
Then, reverse the motion, allowing the weights to pull your arms back to stretch the pecs, but not too far to avoid injury to your shoulders.

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Till next time, sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you!