How to Build Peck Muscles

Hours of weight training and healthy eating can lead to larger pecks.

To build peck or pectoral muscles, regular weight lifting combined with eating a healthy mix of carbohydrates and protein is required. When you lift weights, small tears occur in the muscle tissues. Protein goes to work repairing these torn muscles to allow the muscle to not only lift the weight, but to also get bigger. The muscles must receive proper nutrition for healthy and consistent growth. When the weight becomes easy to lift, it's time to switch to heavier weights.

Things You'll Need

• Good source of complex carbohydrates, such as a potato
• Drinking water
• Comfortable workout clothing
• Close-toed shoes
• High quality protein powder
• Water or milk
• Weight-lifting bench
• Barbell bar
• Barbell bar holding rack
• Barbell bar plate weights in pairs of 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 30 lbs.

Instructions

1. Eat a good source of carbohydrates an hour before working out. The amount should be about the size of your closed fist. Drink plenty of water. Dress in comfortable workout clothing. Wear a pair of close-toed shoes to protect your feet from falling weights. Follow the serving directions on the label of the high-quality protein powder to know how much powder should be added to milk or water.

2. Warm up your chest muscles by doing aerobic exercises and stretches. Stand facing a wall and raise your hands up toward the ceiling until your arms are stretched out. Place the palms of your hands flat on the wall slightly slanting your body away from the wall. Push the weight of your head and body in toward the wall keeping your shoulders straight. When you feel your chest muscles stretch you are doing it right. Stick your arms straight out on each side of your body and holding them at shoulder height move them in clockwise and then counter clockwise directions. Do small tight circles and then larger circles. This will warm up your arms and chest for lifting.

3. Position the bench beneath the barbell on the barbell rack in line with where your chest will be when you are lying down on the bench. Put a 2.5 lb. weight on each side of the barbell and lock them in place with a locking spring. Lie down on the bench, and line your chest up with the bar. Reach up and grip the barbell evenly on both sides so the weight is distributed evenly. Lift it up an inch to test the position. Ask someone to spot you while you lift it up off the rack and lower it down to your chest. Bring it down to your chest, but don't rest it there. Lift the weight up and down 10 times and then place it back on the rack. Get up and remove the 2.5 lb. plates and then put on two 5 lb. plates. Lift this 8 times. Remove the two 5 lb. weights and add two 10 lb. weights. Lift this 6 times. Get up and remove the two 10 lb. weights and add two 20 lb. weights. Lift this 4 times. Get up and remove the two 10 lb. weights and add two 25 lb. weights and then lift this twice.

4. Build your peck muscles by increasing the weights gradually over time. Stretch out your muscles after every workout. Lift the lightest weight the most amount of times and the heaviest weight the fewest number of times. When you feel your muscles harden while lifting, your training is being effective.

References

• Build Chest Muscles