How to Make Pecs Grow

This man has a well-developed chest.

Your pecs are the large, fan-like muscle complex that covers your rib cage, connecting your collarbone and breastbone with your upper arm and shoulder. Also known as your chest muscles, the pecs' actions include bringing your arms together in front of you and rotating your upper arms inward. Motions such as pushing, swimming breast strokes, pitching a ball, bench pressing, even slamming shut a door involve the pec muscles. Along with the biceps muscles -- the ones at the front of your upper arms -- the pecs are the most noticeable and therefore most highly trained muscles.

Instructions

1. Do the flat bench press, using a barbell loaded with weight plates. Because this exercise hits the entire pec complex, it is considered the most important of all chest exercises. Lie on the flat bench, under the barbell. Use a neutral grip, meaning grab the barbell above you with a grip slightly beyond shoulder width apart. Lift the bar off the stand and lower it toward your chest slowly, avoiding bringing it down so low it touches the chest. Press it back up quickly and repeat until you have finished your set. See more about sets and repetitions in Step 5.

2. Work your inner pec muscles by doing dumbbell flyes. Grab two dumbbells and lie on a flat bench. Turn your palms so they face the ceiling. Bring the dumbbells toward each other until they meet, arms extended and elbows slightly bent, and lower the weight back to the starting position. Repeat as many times as you can until failure, the end of your set.

3. Use the incline and decline bench presses to target the upper and lower chest muscles. You do these types of bench presses the same way you do a regular flat bench. Vary the angles of your inclines and declines to include as many muscle fibers as possible, which will lead to a bigger chest. For example, one day use a 20-degree incline or decline, and the next day use a 60-degree incline or decline. It does not matter if you use dumbbells or a barbell with weight plates for any of the bench presses.

4. Do dips to target your outer and lower chest muscles. Find a pair of parallel bars and grab these so your palms face inward. Your arms should be nearly straight and your legs should hang in the air above the ground. Slowly lower your body as far as you can comfortably. Raise yourself back to the starting position. You can hang weight from your waist, using a weight belt to add resistance.

5. Use a six- to 12-rep range in sets of three or more of each exercise. Your muscles should have reached failure at the end of each set, so adjust the weight you use accordingly. Rest 1 to 2 minutes between sets. Train your chest using this routine no more than every other day.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to always use someone to spot you when performing most heavy chest exercises to avoid dropping the weight on top of you.

References

• Bodybuilding: Champion Chest Development
• Exercise Goals: Best Chest Exercises
• Britannica: Pectoralis Muscle

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Shapefit: Chest Exercises