Pectoralis major- The pectoralis major has four actions which are primarily responsible for movement of the shoulder joint. The first action is flexion of the humerus. Secondly, it adducts the humerus. Thirdly, it rotates the humerus medially, as occurs when arm-wrestling. The pectoralis major is also responsible for keeping the arm attached to the trunk of the body.
For bodybuilding its best to think of the pecs having two different parts which are responsible for different actions. The clavicular part is close to the deltoid and contributes to flexion, horizontal adduction, and inward rotation of the humerus. This area is targeted with incline bench movements.
The sternocostal part is antagonistic to the clavicular part contributing to downward and forward movement of the arm and inward rotation when accompanied by adduction. Such as decline presses and dips. The sternal fibers can also contribute to extension, but not beyond anatomical position.*Wikipedia-partial
So for full development of pectorals attention must be paid to all angles of resistance. Bench press with barbell does not begin to cover the entire chest from clavicle to sternum and puts excessive stress on the shoulder joints. therefore it is usually omitted in this program.
Portions of the above are taken from Wikipedia, which is similar to anatomical descriptions in textbooks. What these definitions fail to tell you is that torso position, path of motion, range of motion and scapular position have a great impact on the efficiency of any chest exercise. Follow the below guidelines and also see video explanation here
WATCH THIS VIDEO!
http://youtu.be/hmgXWHZeS-8
CHEST PRESS- incline, decline, flat, dumbells, barbells this is the base of a solid chest workout. Beginners can also use pushups, bands cables and machines and still get results. To maximize the workouts obey they following procedures for body alignment and rep range
2. Keep chest high- Related to the scapular retraction, it puts the pectorals in position for maximum contraction and the shoulders in the right position to avoid excess stress.
3. Keep abs and core tight by drawing them in.
(The above guidelines go for every upper body exercise. It puts the spine in an ideal position to generate force and prevent injury.)
4. Find optimum range. There is a certain point when lowering the weight on a chest press, where the pectorals lose leverage and the resistance accelerates down. This is clearly visible when you see bench pressers repping to the chest. Stop the repetion just above this point to maintain tension on the pectorals.
5. Keep wrists straight. In beginners you will see the wrist break, the palms end up facing up, and the stress is shifted to the wrist instead of lining up with the forearm.
6 weight is pressed from a position starting somewhere between the just below the lower pec and the neck. Strongest position is somewhere in between.
Knowing how to establish a mind muscle connection is crucial, compare the feeling of the pecs between a regular bench press and a dumbbell press using the techniques above. It should be immediateky apparent the techniques above will produce better results. Look for and feel the "pump".
| Exercise | Upper Pec | Mid Pec | Lower Pec | Tri longhead |
| 135 lb Bench Press |
53.8 111.0 |
69.5 157.0 |
42.0 82.7 |
14.3 51.2 |
| 225 lb Bench Press |
125.0 230.0 |
181.0 408.0 |
116.0 347.0 |
47.8 109.0 |
| 275 lb Bench Press |
109.0 198.0 |
177.0 288.0 |
130.0 345.0 |
73.5 153.0 |
| 135 lb Incline Press |
87.1 157.0 |
68.3 197.0 |
25.3 60.2 |
18.9 42.7 |
| 225 lb Incline Press |
135.0 222.0 |
133.0 374.0 |
69.4 249.0 |
48.7 84.0 |
| 245 lb Incline Press |
130.0 261.0 |
156.0 422.0 |
89.4 337.0 |
55.8 109.0 |
| 100 lb DB Bench Press |
122.0 192.0 |
204.0 451.0 |
88.1 252.0 |
43.7 128.0 |
| 90 lb DB Incline Press |
128.0 310.0 |
124.0 286.0 |
59.0 172.0 |
35.5 98.9 |
| BW Dip |
73.7 164.0 |
105.0 234.0 |
124.0 266.0 |
73.9 150.0 |
| 115 lb Dip |
140.0 232.0 |
192.0 332.0 |
214.0 418.0 |
124.0 217.0 |
| 225 lb Close Grip Press |
106.0 211.0 |
137.0 229.0 |
77.5 217.0 |
52.6 107.0 |
| 225 lb Wide Grip Guillotine Press |
114.0 302.0 |
176.0 511.0 |
169.0 502.0 |
61.9 142.0 |
| 225 lb Floor Press |
106.0 197.0 |
148.0 248.0 |
121.0 255.0 |
52.2 112.0 |
| 275 lb Floor Press |
132.0 265.0 |
197.0 356.0 |
154.0 347.0 |
64.8 170.0 |
| 50 lb Fly |
116.0 226.0 |
165.0 354.0 |
150.0 387.0 |
13.2 26.1 |
| 60 lb Fly |
133.0 231.0 |
195.0 493.0 |
160.0 450.0 |
14.9 31.3 |
| 50 lb Incline Fly |
125.0 249.0 |
135.0 344.0 |
77.3 257.0 |
12.6 20.0 |
| 100 lb High Pulley Crossover |
107.0 201.0 |
168.0 311.0 |
153.0 397.0 |
9.6 19.1 |
| 100 lb Mid Pulley Crossover |
154.0 252.0 |
154.0 271.0 |
124.0 251.0 |
11.5 23.1 |
| 100 lb Low Pulley Crossover |
135.0 233.0 |
78.6 249.0 |
36.9 74.8 |
20.2 77.2 |
| BW Push Up |
109.0 204.0 |
124.0 252.0 |
101.0 194.0 |
24.0 38.7 |
| BW CG Push Up |
103.0 188.0 |
118.0 188.0 |
70.7 119.0 |
22.9 43.2 |
| BW Elevated Push Up |
96.6 156.0 |
102.0 232.0 |
52.7 167.0 |
24.0 46.6 |
| BW Blast Strap Push Up |
113.0 206.0 |
166.0 363.0 |
177.0 352.0 |
35.3 107.0 |
| Purple Band Push Up |
115.0 168.0 |
125.0 294.0 |
113.0 217.0 |
51.8 78.7 |
| Green Band Push Up |
151.0 239.0 |
162.0 268.0 |
121.0 238.0 |
59.3 125.0 |
| 100 lb DB Pullover |
55.7 119.0 |
88.6 186.0 |
53.8 164.0 |
66.9 153.0 |
| JC Band Press |
143.0 272.0 |
45.7 91.0 |
53.0 127.0 |
21.0 52.6 |
Upper Pec
Mean Mid Pulley Crossover, Band Push Up, JC Band Press
Peak DB Incline Press, Guillotine Press, JC Band Press
Mid Pec
Mean DB Bench Press, Floor Press, Fly
Peak Guillotine Press, DB Bench Press, Fly
Lower Pec
Mean Weighted Dip, Blast Strap Push Up, Guillotine Press
Peak Guillotine Press, Fly, Weighted Dip
Another study published the following exercises for overall pec development:
* Decline dumbbell bench press - 93%
* Incline dumbbell press - 91%
* Decline bench press - 89%
* Flat dumbbell bench press - 87%
* Flat barbell bench press - 85%
Either study shows that the most popular exercise for chest, bench, doesn't crack top 5. Based on these studies choose use template below to design your chest workout. You should see weekly progress in strength and mass if you are eating and recovering right.
THE WORKOUTS
The following guidelines are the basis of the systems workouts.
Exercise 1- heavy compound movement 2-3 warm up sets, than 1 set low reps to failure.
Warm ups are should be in the following rep ranges 40-100, 20-30, 15-20 with last rep being relatively easy to complete.
Exercise 2- heavy compound movement 1 set to failure
Exercise 3- heavy compound exercise to failure.
Once a rep range of 5-8 reps in good form are achieved increase weight next workout.
Exercise 4- isolation exercise immediately followed by exercise 5
Exercise 5- heavy compound, endurance or plyometric movement
Yes only 5 total exercises, you can add a few extra machine or isolation exercises in the end if you don't feel satisfied. But if you work with the right weight, form and intensity 5 exercises will be more than sufficient. GOOD LUCK!
