The chest is probably the most worked out body part in any gym. I know in all four gyms I have trained in the chest area, along with chest exercises in the dumbbell area, are always being done more so than other exercises. A chest is a sense of pride for an individual, whether you are male or female. A well defined and strong chest commands immediate attention. The goal with this routine is to allow you to experience first hand how it feels to have a chest like this.

It took me many years to find a chest routine that packed on size and definition like this one has. Hopefully it does the same for you. I cannot guarantee results because everyone’s chest is different. I learned that through the years of having different training partners. But at the same time I also learned each of these exercises combined can produce some fantastic results.

EXERCISE ONE – INCLINE BENCH BARBELL PRESS

Nothing and I repeat nothing builds mass like incline presses. Granted, you can alternate between dumbbell and barbell here. However, I feel for overall thickness and density that barbell is more potent than dumbbell. Dumbbell to me is great if you want extra definition, and in this case I am focusing more on mass and definition. I have definition exercises covered already so I will take the incline barbell press for mass.

With this exercise, the important thing to realize is to let the bar come down right above your chest and for the bench to be at a 45 degree angle. I see too many people cheat and not bring the bar all the way down or have the bench be too high where they hit their shoulders more or too low where they hit the middle of their chest more. The only way to spread that chest so it will grow is to get that barbell all the way down, slow enough so that you can feel the fibers just tear as you come down (not literally of course). That is why I love this exercise – the fact you can feel the chest spread as you go down and then pop back up as the weight is pushed up is amazing. I believe the rep range to be effective here is 12-15 reps. When the bar comes down to the point I mentioned, make the mind-muscle connection and feel that upper portion of the chest be flexed from the weight.

You need the chest to be pumped with blood in order for it to grow. The upper part of the chest is the biggest part and usually the most neglected. Hit this exercise first in your routine, doing good weight for 4 sets of 12 reps, and watch your chest swell up before your next exercise. Having a big upper chest makes the whole chest look bigger as well as it helps a sagging chest look more solid.

EXERCISE TWO – FLAT BENCH DUMBBELL FLIES

I think some of you might be shocked I didn’t put good old flat barbell press as a top two exercise. Quite simply, as much as I like flat benching, it doesn’t do a whole lot for the chest individually. You have a lot of secondary muscle groups hit when you flat bench. Without strong shoulders or triceps, your bench press won’t be high. However, I would rather be doing a motion where I feel the chest flex each rep rather than feeling my triceps tire and my lats squeeze together. If you couldn’t tell, the latter to me is flat barbell pressing and the former is incline press.

Anyway, let me get onto these flies. I do believe that dumbbell flies when done on a flat bench can be very effective. You take out the tricep factor right away as you are doing a fly movement. That being said, your shoulder only needs to stabilize the weight somewhat here, not as much as if you were pressing. And because you are doing flies, you are using your chest here fully though you are in a flat position. You have the opportunity here to hit all three parts of the chest (upper, middle, and lower).

When you are taking the dumbbell to do these flies, make sure it does not cause your bicep to flex, otherwise it becomes a more shoulder/bicep pull than a fly for the chest. When you grab the weight, make sure your arms are as straight as can be and then come up as if you are hugging someone. Do your best not to bend your arms. When lowering the weight, do not let your tricep take the brunt of the weight coming down. Your arms still stay straight and your chest is being spread again. The negative with chest, just like back, is crucial. You should feel as you bring the weight up your chest come out and each side should almost touch the other from the pump you are getting. If this isn’t happening, odds are you are going to heavy and you are pressing the weight a little with your tricep.

Do 3 sets here of a good 15 reps, weight can be as low as you want, assuming you still get a good pump. This should really engorge the chest, especially after pressing the biggest part in the first exercise.

EXERCISE THREE – DECLINE BENCH DUMBBELL PRESS

Notice how each exercise has differed. First you did a barbell press, then a dumbbell fly, now a dumbbell press. This way your body won’t get burned out from doing any one thing too much. Many people under-estimate the importance of working out the lower part of their chest. You will hear it is for purely cosmetic reasons or you will hear it doesn’t do anything for chest except boost your ego. I agree somewhat with the first claim. The second claim I do not agree with.

Being bodybuilders, we workout for cosmetic reasons. We might like the feeling of power, but we also work out to develop muscle and to see the development. In my opinion, nothing brings out striations in the chest more than this exercise. The decline bench should be at a negative 45 degree angle. 45 degrees is the key number either way when pressing on an angle to hit the chest effectively. When you press the dumbbells up, try to come in towards you’re the middle. This way your chest will be squeezed at the top, causing those fibers to pop out and to also allow the lower chest to rise up. When you come down, you are relaxing the chest and coming down wide, so as to spread the chest besides un-flexing the muscle

This exercise is very effective at making a sloppy chest look presentable. If your chest is saggy, try incorporating this exercise into your routine. It will take your lower chest which is probably underdeveloped and raise it, which actually makes the whole chest look bigger. Once I incorporated this exercise into my routine, my chest stood out more and I had veins coming out from the bottom of my chest. I also even noticed my lats got wider. Your lats are hit with this exercise with the negative and in turn your V-taper will be further developed. Do this exercise for 3 sets of 12 solid reps.

EXERCISE FOUR – Cable Cross-Overs (top)

This exercise is meant to give you more definition. This is not a mass movement. You might feel like it makes your chest bigger, but in reality it is making it more defined. It is my favorite exercise to give definition to the chest.

Take the cables and put them so they are higher than your body on each side. The level you put them at will determine the stretch and I know some gyms have cables with different settings. As long as the cables are positioned above the body that is fine. You want to use light to moderate weight here. Going heavy does not serve a purpose as this is not a mass movement.

Stand in the middle of the “machine”, taking about 1 ½ to 2 steps forward, depending on height of cable, how tall you are, etc. Stand with your knees slightly bent and bring the cables from the side to the front, keeping your arms straight. It is almost as if you are doing a fly movement with the cables. Do not bend your arms and if you notice the weight is heavy and your biceps or triceps are helping, lower the weight. Pretend there is someone in front of you that you are hugging. This is very effective for bringing out the separation in the chest and the shoulder as well as the middle of the chest between the left half and right. I personally do 3 sets of this, doing 15 reps, 12 reps, and then 10 reps. It is my last exercise so I burn it out at the end.

I hope these 4 basic movements work for me as they work for you. I tried thinking of exercises that every gym should have available to its customers. Remember to concentrate on squeezing the chest as you push and expanding the chest as you relax the weight and force the negative. One last thing, enjoy the new growth ;).