The chest muscles are a favourite amongst many weight lifters so knowing the best chest exercises for size and mass is going to be important if your looking to build a strong muscular chest. The chest is made up of two muscle groups known as the Pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. The pectoralis major is obviouslly the bigger of the two muscles with the pectoralis minor lying beneath it in the form of a small triangular shape.
Best Chest Exercises For Size And Mass
To build a big strong chest the following exercises should all be included in your chest workouts at some stage or another:
Barbell/Dumbell Bench Press
The bench press is of course one of the most popular lifts in the gym. The bench press is one of the best chest exercises for size and mass so be sure to make it a stample in your chest routine. Every other exercise should be based around the bench press. Lie down flat with your back positioned on a bench. If using a barbell unrack the barbell from the bench with a grip slightly beyond shoulder width apart. Lift the barbell above your head so the bar is around eye-level whilst you look up. Slowly lower the weight down towards the middle area of your chest.
When the bar is lowered, it should either lightly brush your chest or come down to within 3 inches of your chest without actually touching it. Never allow the weight to bounce back up off your chest. Slow and controlled is what were looking for. The lowering part of the lift should be nice and controlled and then explode back up raising the bar back to its original starting position.
Repeat this movement for as many repetitions as you require. You should use a spotter when performing bench press exercises as you can then get assistance if you have trouble lifting the weight back up. It is common for athletes/bodybuilders to eventually plateau on the bench press. If you do dont panic. Try switching to dumbbells for a while and take a look at how to overcome a weight training plateau and how to increase your bench press.
The instructions above are pretty much the same when you are using dumbbells. Its the same movement but you have a weight in each hand making the motion feel a lot less restricted. Since the motion is less restricted your stabalizer muscles will come into play a lot more on the dumbbell bench press. This means you may find the movement a little awkward at first and you may be a little shakey but this is normal.
Pick a weight you know you can handle and work on the correct range of motion and form. Within a couple of weeks you will get use to the movement and your stabilzer muscles will become stronger and more accustomed to the weight you are pressing. The only problem with using dumbbells is that when you work your way up to heavier weights it can be hard to get the dumbbell into position. Check out the below video for additional help on this:
Incline Barbell/Dumbell Bench Press
This exercise is very similar to the regular barbell bench press except that you will be at an incline position emphasising your upper chest a lot more than a regular flat bench press. Were start with the barbell incline press. Lift the barbell off of the rack and up above your head so the bar is around eye-level whilst you look up. Slowly lower the weight down towards the upper area of your chest.
When the bar is lowered, it should be about 3 inches above your chest or lightly brushing it. Now press the bar upwards in an explosive fashion focusing on pushing your chest out and your driving your shoulders back into the bench. Repeat this movement for as many repetitions as you desire or until failure.
Similar technique for the incline dumbbell press.
Decline Barbell/Dumbell Bench Press
Position yourself on a decline bench and grab the barbell above you with a grip that is slightly beyond shoulder width apart. Lift the barbell off of the rack and you will need to move it over your body ever so slightly so the bar is above the lower area of your chest. Slowly lower the weight down towards the lower chest. This is the area just below the nipple.
Do not lower to your upper chest as this will put strain on your shoulders. Its actually ok for the bar to touch your chest on this occasion as the decline angle means it does not put unnecessary stress on your joints and shoulders. Now press the bar upwards in an explosive fashion straight up above your lower chest and repeat for as many repetitions as you can.
Again, similar technique for the decline dumbbell press:
Dumbell Flyes
Once again, position yourself on a flat bench, laying flat on your back. Have a dumbbell either side of you and lift them straight up in front of you so they are around level with your chest area. Dumbbells should both be positioned in a horizontal position when in your hands allowing your palms to face one another.
Lower both weights slowly out to your sides in a wide arc position, bending your elbows slightly. You now need to return to the starting position. The best way of doing this is to visualize you are hugging someone. Concentrate on using your chest muscles to pull the weights back in towards one another.
Ok so there you have 7 of the best chest exercises for size and mass. Of course there are others you can work into your routine but in my opinion these are the best chest exercises. You will probably notice that there are no machine exercises in this list and thats because they simply are not the best chest exercises to perform when looking to build muscle. This doesnt mean that they are totally useless.
Machine work does have its place in a weight training routine but in my opinion should only be used sparingly such as at the end of a workout once the main chest exercises have been performed. Machine exercises can really zero in and isolate the muscles and i find the majority of them to be most effective at the end of a workout to really stimulate and finish off the muscle. Put your big lifts at the start and your machine work later on in your routine to get the best results.
