Home-Grown Chest
By: Steve Holman, Iron Man Editor in Chief
Who can forget the mind-numbing side-chest shot Arnold could squeeze into when he was in his prime (in case you did forget, there's a reminder photo on the next page)? Each pec resembled a Butterball turkey, fully basted and glistening, sitting on the dining table he called a rib cage. It was quite a sight. When bodybuilders saw that jaw-dropping pose, they wanted to gobble up the Oak's chest routine set for set.The question was and is, While Arnold had ponderous pecs thanks to perfect parents, how much pec preponderance could Peter Piper pack with his program'Peter Piper being the average-potential pec pumper? Considering that Arnold knocked the stuffing out of his pecs regularly'he almost killed a few training partners with his brutal workouts'Peter Piper would probably puke before he'd plump his pecs with Arnold's program. (If you want to check it out in its entirety, it's number 16 in the '50 of the Most Outrageously Intense and Insane Training Routines of All Time' feature, which begins on page 174.)
Most bodybuilders need fewer sets, and the sets they do perform must precisely home in on the muscle known as the pectoralis major and the less significant chest muscle called the pectoralis minor, which sits underneath the pec major, near the collarbone.
If you don't have superhuman genetics, efficiency in the gym is key. You gotta hit the muscle from the required angles with just enough work to trigger growth but not so much that you nosedive into an overtraining muscle-wasting spiral. It can be tricky, especially considering that the pectoralis major is a fan-shaped muscle, and you should train it as two sections, the lower pecs and upper pecs, as upper-pec work hits the underlying pectoralis minor. (Dumbbell pullovers for lats also build the pec minor.)
Fortunately, you can develop a great chest quite effectively in your own home gym with nothing but dumbbells. Trainees who like to stay in the house will appreciate that, but as I've said in past installments of this series, you may want to add some equipment before carving up your chest with the perfect-pec routine.
You'll need to move quickly from one set of dumbbells to a lighter set for the second exercise in a modified superset. If you have a rack of fixed dumbbells in your gym, you won't have a problem, but if all you have are those adjustable dumbbells with the screw-type collars, you'll find yourself wishing you had a few extra pairs so you could preset the weights.
The PowerBlock selectorized dumbbell set is the ultimate way to go, especially if you have limited space. The footprint for this piece of equipment is about the size of a shoebox, and its design is, well, ingenious. You simply move a pin to select the weight you want. When you pull the dumbbells away from the stand, the poundage you chose comes along with the handles, and the rest of the plates stay put. That's not a commercial; it's a rock-solid recommendation from someone who uses PowerBlock dumbbells at every workout'and loves 'em. A rack of fixed dumbbells will work too, of course'if you have the space and the money.
The home-grown pec routine isn't complicated, but it does have a few innovative characteristics that make it brief but effective at packing on chest muscle.
1) Positions of Flexion. Most IRON MAN readers are familiar with POF and working a muscle through its full range of motion. Remember, we divide the pecs into two sections, so you have to treat each as a separate muscle structure. Here are the full-range-of-motion positions:
Lower chest
Stretch: You reach total stretch at the bottom of a decline-flye motion'elbows back behind the torso.
Midrange: Any flat-bench or decline press works the lower pecs' midrange position. The triceps act as synergists to help the pecs move the resistance. Contracted: You completely contract your lower pecs when your arms are extended and crossed over your abdomen.
Upper chest
Stretch: You reach total stretch at the bottom of an incline-flye motion.
Midrange: Any incline-pressing movement works the upper-pecs' midrange position. The triceps act as synergists.
Contracted: To completely contract your upper pecs, you extend your arms and cross them over your upper chest.
You use one exercise that trains each section of your chest in each of those positions, and you've got a basic full-range POF program. If you read carefully, you may have noticed a problem. Without cables it's impossible to reach the completely contracted position of the upper or lower chest. To make up for lack of resistance in the contracted position in a home-gym setting, you squeeze your chest at the top of each rep on flyes and finish off with hands-together pushups with a pec squeeze at the top of each rep.
So for lower chest you do dumbbell bench presses (midrange), flat-bench or decline flyes with a squeeze (stretch and contracted) and hands-together pushups with a squeeze (contracted).
For upper chest you do incline dumbbell presses (midrange), incline flyes with a squeeze (stretch and contracted) and hands-together pushups with a squeeze again (contracted).
Just doing a few straight sets of each of those exercises will give you a great full-range workout. Training the three positions of flexion can bring complete development and trigger optimal muscle fiber recruitment at all the required angles, especially when you combine POF with the unique unilateral muscle stimulation of dumbbells. If you want to give POF a bit more fiber-frying punch, however, you can incorporate postactivation supersets and regular supersets.
2) Postactivation. While POF provides extra fiber recruitment via its stretch-position exercises and activating the myotatic, or stretch, reflex, postactivation can give you even more. One of the most common ways to use it is in modified-superset fashion, combining a compound, or midrange-position, exercise, such as dumbbell bench presses, with an isolation, or contracted-position, movement, such as cable crossovers. Unfortunately, most home gyms don't have a crossover unit, so you use the next best thing'a squeeze at the top of each rep on dumbbell flyes. To integrate postactivation into the POF chest routine, you alternate between sets of dumbbell bench presses and dumbbell flyes with a squeeze at the top. Rest about one minute between sets. The flyes help recruit more motor units in the pecs, priming your central nervous system for maximum fiber recruitment on dumbbell bench presses.
3) Time under tension. Ever watch the average'and I do mean average'bodybuilder do a set? It usually only lasts 10 to 15 seconds. For optimal hypertrophic stimulation, you need a variety of rep ranges'up to 40 seconds of tension time. Many bodybuilders neglect the higher tension times because those sets are hard to do'and they miss a lot of potential development that can occur; hence their status as average bodybuilders.
In past installments of this series you saw how drop sets can help you achieve extended time under tension. You do a set on which you reach failure at around eight reps, and then you lower the weight and continue repping out, hitting failure at around seven reps. Two back-to-back sets like those can extend your time under tension past the 35-second mark'that is, if you're using a two-seconds-up/two-seconds-down cadence on most reps. On the chest routine you accomplish the same extended time under tension by supersetting two exercises for the same bodypart'hands-together pushups and flyes.
Okay, you know the concepts, so here's the routine. Remember, you rest about one minute between exercises in a modified postactivation superset, but there's no rest between exercises in the standard superset at the end.
Lower chest
Dumbbell bench presses
(progressively heavier
warmup sets) 2 x 10
Flat-bench or decline flyes
(warmup) 1 x 8 Modified P.A. superset
Dumbbell bench
presses 3 x 8-10
Flat-bench or decline flyes
with a squeeze at the
top of each rep 2 x 8
Superset
Hands-together
pushups 1 x max
Flat-bench or decline flyes
with a squeeze at the
top of each rep 1 x 8
Upper chest
Modified P.A. superset
Incline dumbbell
presses 2 x 8-10
Incline flyes with a
squeeze at the top of
each rep 1 x 8
Superset
Hands-together
pushups 1 x max
Incline flyes with a
squeeze at the top of
each rep 1 x 8
Here are a few tips to get the most out of those exercises:
Dumbbell bench presses. Sit at the end of a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand and resting on your thigh. As you lie back on the bench, simultaneously kick the dumbbells back toward your torso and pull them into bench-press position. That's the safest way to recline with a heavy pair of dumbbells.
Hold the dumbbells at your shoulders with your palms facing forward. Drive the dumbbells up till your arms lock out, and lightly tap the dumbbells together at the top. Don't pause; hit the arms-extended position and then slowly lower the 'bells back to your shoulders. Try to keep the dumbbells moving'two seconds up and two seconds down'in a controlled, pistonlike manner. You should hit failure at around rep eight. Take a one-minute break to clear some of the lactic acid, and then go to flyes.
Flat-bench or decline flyes. You'll obviously need lighter dumbbells for these, but you won't have time to change the screw-collar-type 'bells. You should have a second pair of dumbbells already set up, or solve the problem with selectorized dumbbells like the PowerBlock. Get in position using the same thigh-kick technique you used for bench presses. Press the dumbbells over your chest and squeeze your pecs. Now lower with a slight bend at your elbows. Go down far enough till you feel a good stretch in your pecs, then reverse the movement. When you reach the top, squeeze your pecs hard for a second or two to fully engage the chest muscles and then begin the next rep.
You'll get a wicked pec contraction at the top and a full stretch at the bottom, making this an exercise you'll definitely feel the next morning. Keep in mind that you don't want to turn this into a press, so make sure you keep the bend in your elbows constant and the tension on your pecs continuous. Once you hit failure, around rep eight, take a one-minute break and repeat the modified postactivation superset. Note that you'll go through two rounds and then end with one last set of bench presses to take advantage of the postactivation created by the last set of flyes. Don't stand around admiring your pumped-up pecs. You still need to finish off the lower section with a contracted-position superset.
Hands-together pushups supersetted with flyes. The first exercise is just the way it sounds'pushups performed with your hands together on the floor directly under your chest. At the top of each rep squeeze your pecs. The narrow hand placement provides optimal pec contraction, so take advantage of it. It's a great exercise for getting inner-pec development. You can make the exercise easier by supporting yourself on your knees instead of your feet or make it harder by elevating your feet. Use the position that allows you to get around 10 to 12 reps.
Without taking any rest, go to flyes. If you used flat-bench flyes in the postactivation superset, you may want to use decline flyes here, or vice versa. Use the same form you used on the flyes in the postactivation superset.
Rest a couple of minutes and then hit your upper chest. The form for all the exercises is the same as for the lower-chest movements, only you do most of the exercises on an incline.
That's it. You hit both sections of the chest from all the angles using about 12 work sets. If that volume sounds a little daunting, here's a more abbreviated version that gets it done in less than 10 sets. Keep in mind that it's like working two bodyparts.
Lower chest
Dumbbell bench presses
(progressively heavier
warmup sets) 2 x 8
Flat-bench or decline flyes
(warmup) 1 x 8
Modified P.A. superset
Dumbbell bench
presses 2 x 8
Flat-bench or decline flyes
with a squeeze at the
top of each rep 2 x 8
Upper chest
Modified P.A. superset
Incline dumbbell
presses 2 x 8
Incline flyes with a
squeeze at the top of each rep 1 x 8
Upper and lower chest
Superset
Hands-together
pushups 1 x max
Flat-bench flyes with a
squeeze at the top of
each rep 1 x 8
Well there you go everybody. I hope this information helps. It has help me. Check out there Magazine.
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