4 EXERCISES FOR A MASSIVE CHEST

Building a Barrel Chest

Struggling to develop a big massive chest? Fouad takes you through this chest workout geared towards optimizing pec development. Fouad keeps it simple these 4 exercises guaranteed to have your chest growing. 

Incline Smith Machine Press

Fouad starts off every chest workout with a machine. For today’s video, he is using a smith machine. The benefit of starting with a machine is that it allows for his pecs, shoulders and elbows to get warmed up before moving onto heavy free weight movements. He completes 5 sets of 5-12 reps. On the last set Fouad failed at 5 reps and then immediately dropped the weight and finished his set to failure.

Hoss Tip:

When setting up the incline bench, only go to the first peg. Too many people come in and put the incline way too high and end up using more shoulder than chest. Another tip to maximize chest growth is to ensure proper posture while completing the movement. Keep your chest up, back arched and push through the movement. Fight the urge to let your chest cave in. The second your chest caves in, the emphasis moves off of your chest and onto the shoulders.

Decline Dumbbell Press:

A common misconception is that decline presses will give you “manboobs” which is entirely false. This movement targets the mid to lower part of the chest known as the pectoralis major. The pec major makes up the majority of the chest muscle. So if you want that big full squared off chest, this is the movement for you. Set the decline down only one peg, a little decline goes a long way on this exercise. Complete 4 sets of 8-12 reps, taking the last rep to failure. 

Flat Barbell Bench Press:

This is Fouads favorite chest exercise. He has this exercise set up to be his second or third exercise in order to allow ample time for his shoulders, chest and elbows to warm up. He completes 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps on this exercise.

Hoss Tip: 

Proper hand placement is key! You want to set up hands so they are about shoulder distance apart. This will ensure that when you are in the bottom of the movement, your arms are at a 90 degree angle. Make sure you focus on keeping the chest up, back arched and that you are pushing through the movement.

Banded Incline Flyes:

This new school variation on this old school staple will leave your chest screaming. Traditionally, dumbbell flyes will have portions of the movement where there is little to no resistance, which leads to it not being an effective exercise for most people. By adding the band, you have resistance the full way through the movement which puts way more tension on the pecs and ultimately will give you more growth. Begin by wrapping the band between your thumb and index finger and then wrap the band around your back. Now from this position, you can just grab dumbbells and perform a dumbbell fly. Complete 4 sets of 12-15 reps, taking the last set to failure.