During our latest podcast (episode 2) we spoke about chest work out. I figured it would be a good idea to write a bit about it as well.
Chest is probably the most fun session for most people out there. It is the training session that you look forward to the most. Because of that the Internet is full of funny pictures with texts like "I'm not missing chest day" or "day after chest day". Just hit those words on google and you will find some good ones.
Some different exercises for your chest:
Behind each exercise there is a link to a site where you can see the actual exercise.- Bench Press http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/BBBenchPress.html
- Incline Bench Press http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralClavicular/BBInclineBenchPress.html
- Dumbbell Press http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBBenchPress.html
- Dumbbell Incline Press http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralClavicular/DBInclineBenchPress.html
- Smith Incline Bench Press http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralClavicular/SMInclineBenchPress.html
- Cable Standing Fly http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/CBStandingFly.html
- Dumbbell Fly http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBFly.html
- Chest Dip http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/WtChestDip.html
- Pec Deck http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/LVPecDeckFly.html
How one of my own chest work outs might be
First of all, I don´t use treadmills or other cardio machines for a warm up. It is important to some people, and if you prefer to do just that then you should continue doing it.
Just by entering the gym I go into "the zone". However I will use lighter weights at first. When I feel that the muscles are warm I gradually increase the weights.
I usually start at the cable cross. I do that simply because I can do many different exercises for a warm up without having to go between different places.
Sometimes I will use light weight dumbbells to warm up my shoulders and biceps as well. I am usually already warm and pumped up when I enter the gym, after walking to the gym with some fucking awesome music that makes me want to instantly go and lift stuff caveman style.
When I am ready to begin for real I want to start out with some exercise that requires the most power. For example the Dumbbell Incline Press. To avoid getting injured during this exercise I want to do that one early, otherwise I am tired and I risk losing balance.
As soon as you hold weights in the height of your shoulders you have to be careful with the form of the exercise to avoid injury. If you think of it, when you train your shoulders - they are not very strong. And when you do your chest exercises and those heavy weights go high near the shoulders and you lose control of the weight for even a split second. That might hurt your shoulders badly and force you to stay away from heavy lifting for quite some time.
So I go the Dumbbell Incline Press. It takes some tecnique to learn how to start the exercise, you will soon handle heavy weights and the toughest part might be getting into start position. The amount of weight will vary depending on how strong I feel on that particular day. I will start out with lighter weights and work my way towards the heavier ones. And I will go about 3 proper sets.
The amount of repetitions on each set is different depending on what you want to achieve with your training. More on that subject later.
After that exercise I will usually go to the Pec Deck, either in machine or in the Cable cross. I will go both light weight sets and really heavy sets. The sets using lighter weights will make sure I really finish the muscles. And when doing Pec Deck in a machine you can go to the absolute limit without risking any injury like with the previous exercise.
Now I would probably go for the Bench Press. Since I am already tired I will not go heavy, especially not if I don´t have a spotter. I will go 3 proper sets at least on this exercise.
I think that Dumbbell Flyes are quite relaxing. A nice stretching motion to the sides and then feel the peccs squeeze nicely on the top. Since I have been hitting that chest for three exercises already I should have a great pump. I don´t always go very heavy, but I often do. By this time into the work out I am so damn pumped up and even though the peccs are totally done the devil in me has awakened.
It makes me just want to go to fucking crazy and move on to another part of the body like legs or back. Since I have been focusing on the chest I think that I have lots of juice left in the rest of the body. When I go directly to a back exercise though, I quickly discover that I am not as filled with energy as I thought.
If I have been doing the chest exercises the way I meant to, there should not be any gas left.
You will notice that I completely left out many of the exercises in this example. Since there are so many exercises, you have to choose which ones to do. You might want to change them from time to time which is a good idea. But there are however some things to consider. You should always have at least one exercise with the Incline position like Bas explained in the podcast.
The concept of how to build your schedule and which body parts to combine will be on another post. And then you will discover that I rarely JUST go chest on one day.
As soon as you hold weights in the height of your shoulders you have to be careful with the form of the exercise to avoid injury. If you think of it, when you train your shoulders - they are not very strong. And when you do your chest exercises and those heavy weights go high near the shoulders and you lose control of the weight for even a split second. That might hurt your shoulders badly and force you to stay away from heavy lifting for quite some time.
So I go the Dumbbell Incline Press. It takes some tecnique to learn how to start the exercise, you will soon handle heavy weights and the toughest part might be getting into start position. The amount of weight will vary depending on how strong I feel on that particular day. I will start out with lighter weights and work my way towards the heavier ones. And I will go about 3 proper sets.
The amount of repetitions on each set is different depending on what you want to achieve with your training. More on that subject later.
After that exercise I will usually go to the Pec Deck, either in machine or in the Cable cross. I will go both light weight sets and really heavy sets. The sets using lighter weights will make sure I really finish the muscles. And when doing Pec Deck in a machine you can go to the absolute limit without risking any injury like with the previous exercise.
Now I would probably go for the Bench Press. Since I am already tired I will not go heavy, especially not if I don´t have a spotter. I will go 3 proper sets at least on this exercise.
I think that Dumbbell Flyes are quite relaxing. A nice stretching motion to the sides and then feel the peccs squeeze nicely on the top. Since I have been hitting that chest for three exercises already I should have a great pump. I don´t always go very heavy, but I often do. By this time into the work out I am so damn pumped up and even though the peccs are totally done the devil in me has awakened.
It makes me just want to go to fucking crazy and move on to another part of the body like legs or back. Since I have been focusing on the chest I think that I have lots of juice left in the rest of the body. When I go directly to a back exercise though, I quickly discover that I am not as filled with energy as I thought.
If I have been doing the chest exercises the way I meant to, there should not be any gas left.
You will notice that I completely left out many of the exercises in this example. Since there are so many exercises, you have to choose which ones to do. You might want to change them from time to time which is a good idea. But there are however some things to consider. You should always have at least one exercise with the Incline position like Bas explained in the podcast.
The concept of how to build your schedule and which body parts to combine will be on another post. And then you will discover that I rarely JUST go chest on one day.
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