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Guide to the Best Chest Exercises

By: Tony Schwartz

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A thick, rugged, cut chest is high on the list of most bodybuilders, both pro and amateur. Unfortunately, there is so much bad info out there when it comes to properly working the pectorals that chests like I just described are becoming a thing of the past.

The big key to building the pecs you need is to select exercises that powefully activate the pectoral motor units. The first movement that springs to mind for most bodybuilders when they think of pectoral exercises is the flat barbell bench press. But the bench press is not a great chest builder unless you happen to have the optimal leverage for it. In addition, most people perform the bench press incorrectly. If you put together poor leverages and poor technique it is no surprise why you feel the bench more in your delts and triceps than in your pecs!

Let's take a look at three of the best chest exercises. But keep in mind that if these are done with poor technique you are cutting your muscle growth short and may be setting yourself up for injury. To prevent this from happening make sure to get some technique tips from an expert so that you can build the chest you want without getting hurt.

Paused Bench Press
I know I just finished saying that the flat bench press is not the best chest building exercise, but there are particular variations that do hit the pecs well, assuming you perform them correctly. The paused barbell bench press is one possible variation. By pausing the bar at the chest for one to 10 seconds before pressing it back to lockout you eliminate the stretch reflex and lose any stored elastic energy you created during the eccentric. This will make pressing the weight back up much harder, but it will also force your pecs to create a huge amount of force in order to explode the weight from your chest back to the starting position.

45-degree Incline DB Bench Press
One of the common complaints of bodybuilders is not just their overall chest mass, but their upper chest mass especially. Incline chest exercises are a great solution to this because they target the clavicular portion of the pectorals, which gives the appearance of a more full chest, without giving you droopy pecs. The use of dumbbells is a good idea here as they will allow you to get a deeper stretch at the bottom of the exercise. This deep stretch activates a lot of underused motor units in the pecs which can jump start new growth to occur.

Standing Cable Crossovers
While different versions of the bench press are all well and good, to really focus on the pecs you need to work on the flying motion. This can be done with a variety of exercises, but I really prefer the standing cable crossover here because of the constant tension the weight stack gives you during the complete range of motion. The key here is to concentrate on a good stretch at the beginning and keeping tension on the pecs during the whole set. This is a fantastic concluding exercise to any chest workout.

Remember that while these exercises are great for building powerful pecs, they must be done with the correct technique in order to get the most from them.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

See video and get tips on flat dumbbell bench press and other exercises in the free body building exercise technique guide

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