Nov 13, 2013 6:26 PM GMT
Which exercises/routines do you think are best for developing some great pecs?
Best pec exercise
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Nov 13, 2013 6:26 PM GMT -
Nov 13, 2013 7:05 PM GMT4xsandbetter saidPush ups are both simple and effective. Trying doing a variety of them -- regular, military, wide hands, narrow hands, declines, etc.
Did you get yours mostly from push ups? -
Nov 13, 2013 7:31 PM GMTI like dumbbell chest routines, some guys like cables, some prefer straight bar, and some like pushups. You really just have to put yourself on a workout and change it up every month and experiment to find out what works best for you. The common wisdom these days is to change things up regularly just to keep the muscles confused -- so they are confused into thinking they need to grow more. -
Nov 13, 2013 7:36 PM GMTNivek saidI like dumbbell chest routines, some guys like cables, some prefer straight bar, and some like pushups. You really just have to put yourself on a workout and change it up every month and experiment to find out what works best for you. The common wisdom these days is to change things up regularly just to keep the muscles confused -- so they are confused into thinking they need to grow more.
I've heard this, about muscle confusion. I try to change it up every couple weeks. Do you think increasing weight is enough of a change or should the whole routine change?
I alternate between cables, dumbbells, barbells and push ups. I really like how I feel after cables, I feel pretty great after a barbell set too. -
Nov 13, 2013 7:49 PM GMTFireDoor211 said
Nivek saidI like dumbbell chest routines, some guys like cables, some prefer straight bar, and some like pushups. You really just have to put yourself on a workout and change it up every month and experiment to find out what works best for you. The common wisdom these days is to change things up regularly just to keep the muscles confused -- so they are confused into thinking they need to grow more.
I've heard this, about muscle confusion. I try to change it up every couple weeks. Do you think increasing weight is enough of a change or should the whole routine change?
I alternate between cables, dumbbells, barbells and push ups. I really like how I feel after cables, I feel pretty great after a barbell set too.
Have a repertoire of the following exercises, and choose 5-6 exercises @ 3-4 sets per exercise:
Press
Wide press
Incline press
Decline press
Fly
Incline fly
Decline fly
Cable cross
Dips
Pullovers
Pushup wide or narrow grip
Then alternate your press and fly exercises among cable/barbell/dumbbell as often as you feel. This will hit your pecs from all angles, fill you out and square you off, and get you super pumped.
Bodybuilding is NOT powerlifting-- it's sculpting, so don't get hung up on always having to increase your weight in the same old routine. You'll waste time and grow stale.
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Nov 13, 2013 7:54 PM GMTI find dips on olympic rings to be very effective. -
Nov 13, 2013 8:24 PM GMTPush ups. Period.
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Nov 13, 2013 9:06 PM GMTAlexxx5 said
FireDoor211 said
Nivek saidI like dumbbell chest routines, some guys like cables, some prefer straight bar, and some like pushups. You really just have to put yourself on a workout and change it up every month and experiment to find out what works best for you. The common wisdom these days is to change things up regularly just to keep the muscles confused -- so they are confused into thinking they need to grow more.
I've heard this, about muscle confusion. I try to change it up every couple weeks. Do you think increasing weight is enough of a change or should the whole routine change?
I alternate between cables, dumbbells, barbells and push ups. I really like how I feel after cables, I feel pretty great after a barbell set too.
Have a repertoire of the following exercises, and choose 5-6 exercises @ 3-4 sets per exercise:
Press
Wide press
Incline press
Decline press
Fly
Incline fly
Decline fly
Cable cross
Dips
Pullovers
Pushup wide or narrow grip
Then alternate your press and fly exercises among cable/barbell/dumbbell as often as you feel. This will hit your pecs from all angles, fill you out and square you off, and get you super pumped.
Bodybuilding is NOT powerlifting-- it's sculpting, so don't get hung up on always having to increase your weight in the same old routine. You'll waste time and grow stale.
This is great dude, thanks. And your pecs look pretty well rounded too. How many days a week would you say you work on pecks? -
Nov 13, 2013 9:07 PM GMTThe_Perfect_Ashlar saidPush ups. Period.
obviously this works well for you, nice rack. That's seriously all you do is pushups? How frequent, how many reps a day? -
Nov 14, 2013 12:20 AM GMTAs fun as they are I start with 50 pushups every morning when I wake up, also I usually add them into a superset, or between sets at the gym. -
Nov 14, 2013 12:37 AM GMTI use a device called "The Perfect Pushup," two cylinders that rotate as you do the pushup. You can get them on line. They're great for pumping your chest. -
Nov 14, 2013 12:43 AM GMTThatSwimmerGuy saidAs fun as they are I start with 50 pushups every morning when I wake up, also I usually add them into a superset, or between sets at the gym.
I like this idea. Doing 50 push-ups fresh out of bed. I think I'm going to have to look up supersets though. -
Nov 14, 2013 12:44 AM GMT4xsandbetter said
FireDoor211 said
4xsandbetter saidPush ups are both simple and effective. Trying doing a variety of them -- regular, military, wide hands, narrow hands, declines, etc.
Did you get yours mostly from push ups?
I do mostly bodyweight exercises. So, pushups, pullups, and situps are a regular part of the routine.
I guess it depends on how big you want to get as well. In my case, I just go for definition instead of size.
I'm not crazy about size, I'd like to lean up, but keep my chest. -
Nov 14, 2013 12:45 AM GMTLittleDudeWithMuscles saidI use a device called "The Perfect Pushup," two cylinders that rotate as you do the pushup. You can get them on line. They're great for pumping your chest.
Really, I thought they were just a gimmicky work out device? Hmm. -
Nov 14, 2013 12:49 AM GMTFireDoor211 said
LittleDudeWithMuscles saidI use a device called "The Perfect Pushup," two cylinders that rotate as you do the pushup. You can get them on line. They're great for pumping your chest.
Really, I thought they were just a gimmicky work out device? Hmm.
I thought so too. . . then I started using them and I really like the results. . . they're very inexpensive, I think $40. . . give them a try -
Nov 14, 2013 12:54 AM GMTLittleDudeWithMuscles said
FireDoor211 said
LittleDudeWithMuscles saidI use a device called "The Perfect Pushup," two cylinders that rotate as you do the pushup. You can get them on line. They're great for pumping your chest.
Really, I thought they were just a gimmicky work out device? Hmm.
I thought so too. . . then I started using them and I really like the results. . . they're very inexpensive, I think $40. . . give them a try
I guess if strangers on the internet say it's good it has to be right? Lol. I'll give it a shot. -
Nov 14, 2013 5:38 AM GMTI tried Perfect Push-up for awhile and discovered that it gave me some terrible lingering headaches! I stopped using it and they went away. My body must be weird. -
Nov 14, 2013 1:17 PM GMT4xsandbetter saidPush ups are both simple and effective. Trying doing a variety of them -- regular, military, wide hands, narrow hands, declines, etc.
I agree push-ups are better for me than any bench. When I do them regularly I get better muscle endurance as well as size. -
Nov 14, 2013 1:45 PM GMTBlackJockTN saidI tried Perfect Push-up for awhile and discovered that it gave me some terrible lingering headaches! I stopped using it and they went away. My body must be weird.
That's a little odd... is there any chance you have high blood pressure? Or could you have been not breathing freely when you did your push ups? -
Nov 14, 2013 4:53 PM GMTJard_03 said
4xsandbetter saidPush ups are both simple and effective. Trying doing a variety of them -- regular, military, wide hands, narrow hands, declines, etc.
I agree push-ups are better for me than any bench. When I do them regularly I get better muscle endurance as well as size.
for me benching and dumbbells work better; i work from low and heavy, to lighter and higher reps -
Nov 14, 2013 5:54 PM GMTTempuro said
Jard_03 said
4xsandbetter saidPush ups are both simple and effective. Trying doing a variety of them -- regular, military, wide hands, narrow hands, declines, etc.
I agree push-ups are better for me than any bench. When I do them regularly I get better muscle endurance as well as size.
for me benching and dumbbells work better; i work from low and heavy, to lighter and higher reps
Oh yeah, I used to do that with my arms. I never really considered doing chest exercises that way. Great idea. SO what do you start with 85% your rep max then go down from there each set? -
Nov 14, 2013 6:10 PM GMTLittleDudeWithMuscles saidI use a device called "The Perfect Pushup," two cylinders that rotate as you do the pushup. You can get them on line.
They're great for pumping your chest.
Recently switched to pushups when my gym decommissioned its pec deck. Also got the Perfect Pushups. It's nice that they rotate, but using the gym's fixed handle pushup grips gives me about the same quality pecs workout...as do regular pushups. For me, it's quality over quantity: focus on form, not the number of reps. If you have any joint issues in your shoulders, the rotating grips might be the way to go. My yoga instructor says to keep your elbows as close to your sides as possible to de-stress the shoulders. The rotation seems to facilitate that. -
Nov 15, 2013 2:54 PM GMTFireDoor211 said
Tempuro said
Jard_03 said
4xsandbetter saidPush ups are both simple and effective. Trying doing a variety of them -- regular, military, wide hands, narrow hands, declines, etc.
I agree push-ups are better for me than any bench. When I do them regularly I get better muscle endurance as well as size.
for me benching and dumbbells work better; i work from low and heavy, to lighter and higher reps
Oh yeah, I used to do that with my arms. I never really considered doing chest exercises that way. Great idea. SO what do you start with 85% your rep max then go down from there each set?
so an example routine might look like this (excl warm up):
- 3 sets of 5 reps: dumb press / bench press (compound)
- 3 sets of 6 reps: incl dumbl pr / dumb pr
- 3 sets of 8 reps: flys of some sort
- 3 sets of 10 reps: cable work
and possibly: 1 set of 40 reps (pushups, cable work, etc)
usually at 6 or 8 i start supersetting
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Nov 15, 2013 5:06 PM GMTWednesday is usually chest day for me, but I did 50 push-ups as soon as I got out of bed. It filled out my chest pretty good. Thanks for the tips. -
Nov 20, 2013 9:48 PM GMTThanks for all the advice guys. I've been using a mix of all your advice and my chest looks and feels much fuller. I wake up every day and do 50-100 push ups, sometimes a few more if I'm not doing anything. And I'm mixing up my chest exercises. I've noticed a change already. So thank you all for taking the time!
