How To Build A Bigger Chest – The Secrets To Bigger Pecs

When it comes to the chest, I like to keep things very simple. I take the biggest chest muscle and combine it with the lift that works the biggest chest muscle the best. This is the way I will explain How To Build A Bigger Chest.

You can do some of these lifts on your own, but for the King of all chest lifts, you should have a spotter. I’ve had some clients say genetically, they cannot build a chest, but after at least three months of my chest routine, that was not the case.

When you combine the right lifts at the right times along with the proper rest between sets, results will happen.

You also have to have the proper amount of rest with days off for your muscle to grow.

I used to think that Benching every day when I was in High School would give me the best results. I was wrong; rest is much more important.

The key is to rest enough but not too long that your gains start to decrease.

I personally have found 2-3 days rest between muscle groups is enough and not too long that you will start losing gains. This is why I would recommend working your chest with at least 2 days of rest between each workout.

I know it may feel like benching every day is doing more work; therefore, you would have better gains. In this case, less is more!

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THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFT FOR A BIGGER CHEST IS THE BARBELL BENCH PRESS

If I could only choose one lift for working my chest, what would that be, you ask?

I would choose the most common lift you see in the gym and talked about. The one I would consider King when it comes to building a bigger chest. The King of building a big chest is the Flat Barbell Bench Press.

This is where you lie down on a bench with your feet on the floor and pressing a weight upwards. I always do this chest workout first when I have the most energy.

A flat press is usually the only lift people want to know how much you can do. You have most likely heard at some point in your life someone say, ” How much can you bench”?

One of the reasons people like to compare this one is because it’s a good ego lift.

Another reason is that it is not a very uncomfortable lift or takes that long to set up.

During High School, this was the only question I ever heard if someone wanted to know how strong you were. However, I’ve been weight training for almost 20 years and never heard this question asked by more experienced lifters.

The reason for this is that we realize there are many more important things to bodybuilding. For me, the most important thing is symmetry with my back, legs, shoulders, and chest/arms.

The Flat Bench can be done in 3 ways.

You can either use a barbell, dumbbells, or the Smith Machine. So you might be wondering which one is the best.

There is a lot of debate when it comes to this. I’ve experimented with and compared results for my own opinion over the years. I haven’t noticed much of a difference between how my chest looked. So I decided the best decision was to keep switching it up once I hit a plateau.

This is good for a few reasons, but for me, it keeps me from getting bored. Another reason is to trick your muscles because you don’t want them to get used to the same thing.

The flat barbell press is great if you want to move a lot of weight.

This is why I do this 1st when doing a chest workout because I’m the most energized and least fatigued.

My goal is always to tear up the muscle fibers. Also known as micro-tears in the muscles, the body then repairs during rest, hypertrophy (Muscle Growth).

However, it’s tough not to give the edge to the bench press using dumbbells for hypertrophy, leading to a bigger chest. With the Dumbbell press, you’re getting more motion because you press up; you have to bring your arms together, which doesn’t happen with the barbell press.

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THE DIFFERENT CHEST MUSCLES

The chest has two parts, and they both serve different purposes.

The biggest part of the chest is called the Pectoralis Major. Now you know where the term “Pecs” comes from if you have ever heard this before. In Latin, this means Breast.

The Pectoralis Major covers each half of the front of the chest. To build a bigger chest, you want to ensure this part is most important!

One of the jobs of your Pectoralis Major is to move your arms inward. The Major’s other job is to help pull your arm down and forward. This large chest muscle comprises two muscle heads called the clavicular and sternocostal.

Think about it, the Pectoralis Major is the largest muscle in the chest, and the Bench press is the best lift for the chest.

Pectoralis Minor is the 2nd muscle in the chest and can be found under the Major towards the upper outside part of the chest.

The Minor is basically in charge of stabilization and the downward rotation of the scapula (Shoulder Bone). Suppose you think about a swimmer and their motion with the front crawl type stroke. This would be directly activating and working the Pectoralis Minor.

It’s near impossible to isolate just the Minor muscle directly, but there are lifts you can do to target the minor more.

Doing chest dips while leaning forward on the way up is a great way to target them.

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DO THESE CHEST WORKOUTS TO BUILD A BIGGER CHEST

INCLINE BENCH PRESS

A great workout that builds the upper part of the chest.  The incline bench press is a variation of the bench press and an exercise used to build the chest muscles. The shoulders and triceps will be indirectly involved as well. Utilizing an incline will allow you to better target the upper portion of the chest.

You must set an incline bench to a 45-degree angle to execute this movement. Lie down on the bench with your feet flat on the ground. Grab the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width. Bring the barbell to your chest and press it until your arms are straight. Pause at the top of the movement and slowly lower the weight to your chest. Repeat for desired reps.

Suppose you have no upper chest or genetically always had trouble with having any muscle there. I suggest trying this lift first for a few weeks since you are fresh and not fatigued starting your workout.

This is usually my second chest workout after the flat bench is done. Just be careful that the incline or angle of the bench isn’t too high, or start focusing on the shoulders. Another variation you can try is the incline dumbbell press.  I will switch between the barbell and incline dumbbell press, so I don’t get too bored and keep things interesting.

DECLINE BENCH PRESS

This is usually my 3rd lift, which is great for the lower part of the chest. The decline bench press is a variation of the bench press that targets the lower pectoral muscles. The bench is set to a decline of 15 to 30 degrees, which places your upper body on a downward slope. This angle activates the lower pectoral muscles as you push weights away from your body.

To do a decline bench press, lie on the bench and grip the weights with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lift the weights off the rack and hold them above your chest with your arms straight. As you inhale, slowly lower the weights down to your chest. Keep your back pressed against the bench and your elbows pointing to the sides. Pause briefly at the bottom of the movement, then exhale as you press the weights back up to the starting position.

This can be done on the smith machine if your gym doesn’t have a bench already set up for it.

Make sure you have a spotter for this chest workout since the bar can roll down your neck.

DIPS

These are great because you do not need a spotter and can push yourself to failure. To ensure you are hitting mostly the chest and not the triceps, lean forward and put your feet behind you.

This is a great workout for a big pump at the end of your workout.

The dip is a great exercise to add to your routine if you also want to work your triceps. Here are some tips on how to do it:

1. Start by standing in front of a dip bar with your hands gripping the bars and your shoulders over your hands.

2. Slowly lower your body until your arms are bent to a 90-degree angle, and then lift your body back up to the starting position.

3. Be sure to keep your back firmly against the dip bar throughout the exercise.

4. If you’re finding it difficult to keep your balance, you can always stand on a bench or stool with one foot.

PEC DEC FLY

I do this with the machine, which is usually my last workout during chest day.

While sitting, grasp two handles about shoulder height in a starting position behind your back. You can push yourself to the limit and get an amazing pump with the Pec Dec Flys.

I recommend lighter, higher reps with this exercise. Unlike the other lifts, you will stay in the hypertrophy phase.

REVERSE GRIP BENCH PRESS

When it comes to the reverse grip bench press, you’ll want to use a weight that’s about 60% of what you’d use for a standard bench press. You can do this exercise with a barbell or with dumbbells.

To do the reverse grip bench press with a barbell, you’ll need to place the bar in the middle of your palms so that your thumbs face your body. Then, slowly lower the bar to your chest, and press it back up.

If you’re doing the reverse grip bench press with dumbbells, hold them so that your palms face each other. Again, lower them to your chest before pressing them back up.

 

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HOW MUCH REST, REPS, AND SETS FOR BIGGER CHEST MUSCLES

Very important for a bigger and fuller chest to stay in the HYPERTROPHY PHASE.

This is also known as the muscle-building phase.

You must stay within 6 to 12 reps for each exercise in this phase. I try and stick right in the middle of that phase at 8 or 9 reps.

So find a weight that you can barely get 8 or 9 reps.

If you’re getting 13,12,8,8 for your weight, you need to increase the weight next time you work out to try and get 8,8,8,8. The hypertrophy phase has shorter rest between your sets.

One or Two minutes’ rest between sets is ideal and comes up very quickly, so be ready!

The right number of sets is debatable, and many different opinions, but I have had the most success sticking to 10 sets each time I work a muscle group.

An example would be four sets of Flat Bench followed by three sets of Incline Bench and then Ending with three sets of Decline Bench.

Once you have finished all of your ten sets in the hypertrophy phase, you can still do another workout if you’re not fatigued.

I will sometimes end with push-ups to really use every last bit of energy in my chest. After a great workout like this, you will need two days of rest to repair and build.

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CONCLUSION ON HOW TO BUILD A BIGGER CHEST

Start your workout with the big bulk builder, the Bench Press, while sticking in the Hypertrophy phase.

Have a spotter during this lift to really push yourself and take advantage of no fatigue and the best lift for muscle fiber tear.

Always track how much weight and reps you did in your previous workout.

The more weight you put up, the bigger the muscle, which means a bigger chest! You will see progress if you do this while consuming enough protein, getting enough rest, and staying consistent.

Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.

I hope this helps, and you give this a try for a few months and report back with some progress.

IMPORTANT: You still need a great Whey Protein Powder to maximize the results and get enough daily protein. I highly recommend you read my review on my all-time favorite one Pro Jym Protein Powder.

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“For me, life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not  simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.”

– Arnold Schwarzenegger