I'd done heavy barbell bench presses in the past but never got a lot of chest development. I'm sure it had to do with muscle structure. I have the chest type where I have that upwards down "V" at my lower pecs. So in other words, I don't have that full, squared chest. Usually people with that chest type find it fairly easy to build chest mass. They could just do primarily bench presses and get good results. I on the other hand never got much out of barbell bench, so I switched to exercises that give me more room to tinker with range of motion, like DB exercises...
Here is a superset that has worked really well for me as far as helping bring out a fuller looking chest
Incline DB Flyes
Incline DB Presses
- I do 3-4 sets of each at around 8-10 reps per set. Maybe on the last set I'd do 6 reps. Make sure to establish as much "feel" when doing these exercises. It's good to go slow on your negatives with the flyes and squeeze at the top. When you switch over to incline DB presses, lower the weight relatively slowly, then explode upward with it. You can squeeze the muscles at the top too. Once you can't do any more presses, pump the weight a few times. As in, pump it as high as you can, then lower it, repeat. But do it deliberately, don't just bounce it up and down. Really good way to end a set of DB presses. Talk about a chest pump too!
Then after that superset I'll do some DB pullovers. The good ones too, where you're lying perpendicular with the bench, with your upper back making contact. Not the ones where you're lying on the bench taking the weight back over your head. The first ones are much, much better. I know I'm in my groove when I feel the serattus muscles doing a lot of pulling. I feel it there and in my chest, and it stretches out my back. Coincidentally, I do back and chest on the same day.
My chest responds really well since I've been training back and chest on the same day. I'll go ahead and post an entire routine.
(After warm-ups)
Superset A
- Weighted Dips 3 x 8-10, 1 x 6-8 (4 total sets)
- Pull-ups 4 x go to positive failure
Barbell Rows 4 x 10-12, 8-10, 6-8, 4-6
Superset B
- Incline DB Flyes 3 x 8-10, 1 x 4-6 (4 total sets)
- Incline DB Presses 3-4 x 8-10, 1 x 4-6
DB Pullovers 3-4 x 15-20
Deadlifts (after warming up) 3 x 9, 6, 3 (or whatever rep scheme you want)
Then I'll hang from the pull-up bar to stretch out. Followed by the rest of my stretching. If you have it in you, you can throw in a couple sets of something like one-arm DB rows or cable rows. Maybe every once in a while throw in a set or two of bench presses (i.e., 2 x 6-8).
Flex the muscle in between sets. Sounds funny, but it teaches muscle control. Then you can use that to your advantage when you want to tweak an exercise. That incline superset really helped me and the DB pullovers make the rib cage look better (serattus mostly). My chest looks better from the front after I'd been doing a routine like this.
Good luck brotha!
