best way to build chest?

[iwinulose2981]

i box just about everyday so my shoulders back and arms are in pretty good shape but my chest has always been lagging in size. i normally do incline and regular bench presses till failure 4 sets(weight heavy enough for me to fail on around the 8th rep or so). ive been told to switch to dumbbell presses.....are dumbbell presses more effective? if so which way is the best way to have my hands? ive seen guys do presses with hands facing forward then switch to flys where hands are facing each other. which is better ?

thanks for any tips

 

[davisville64]

i box just about everyday so my shoulders back and arms are in pretty good shape but my chest has always been lagging in size. i normally do incline and regular bench presses till failure 4 sets(weight heavy enough for me to fail on around the 8th rep or so). ive been told to switch to dumbbell presses.....are dumbbell presses more effective? if so which way is the best way to have my hands? ive seen guys do presses with hands facing forward then switch to flys where hands are facing each other. which is better ?

thanks for any tips

Dont take every set to failure, I think thats your problem. Try to fail on only your last set.

 

[jminis]

I agree with Davis, don't take the sets to failure no need to. I would add dumbells to the mix along with decline presses. Many things you can try here but make sure you hit your chest from every angle to get full developement.

Try 6-8 reps stop 1 rep shy of failure

Bench Press 3 sets
Decline 3 Sets
Incline 3 sets
DB Flies 2 sets to 15reps (deep stretch at bottom)

 

[spatch]

Heres a routine I found helpful

Bench press 4 x 4-6 (1 to failure)
Incline bench 4 x 8-10 (1 to failure)
Wide grip chest press 3 x 8-10
Any isolation movement 2 x 10-12

 

[charliewat]

1 to failure? does that mean on the last set or you should shoot for it on every set?

 

[TravTriggz]

8 to 12 slow reps, "slow" let the fibers rippppp

 

[g4ud1n]

When you lay down on the bench, pull your shoulderblades together so your chest pushes out.

 

[BigVrunga]

Arnold used to do 'partial flyes', where he'd only bring the dumbells to about 20" apart to keep the stress on the pecs. I started doing flat bench flyes that way and I can definitely feel it.

BV

 

[spatch]

1 to failure? does that mean on the last set or you should shoot for it on every set?

1 set to failure.. for example


if your doing 4 sets, go 80-90% to failure for sets 1-3, and go to failure/forced reps on the last one.

 

[Sturgplaya]

Get a better progression in with flat bench not just to failure as mentioned before. If you are going to get it big you need more reps to break down the muscles more, where lower reps are more of pure power. Get some DB decline bench in and make sure to bring them together over your chest to build out the inner part of your peck. Also do incline with a good progression and get flies in also. Another favorite of mine is overhead DB Chest Pullover. Lay perpendicular to the bench, take the weight and lower it behind your head and squeeze it straight up, make sure to try and not bring the weight past your eyes. Also make sure you have you shoulders completely on the bench and not hanging over where your arms and head are. Make sure to squeeze your chest tight on the reps. Get at least 4 sets of 10. That should help.

 

[Jstrong20]

When benching don't lock the weight out. Only do the bottom 2/3 of the motion. This will keep the tension the chest because the top part of the bench is triceps. Also use the widest grip you can. Just be careful with the wide grip because it can be hard on the shoulders so I wouldn't use it more than a couple weeks at a time.

 

[crazycal]

[/Try to fail on only your last set.QUOTE]try 5x5`s if your trying to built a body part you need compound exercises(not flyes)-incline bench press and of course the pre bench chest builder-dips(cant get the hang of quotes:whiner: )

 

[hardknock]

6-8 reps
keep the tension, dont lock out totally
and find 3 solid exercises to hit the chest at 3 different angles at least...that's the minimum

For strength, 5-6 reps...concentrate on eccentric and concentric...and tempo...mine is 2 down pause, 2 up..

 

[red5marauder]

Variety in your routine will help a lot. Well trained athletes typically adapt to a routine within 3-4 weeks, meaning the body is no longer stimulated to grow. Also, if you do 4 sets with the same weight, then your probably stopping before failure on your first 3 sets and your fourth set is not really "to failure" because you've already exhausted your muscles on the previous non failure sets. If you can press 275 lbs for 10 reps, you might try something like this: 135 x 10, 185 x 6 225 x 3 275 to failure. You will probably find that you can press your maximum weight for several reps beyond your normal failure point. Then, drop the weight to 225 and rep out, strive for the burn since it is suppose to iniate a GH response. You could follow that up with some incline dumbell presses and flyes. Keep the sets low and the weights high. Also, I wouldn't train more than once a week, with all the boxing your doing your muscles need time to recuperate.

 

[BigVrunga]

That's what Ive been doing lately - 3 heavy sets and saving a lighter 'pumping' set (usually a drop set) for last. Been working pretty well.