Exercises to increase chest size?

[gdahustla]

I want a bigger fuller chest and wanted to know the best exercises to achieve this and how to lift properly.

On chest/shoulders day I do flat barbell presses, incline dumbbell presses and decline dumbbell presses.

How do i do these properly for example when i do flat barbell presses should the bar be above or below my nipples to get size and do i grip wide or shoulder width?

[skeldno]

thinner grip for tri's wider for chest.

I wear on flys mate they blow me right up :-)

[lucas7]

Good question...
What is best press flat, incline or decline ?
and are close handed push ups good ?

[HawaiianPride.]

This will give you an idea on how to properly bench: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0

Decline is not as effective and flat or incline. Close handed push-ups recruit more of your triceps.

[gdahustla]

great video, thanks. for anyone else reading i think the thread below will help also:

Better Strength Articles

[lucas7]

Great post with utube link,
I was benching wrong had no arch with space under back and wrists were wrong and lifted the bar up instead of sliding it off
instantly lifted an extra 10kg easy with more controlled form
felt it in the chest alot more instead of the shoulders.

Thanks alot....

ps. I cant get of utube now checking out forms for different exercises

[Cousinbutch]

Dips.

[dec11]

flys, cable cross overs. i pre exhaust with these then hit flat bench, good results

[The.Student]

This will give you an idea on how to properly bench: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0

Decline is not as effective and flat or incline. Close handed push-ups recruit more of your triceps.

Very informative, I'm always looking out for further knowledge and I believe I gained some from that vid, thanks Hawaiian.

[Cousinbutch]

Dave Tate is a powerlifter, that is not a video on how to bench for pec size. Really good video for powerlifting technique but its pretty awful advice for bodybuilding. Just to demonstrate, here's a picture of Dave Tate lean - tiny chest.

[PC650]

Dave Tate is a powerlifter, that is not a video on how to bench for pec size. Really good video for powerlifting technique but its pretty awful advice for bodybuilding. Just to demonstrate, here's a picture of Dave Tate lean - tiny chest.

yes i agree!!

[xxxl83]

Thats because a bench press powerlifting wise has very little to do with your chest. Although I know it's the most popular chest movement (check every gym on a monday lol). Without getting crazy your pec maj. is an adductor. Not that much adduction in a tuck and flair bench press but, you'll never see a great bencher without a strong back, front delt and tri's.

That being said stick with some light - moderate flies for hypertrophy, just don't go crazy with that range of motion that "extra stretch" may very well end your lifting years short. It's a marathon not a sprint!

Just my .02

xxxl83

[Skyler]

I don't want to step on any toes, but I do feel like I can probably give the best advice when it comes to chest developement (trying not to sound like an arrogant ass, so sorry if I come off that way)

I am not genetically gifted. Every man in my family is naturally tall and thin, true ectomorphs. I have been working out for about 7 years now, and have tried about as close to "everything" as someone can get I think.
I can tell you now, I do not have good genetics for any type of muscle mass. The first two years I was working out, I did not see any dominant body parts pop out, I just gained what I could, and stayed pretty proportioned, except my chest, I had a terrible chest (And I did alot of bench press, dips, cable crossovers, dumbbells, etc)

When I was 16, I got into powerlifting. I trained with Ron Palmer, who taught me that though the bench press works chest, shoulders, and triceps, you need to take advantage of those muscles in order. Triceps are the weakest of the three muscles, so those should do the least amount of the work, and the chest is the most powerful, so it should do the most work. I started doing wide grip bench press, bringing the bar down to my lower chest line (just below the nipples). I used a slight arch, to take pressure off of my rotator cuffs.

Through the years, no matter how my goals have changed, and what I am trying to attain with my body, I have always made flat barbell bench press my number one chest movement. I have ALWAYS used that wide grip, bringing the bar low, with a slight arch. No bouncing either, I always control the weight. When i joined the Army and had to do God knows how many pushups, I always did wide grip pushups.
My chest is now officially my best, most dominant body part. To give you an idea of my chest ratio to the rest of me, I am 5'10", weigh 195, have 17-18 inch arms (17 cold, 18 pumped) and my chest is nearly 50"! Most bodybuilders I know, from amateur to pro, do not have chests that are that dominant. For example, my close friend hopes to earn his pro card soon, and his arms measure 22" cold, and 22.75" pumped, with a chest measurement of only 48.5"

Proportionately, think of it like this... Most people say that Arnold had the best chest of all time, right? (not saying it was in fact the absolute best, but it was good enough that people will always argue that it is)
Arnold had 21" arms (not 23, he himself says they were 21) and a 56" chest. So his chest is 2.66x the size of his arms.
I have 18 inch arms, and 50 inch chest. So my chest is 2.73x the size of my arms.
What do me and Arnold have in common with our chest workouts? Look at any picture of Arnold benching, he ALWAYS used the widest grip possible. And he always used flat barbell bench has the main chest movement in his routines.

All I am saying is this. For decades it has been told to each of the younger generations that the best move to develope your chest is wide grip barbell bench press.
I tried all the new age stuff and never had a chest worth talking about, because I didn't really have a chest.
I decided to ALWAYS do wide grip barbell bench press for my chest, and now my chest is by far my most dominant bodypart.

There are alot of ways to feel a pump in your chest, there are alot of ways to develope your chest (technically anything you do to stimulate any muscle will show some sort of possitive result), but flat barbell bench was one of the original ways to build a big chest, and here we are in 2010 and it is more famous than ever, and for good reason.

Just my opinion on the matter. (Oh, and my buddy I was talking about owes most of his arm size to his enormous triceps, which he built by always using a shoulder width grip when he does bench. So any grip of bench press is good, but as you can tell, if you make your triceps the dominant muscle in the movement, they will reap all the benefits, not your chest)

[Skyler]

Oh and Dave Tate has a crappy chest because as you can see, he uses a more narrow/moderate bench press grip width. Sure did give him good triceps though!

[Kaytime]

ever since i added weighted dips into my chest routine i noticed my chest was getting fuller. usually id put a chain over my neck and add 40 - 60kg plates on it and do dips cause it helps put me on a angle which hits the chest hard.

also

when i do flat dumbbell flyes i tend to go so far down till i feel a very very good stretch and then pull the weight up not all the way. i like to keep constant tension on the chest coz if i go all the way n make the dumbbells click theres no more tension on the chest imo

im not encouraging you to do what i do but i just thought id give u a few examples of how i brought my chest up

[HawaiianPride.]

Skyler:

Skyler, I'm eager to hear your detailed layout of what a proper "bodybuilder's" technique is on a the bench press. All I got out of out of your first post in this thread was you talking about how big your arms and chest are in comparison to Arnolds, and how a wider grip has improved this.

Please elaborate a bit more on the point of this thread.

Sorry about the mix up...

[Skyler]

Well, as far as "bodybuilding" goes, it is personal preferance. I made the comparison to my chest being proportionately big, just like Arnold's, because I was making the point that if your goal is to increase your chest size, a nice wide grip bench will do it. But, if you are happy with your chest size, but feel you need to add to your tricep size, narrowing your grip and putting more of the work load on your triceps will add lots of size to them (I used my buddy as an example for that one)

So, as far as bench press itself goes, how you perform the lift should be based on your goals and what muscle you are trying to stimulate the most. Since I always wanted a great chest, I feel that Arnold is a famous example of a great chest, and the OP's question was how to add size to his chest, I gave my opinion and experience on how I feel is the best way to increase chest size, which I feel is wide grip barbell bench.

[HawaiianPride.]

I thought so. That's what I got out of your initial post. Thanks for the clarification.

However I do believe Tate expressed some very valid points in performing a proper bench press that both bodybuilders and powerlifters can use via leg drive, using your lats and tucking in with the elbows ect. So I wouldn't say that video is useless for a bodybuilder by any means. There are many PL's out there with enormous chests due to Dave's way of lifting. Dave just has poor genetics in his chest, it's obvious in that video.

I could try to elaborate more but I've gotta run to work.

[Skyler]

I agree with his bench technique 100%, thats how I bench, just with slightly less arch, and a wider grip

[HawaiianPride.]

I agree with his bench technique 100%, thats how I bench, just with slightly less arch, and a wider grip

Gotcha.

[Cousinbutch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7kUmzfZhgQ

I don't do the feet-up style, as a note.

[cherrydrpepper]

What do me and Arnold have in common with our chest workouts? Look at any picture of Arnold benching, he ALWAYS used the widest grip possible. And he always used flat barbell bench has the main chest movement in his routines.

I really enjoyed this post and your posts in general.

I agree with everything you said 100%. At my local gym there is a young gun there that has an amazing chest to the point its the first thing you notice about him. When I asked him what he does for chest the first thing he said was 4 sets of flat bench. I think across the board you are going to find that men with massive chests are big fans of the flat bench.

[Cousinbutch]

And across the board you'll also find most bench-rats to have very little chest development.

(I didn't read any of whats going on here as a note - just sayin')

[gdahustla]

I think ill go with the wider grip, flat bench with barbell for a while and see how that goes. thanks for all the info

[23scott16]

Dips and Incline Dumbbell Press...If your looking for mass keep rep range 4-6..