The chest is made up of two major muscles, the pectoralis major which moves the arms across the chest and the pectoralis minor which enables shoulder area movement. Training the chest requires working these muscles and the main fibers of the upper and lower pecs.
Train All Parts
Train all areas of the pectorals to encourage a bigger, stronger and wider appearing chest. For the fibers of the upper chest, include moves like the incline barbell bench press, the military dumbbell press and incline dumbbell flyes. To stimulate the lower chest muscle fibers, go for the decline barbell press, parallel bar dips and decline dumbbell flyes. For the pecoralis minor, which lies under the pectoralis major, go for standing cable cross overs, and flat bench dumbbell flies, which also stimulate the outer chest wall. You do not need to perform all of these exercises at every workout, rather rotate between them over the course of many sessions.
Reduce Shoulder Pain
According to Christopher Ball at the website Real Solutions Mag, shoulder injuries are one of the most common problems hindering effective chest workouts. Moves like incline presses may cause or aggravate shoulder injuries. Working the chest without creating balanced strength in the back also causes the rotator cuff to bear a disproportionate amount of weight. Discourage shoulder problems by working the muscles of the upper back with the same intensity to balance out a muscular chest. Focus on exercises that emphasize the rhomboids at the upper back in particular as these muscles pull the shoulders back and reduce stress on the rotator cuff at the shoulder.
Proper Form
Performing chest exercises with poor form can cause overuse and mechanical injuries at the shoulders, elbows and wrists. Hold barbells with a shoulder width grip when doing exercises like the bench press. Enlist a spotter to help you maintain proper form and save you from a too-ambitious weight choice. Keep the elbows bending out to the sides of your body when performing incline, flat or decline presses. Avoid arching your back when executing flyes or presses with heavy weights.
Stretch
Between each set, or at the conclusion of all chest exercises, stretch the pectoral muscles to prevent the shoulders from rotating forward. Try lying on a flat weight bench with a five- to eight-lb.dumbbell in each hand. Open your arms widely to make a letter "T" with the body and allow the weights to help the arms stretch down towards the floor. Stretch the chest from a standing position against a vertical bar or piece of equipment. Bend your elbow and place your right hand, forearm and upper arm against the bar and turn the left side of your body away to stimulate a stretch in the pecs.
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