Both men and women can significantly develop the size of their chest and shoulders with a bodybuilding weight training program. A bodybuilding program features high volume workouts that are designed to overload your muscle groups and thus stimulate subsequent growth. Follow bodybuilding training principles and perform exercises that effectively develop your chest and shoulders to increase muscle size in those two areas.
Workout Schedule
Your muscles require 48 to 72 hours of rest in between workouts. Your bodybuilding workouts will be of relatively high volume, which means your muscles are likely to need 72 hours to fully recover. Complete your chest and shoulder workout on Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays. The rest period between workouts is essential as it's the time where your muscles heal, adapt and increase in size.
Chest Exercises
Exercises that effectively target your chest include chest press, incline chest press, chest fly and pushups. To complete the chest press, lie on your back on a flat bench with a pair of dumbbells in your hands. Start with the dumbbells at your chest with your palms facing your feet. Push the dumbbells up towards the ceiling, extending your arms fully. Incline chest press is done exactly in the same manner, but you complete the exercise while reclined on a 45 degree angle bench. To complete chest flys, lie on your back on a flat bench with a pair of dumbbells. Begin with your arms extended up towards the ceiling and your palms facing each other. Open up your arms while keeping a slight bend in your elbows. Lower your arms until they become parallel with the floor. For pushups, position your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your fingers pointed forward. Maintain a straight line with your torso and legs as you bend your elbows and lower your chest down towards the floor. Continue down until your elbows are about 90 degrees.
Shoulder Exercises
To develop your shoulders, complete the shoulder press, lateral raise and upright row. To complete the shoulder press, stand and hold a pair of dumbbells at your shoulders with your palms facing forward. Push the weights up towards the ceiling, extending your arms fully. For the lateral raise, allow the dumbbells to hang down by your side with your palms facing the outside of your thighs. Lift your arms up and out to the side, keeping a slight bend in your elbow. Continue up until your arms become parallel with the floor. In upright rows, allow the dumbbells to hang down to the floor, but this time in front of you with your palms facing your thighs. Pull the weights up towards your chin, allowing your elbows to flare out to the sides.
Volume
To build a significant amount of muscle mass in your chest and to develop rounded shoulders, workout volume needs to be high. Give yourself a week or two of doing relatively light workouts if you are unused to weight training, then work up to three to five sets of eight to 20 repetitions of each exercise. Rest one to three minutes in between each set. Choose a weight that is appropriate for each exercise. The weight you use should cause you to become fatigued within the assigned eight to 20 repetitions. Make adjustments if you're unable to reach eight repetitions or are able to easily complete more than 20.
References
- National Strength and Conditioning Association Perform Journal: Rest and Recovery; Keith E. Cinea, MA
- National Strength and Conditioning Association Perform Journal: Training for Power: Hypertrophy Training = Volume; Dr. Lee E Brown, June 2002
- ExRx.net: Chest Exercise Menu
- ExRx.net: Shoulder Exercise Menu
Member Comments