The pecs are the muscles of the chest. The pectoralis major is the part of the chest muscles that get recruited when the upper arms move across the front of the body. The pectoralis minor is the part of the chest muscles that get called into play when your shoulders shrug forward. To effectively build your pecs, you need to perform exercises from multiple angles that involve these movements. This will ensure that you are recruiting a maximal amount of muscle fibers throughout the whole chest.
Step 1
Perform incline dumbbell presses. Sit on the seat of an incline bench with dumbbells in your hands. Lean back on the bench and extend your arms above your chest. Hold the weights an inch apart with your palms facing your feet. Lower the weights down by bending your elbows. Stop when your upper arms parallel the floor and you feel a strong stretch in your upper chest. Push the weights back up and repeat for a set of reps.
Step 2
Execute a set of incline flys to target your upper, inner pecs. Get into the same starting position as you did with incline presses, except this time turn your palms so they are facing each other. Hold the weights an inch apart and slightly bend your elbows. Maintain this bend as you lower the weights down to your sides. Stop when your upper arms parallel the floor, push them back up and repeat.
Step 3
Lift a weighted barbell to work the middle part of chest with bench presses. Lie on the bench and grab the bar with a wide, shoulder-width grip. Push it up and hold it straight above your body. Slowly lower the bar down until it lightly touches your chest. Push it back up until your arms are just short of locking out. Repeat for a set of reps.
Step 4
Lie face-up on a bench to do dumbbell flys for the inner, middle pecs. Perform these exactly the same way as incline flys, except do them from the flat bench.
Step 5
Hook your lower shins under the padded support brace on a decline bench to target your lower pecs. Lift a pair of dumbbells straight above you with your palms facing your feet. Hold the weights an inch apart and lower them down to your sides by bending your elbows. Stop when the weights are level with the sides of your stomach, push them back up and repeat.
Step 6
Perform a set of decline flys to finish your pecs workout. Lie on the decline bench in the same position as decline presses. Hold dumbbells above you the same way as with the other two fly exercises and perform a set of reps.
Tips and Warnings
- Perform four to five sets of each pec exercise. Do every rep until failure and try to use heavier weights with each set. Failure means you cannot go any further with proper form. Have a spotter on hand to make sure you can go all out with every set. Lower the weights in a slow and controlled fashion. Do not bounce the weights or use momentum. Make sure that your muscles are fully engaged throughout the whole exercise.
Things You'll Need
- Incline bench
- Dumbbells
- Bench
- Barbell
- Decline bench
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