And that is most likely true, because a lot of us waste our time simply duplicating routines that we find in either online or in some bodybuilding magazine.

I think that the best chest workout that you can be doing what has to be one which was individually set up just for you. And that means, given the fact that you’re reading this blog, which also most likely means that you’ve got enough bodybuilding knowledge to do it, that the routine should be one that you design yourself.

Stop and think about it for a second: you pick up a magazine or your log onto a website and you see whatever the latest and greatest is from whoever your favorite coach is or whoever your favorite writer is. The person who wrote that workout doesn’t know you and maybe they don’t even know what they’re talking about.

You are uniquely qualified to set up your routine. You know what sort of  injuries you’ve got. You know where you’ve made the most progress. Did you know which chest exercises you like to do the most.

Let me take you through this process, and I’m confident you’ll be up to set up a routine without anyone else’s help.

Okay, what I’m trying to do right now is to drop a little bit of body fat while simultaneously putting some mass onto my chest. Not that hard to do, except that I happen to have a torn supra-spinatus tendon. It’s not bad, only a partial thickness tear, but I still have to be careful with which movements I can do.

Right away, until the inflammation comes down a little there are going to be any fl flies. They just hurt too much. Ditto for wide grip bench presses. That leaves me with close grip benches and dumbbell work from which to construct my chest workout routine.

Hanging here with me because this is going to sound just a little bit weird, but this is the kind of routine that has worked best for me in the past and I have full confidence that it’s going to now as well.

• The first thing that I’m going to do as a full body warm-up is too quick sets of trapbar deadlifts. I love these things. They hit your posterior chain and your quadriceps simultaneously and work just about every other muscle group in your body as well. Obviously, your core is stressed to give you a bit of an abdominal workout, and your forearms and grip are also brought into play as you try to hang on to that damn trap bar.

• Now, onto the fun stuff. I’ll start out with two sets of benches using a medium grip and a lightweight, somewhere around my 20 rep maximum. I use a fast pace and only 30 seconds rest between sets.

• Next up is incline dumbbell presses. I like to go as heavy as I can on these, and if I’m in the gym I’m not afraid to ask for a spot to help me get the dumbbells into position. Normally I’ll do three sets of six for this exercise.

• Okay now I’m getting a weird on you again. At this point, I’m going to do super sets, alternating two exercises. The first of these is going to be a flat dumbbell press, using approximately my 12 rep max. I’ll only take these out to about eight reps so, and immediately after finishing each set of flat dumbbell presses, I’ll take one of my dumbbells and do pullovers.

• No, I’m not crazy. And I’m not sure that I actually buy into the whole “expanding your rib cage” thing about dumbbell pullovers. What I can tell you is that when I incorporate these into a chest workout, I feel much looser and I seemed to get a better pump. In addition, there’s nothing wrong with stretching the antagonistic muscles (in this case, your laps) during your chest workout. Pullovers will get three sets of eight as well.

• Now onto my finisher, if you read any of the other posts on this site, you’ll know what that is. Close Grip Bench Presses. I just love these damn things. I use an Olympic easy curl bar to prevent any stressing on my shoulder, pump out three sets of eight, with as much weight as I can handle in good form. Then I drop the weight by half and perform a final set to failure. Now that is my own personal best chest workout routine.

Will it be yours? I doubt it. You have a completely different set of goals, injuries and other factors coming into play. But if you’ve been going to the gym for a year or more, you should be at the point where you can design your own workout routine without any help from some drone in a bodybuilding magazine.

Specifically, I’ll be giving you three quality exercises including rep and set parameters as well as warm-up and a special finisher tip. After reading this brief post, you should be able to head to the gym and do a upper chest workout that really slams your pecs.

• First of all let’s talk warm-ups. There’s no reason to get fancy here. After a brief whole body warm-up, say five minutes on the Stairmaster, simply grab a barbell and pump out three sets of 10 reps on the incline bench. Try using about half the weight you would normally use for work sets.

• Then move on to your work set. Our first exercise will be no surprise here, incline bench presses. 10 reps in good form and perform three sets. Tempo, well that should be fast enough that it requires significant effort to keep the bar moving at speed, but not so fast that you lose control.

• Next exercise is going to be incline dumbbell flies. You want to use about 70% of the weight that you would use for normal flat bench dumbbell fly. Again three sets of 10 reps and you’re done.

• Your finisher here may be a little bit of a surprise. I’m going to recommend that you do close grip bench presses within E_Z Curl bar. You’ll find that not only do these give your pecs a tremendous pump, especially after the preceding sets, but that they will work your triceps better than just about any other movement.

For this set, because it is your finisher I’m going to recommend something a little different.

• Instead of using the amount of weight that you would normally use for three sets of 10 reps, go down about 20%. Do two sets of 10 reps, and then take your last set to failure. Now we get into the reason that I recommended an E_Z Curl bar. You’ll find an E_Z Curl bar is a lot easier to slip back into the rack behind your head when you’re exhausted. If you’re simply on a bench at home and you don’t have a rack to set the bar in at the end of your set you be glad that I recommended that you use less weight, because you’re going to have this set with the bar in your lap.

What I’ve done the preceding, I like to finish up with some light stretching. I think that as long as the muscles are warm and all the connective tissues have blood on them you may as well get some stretching it. Try this routine at least once. I think you’ll agree that it does the job and then some.

Don’t fall prey to these old wives’ tales that make it impossible ot get in your best chest workouts:

You need to use as much weight as possible.

Not so – while you should be doing your regular workout sets with something between 60 and 80 per cent of your one rep max, going over that on a regular basis will not spur growth, and may even hinder it. Heavy weight, low rep sets have their place in your chest workout regimen, but they should not be your bread and butter. They take a serious toll on your joints – especially your shoulders.

Only wimps need a spotter.

Ummmm….NO. Don’t be the guy that had to leave the gym via the ambulance. There is no shame in playing it safe, and the veterans in your gym will see that you know what you are doing. If you think there is any chance at all that your current set will go to failure, get a spotter.

Put your feet up on the bench.

This one has always amazed me. How can you create a stable base for your bench press with your feet up on the bench? Keep your feet on the ground, firmly planted. This gives you a tripod, an inherently stable platform from which to push. Lose your balance with 2 plates on a side, and you can join the guy in #2 for the ride to the E.R. It may also occur to you that a stable base may allow you to push more weight safely.

You need a big arch in your back.

You need an operation on your spine too I guess. No way this helps if what you are after is a good workout, and better chest development. What you are really doing is trying to turn a flat bench press into a decline bench press on the wrong piece of equipment. If you want to decline bench, go ahead. But get on the decline bench to do it.

You need to grunt and scream to get the weight up.

For crying out loud (literally) please stop this. If the weight is heavy, you may make a noise related to the effort – involuntarily. But purposely shouting and grunting make you look like what you are – a poser. It has nothing to do with getting in the best chest workouts possible, and everything to do with who is watching you.

Plus, ever notice that the guy making all the noise has one plate on a side and weighs 125 pounds? And an iPod, for some reason. Maybe so he can’t hear his own o-song?

This bar has completely changed my workouts, since the “day my shoulder exploded”. With it I can really get in a good lower chest workout using the decline bench, without the shoulder pain I used to have. First the vital statistics:

• It measures 53 1/2 inches between the collars – which means that you can use it in your standard power rack. For those of your who primarily work out at home – I don’t have to tell you what a bonus this is. None of us wants to be the dork that died with a bar on his neck.
• The angles are not too severe. Unlike a lot of curl bars that look like a letter Z, this one has less radical angles, and they are spaced properly for benching.
• The bar has proper Olympic sleeves and bearings. Your standard plates will slide right on with no problem.
• Black, hardcore finish. It’s just so metal dude.
• It has proper knurling in the grip area. Enough that you can keep hold properly, but not so much that you feel like you’re arm wrestling a file.
• It weighs exactly 35 pounds. Yay. I just count it as a plate. This is a bigger deal than you might think. I some bars that weight 7 or 13 pounds. At my age, you are looking for incremental improvements, and keeping a proper workout log with careful sets, reps and weights is crucial.

I use this bar two ways: as a close grip bench press bar and for curls. Either way it helps with my shoulder, and takes the strain off of my elbow as well.

Here is a typical chest workout where I use this bar in my “finisher”:

After the always recommended warm-up, and a few light sets:

• Dumbbell incline bench presses 4×8 with your 12 rep max
• Rest for 3 minutes
• Dumbbell incline flys 3×8 with your 12 rep max
• Rest for 3 minutes
• Close grip bench presses 3×8 with your 12 rep max – but take the last set to failure. I use the decline bench here to get in a good lower chest workout.

Move though this workout routine quickly, resting only long enough between sets to be sure that you can get the next set. You will find that your rest periods will be a little longer towards the end of the routine – that is OK.

If you have shoulder pain when doing regular bench presses, or are just in the market for a really nice quality EZ curl bar, I recommend that you go with this one. York’s reputation is deserved, and their customer service is outstanding.