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.

It really is possible to get the job done without expensive equipment. We’re going to assume that you have already taken care of your full body warmup by running sprints, jumping rope or similar, and you have broken a light sweat. Now you are ready to get a great chest workout at home.

• The first exercise has to be pushups. But not just any pushups. We’re going to take these to the limit, and get the pectoral muscle from all the angles.

Start out by placing you hands against the back of your sofa, of other piece of sturdy furniture. About a 45 degree angle will be just right. Pump out 3×10 with a slow, deliberate pace. This should be enough for the muscle specific warmup.

Take about a 30 second rest, then drop to the floor. Do another 3×10 at this angle. Again, slow and focused reps. Use about a 2sec up 2 sec down tempo.  Rest for 2 minutes.

During your rest period, take advantage of the time by doing some stretches. Stand up, and reaching out to your side and slightly behind you, grasp a door jamb or similar. Rotate your body to the other side, pulling the muscle, and getting in a good stretch. Repeat for the other side.

Now let’s hit the lower pecs. You might think that we can’t simulate a decline press with push-ups, but here we go:

Put your feet up on the back of the sofa, and again – slow deliberate reps for 3×10.

At this point, your pecs should be pumped, but we have a finisher for you as well.

Take a towel, or T-shirt and fold it over the vertical edge of the door. Slide it down until you hit the knobs. Wrap around the knobs and pull the ends back towards you. Placing your feet at the base of the door, lean back while still holding the ends of the towel.

Congratulations! You just built your own portable rowing machine. Since we only have bodyweight to work with, I think that we need about 4 sets of 10 here to heat up the back and rear deltoids and balance out our work on the chest.

There you have it. At this point you should be nice and sweaty. You’ve gotten in a complete home chest workout, with no equipment, in just 20 minutes or so. This will also work well on the road, plus you can take a dip in the hotel pool when you are finished.

But we don’t want to shortchange ourselves. We’re in the gym to get some work done, and if we don’t put that time to its most effective use, we may as well skip it. So how do we get the most benefit out of the quickest possible chest exercise plan? Read on ,and I’ll show you how to do this.

Compound exercises use multiple muscle groups, so we naturally get more work done when we use them. With this in mind, we’ll put together a killer chest workout that will not only put your packs through the ringer, but also enable you to get some work done on your back, and the supporting muscles in your shoulders and torso.

Obviously, the first ever going to do his warm-up. I recommend a whole body warm-up for about five minutes to get the blood flowing and to prepare yourself for the work to come. Because were pressed for time, muscle group specific warm-ups will consist of are beginning work sets. For each exercise selected, before you do your work sets simply perform 2 to 3 sets with about half of your regular exercise weight.

Our first exercise is going to be inclined dumbbell presses. Three sets of eight, done with a 4X for tempo. This is a great exercise. Not only will work your pecs, but also interior deltoids your lateral deltoids and your triceps.

We’re going to follow that up, believe it or not, with dumbbell pullovers. If you’ve never done pullovers don’t sweat it. They are not that hard. Either lie crosswise or lengthwise on a low exercise bench. Place your hands on the inside of one and of a medium weight dumbbell. The dumbbell bar should actually fit between the index finger and thumb on both of your hands. Hold the bar in this fashion at arms length above your chest and then slowly lower it back in behind your head, towards the floor. Bring it back to the starting position and repeat.

This is a great exercise for stretching your entire upper body. Some people believe that will actually expand your rib cage. I think the jury’s out on that but the proven benefits of the exercise are enough to convince me to do it. Again three sets of eight with a 4×4 tempo should be fine.

I would like to note here that regarding rest periods there are number of different tack she could take at this point. One method would be simply to eliminate them altogether, but I think we all know what would happen to exercise performance and technique if we went that route. A better idea is to take very short rest, say 30 seconds and alternate are exercises. If we go this direction are workout routine looks like this:

• warm-up, 5 minutes, Stairmaster or similar
• incline dumbbell presses: 30 pounds for 8 reps x 2
• dumbbell pullovers: 20 pounds for 8 reps x 2
• Inclined dumbbell presses: 60 pounds for eight reps
• 30 seconds rest
• dumbbell pullovers: 40 pounds for eight reps
• 30 seconds rest
• inclined dumbbell presses: 60 pounds for eight reps
• 30 seconds rest
• dumbbell pullovers: 40 pounds for eight reps
• 30 seconds rest
• Inclined dumbbell presses: 60 pounds for eight reps
• 30 seconds rest
• dumbbell pullovers: 40 pounds for eight reps

This entire chest workout plan, including warm-up should take you less than 20 minutes.

You’ll be in and out of the gym and on your way secure in the knowledge that your upper body has been given a complete workout.

Exercise technique is a completely different issue.

There are things we need to be doing to work this important muscle group effectively. Not surprisingly, these rules can be applied to your other workouts as well.

• Warming up comes first in your workout and it should be first on your list of things to do. (duh). Start out with about 50% of your working weight on the first two exercises you will be doing. Two sets of ten will get the blood flowing into your chest muscles, preparing them for the abuse ahead.

• Next some light stretching, both before and in between you’re your work sets. That’s right – in between. If your plan calls for sets of 5 reps with 3 minutes rest in between them, use that time to loosen up both your chest muscles, and the antagonistic muscle groups. You’ll see a decreased incidence of injuries, and the increased confidence that comes from the “loose” feeling during your chest exercises.

pectoral front view

When you are actually doing your work sets, there are a few things to remember as well.

• A complete range of motion is crucial, or you will reduce the effectiveness of what could otherwise be a killer chest workout. Make sure you take each movement from the fully contracted, to the full stretch position to develop the muscles throughout the range of motion, and also to give the connective tissues stretching and stress. They count too.

• The speed with which you are lifting has a great effect upon the muscles. If you think about it, ten reps done at a 2×2 tempo is putting the muscle under tension only half as much as the same set with the same weight done with a 4×4 tempo. These is a lot of debate surrounding this issue, but there is no denying that it does make a difference. You can try out different tempos to see which one works best for you, or you can do what the pros do: vary your tempos on a regular basis from workout to workout.

• Loading up the bar with as much iron as you can move may seem like the best way to get the most from your workout routine – but it’s not. It is better to vary your loading parameters from workout to workout, and from season to season. You wouldn’t expect to increase endurance, flexibility and max strength all at once, right? Choose the load that matches your current goal.

• Vary your workout routine on a regular basis. You should be changing something every two weeks, and completely re-vamping your workouts at least once every two months.

There you have it, the basics of a good chest work out for the chest or any other muscle group. Incorporate these techniques into your schedule, and you should see positive changes.

The awesome chest of charles Atlas

A thick, powerful chest is the key to a great physique. It is also foundational to building a total body you can be proud of.  It is extremely difficult to build your other upper body muscles if you have a weak chest. Building up your chest muscles will have unexpected benefits as well – when you are working out your pecs, you will also be working out your arms, shoulders, and the smaller stabilizing muscles in your torso. This in turn  will lead to increased gains in other areas, and more ease in making those gains.

For example, it is a lot easier t0 build a great back if your chest is not a weak point. It’s a lot easier to build great arms if your chest is there to act as an assistant when you are going for a new max on your triceps extensions.

I’ve been lifting since the early 1980s, and I’ve made every dumb mistake there is trying to build my chest up, but I’ve also figured a few things out.

In the near future, we’ll be building out this site with tons of chest workouts and so much more:

• Video chest workout routines
• Step by step instructions on building your own routine
• The best ways to integrate a focused chest workout within a whole body plan
• Tips and tricks from all around the net – and from the great bodybuilders of the past

We’re also going to attack some persistent myths and old wives’ tales concerning building a great chest, and hopefully we can show you a few things that you can apply to your situation.

We all have different reasons for working out, but the main one is appearance. Yes. I know, we can tell our friends and significant others that we want to stay young, or we think that out body is a temple, and so on, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the look you get when you walk past a a nice looking woman. Does her gaze slide over you as if you were a piece of furniture, or does it linger? Maybe she even does a second take? Time to say hello.

If you are already in a relationship, so much the better. Whether you are male or female (and we will adress the needs of both in this blog) your partner will love showing you off if you are in shape.