Chest Workout Today! (WARNING: VERY INDEPTH)

I'd like to make two things clear. Firstly, MY TRAINING STYLE IS BASED ON MAXIMUM CONTRACTION. It means that I contract the target muscles as hard as I can at the top of each repetition for a good long second, sometimes 2 or even 3. It varies on my energy level. Obviously, contracting longer is tougher and more beneficial. Secondly, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WIDENING CHEST WORKOUTS OR THICKENING CHEST WORKOUT. It is a total myth and I just can't seem to emphasize enough on that. Afterall, I'm a no facade, no bullshit, no nonsense guy.


To justify my act, chest muscles (infact every other muscles) are tubular shaped. That being said, WHEN MUSCLES GROW, THEY EXPAND AT THE MOST MIDDLE OF THE TUBE FIRST. As it expands, the side will be pushed up. That gives the 'thickening' look. Now that it has become thicker and bigger, it definitely looks wider too.

We'll start with the Incline Chest Presses.


I prefer doing them first because my shoulders and triceps are fresh. It's pretty hard to use the upper chest muscles, generally because it's smaller and there are alot of supporting muscles around it. Now, FORM IS IMPORTANT. IT CAN NEVER BE ANYMORE IMPORTANT. CHOOSE FORM OVER WEIGHT EVERYTIME. LEAVE THE EGO AT THE DOOR WHEN YOU ENTER THE GYM.


2 DIFFERENT GRIPS, THE NARROW (LEFT) AND THE WIDE (RIGHT). How to determine which to use it pretty simple.

THE WIDER YOUR GRIP, THE LESS HELP YOU CAN GET FROM OTHER SUPPORTING MUSCLES. This puts more stress on the chest. On the other hand, THE NARROW GRIP ENCOURGAGES THE TRICEPS AND SHOULDER MUSCLES TO HELP but the peak contraction of the chest is more, meaning that at the top of the repetition, the chest muscles can be squeezed harder. Then again, a narrow grip could sacrifise form if done uncorrectly. It would take time to get use to the perfect grip.

THE PERFECT GRIP IS HAVING THE MAXIMUM CONTRACTION USING THE LEAST OF OTHER MUSCLES.


PUSHING YOUR SHOULDER BLADES BACK AND TRYING TO MEET THEM IS THE RIGHT FORM. This is something I see even seasoned gym goers forget to do. Done uncorrectly is portayed in the left picture and done correctly is portrayed in the right picture. WHEN DONE CORRECTLY, THE ELBOWS SHOULD BE DIFFICULT TO STRAIGHTEN.

WARMUP WITH 2 STRICT SERIOUS SETS WITH WEIGHTS ABOUT 50% OF YOUR 1 REPETION MAXIMUM WEIGHT. The first set is to do as many repetitions as possible. STOP DOING WHEN YOU FEEL WARM IN SHOULDER JOINTS. Muscles/tendons tear more easily when they are cold so you want them to be warmed before carrying heavier. The second set is about focusing on the target muscle (in this case upper chest). MAKE SURE EVERY REPETITION YOU ARE ABLE TO CONTRACT AND USE THE MUSCLE AT YOUR WILL. It's really no use if one just hover the weight above using brute strength. People would envy the amount of weight being used but after 6 months, people would question why isn't the workout producing any physical change.

Everyone knows that at the top of a repetition, we should push all the way up until our physical limitation. BUT HOW LOW SHOULD WE GO?


AT LEAST UNTIL OUR ELBOWS ARE SQUARED ANGLES. This is because anymore higher than that would be under stressed for the muscles. Anymore lower would overstress the muscles. Now, over stressing isn't that good because you sacrifice repetitions. Generally, REPETITIONS = STRESS TIME. OPTIMUM STRESS TIME, OPTIMUM GROWTH.


Taking it too low. Not that it is wrong but it is a higher level training technique. This can be done as a last set to stretch the already-pumped-up muscles.


AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME BUDDIES STANDING BEHIND, NOT SUPPORTING YOU BUT JUST STANDING BEHIND TO LEND A FINGER OR TWO. Research has proven that carrying heavier with support from another person (sometimes people!) does not add significant changes in term of strength and muscle growth. So why don't we just be true to ourselves?

Next exercise would be a combination of flat bench press and chest fly.


This is Koh Chin Liang, my training partner. For the record, he is quite strong despite what you see in the photos. He STARTS WITH THE CHEST FLY FIRST FOR A COUPLE OF REPS AS COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL METHODS. For those who don't know what is a chest fly exercise, start with both hands at the top (don't forget to keep your shoulder blades posture right!). In a circular motion, hands like wings of a bird, start flapping away!


After several repetitions of fly, he IMMEDIATELY CONTINUES WITH FLAT BENCH PRESS FOR SEVERAL REPETIONS AGAIN.


Complete as many repetitions as possible. This is the 3rd and final exercise. It's called the push-ups. AND HELL, PUSHUPS SHOULDN'T BE UNDERESTIMATED. They are good muscle builders if being used correctly.


Taking it too low again. A big NO-NO.

One thing you would have taken notice is I didn't mention how many repetitions I did. To me, that is a very subjective question. Trying my best to answer, here is the list.

INCLINE PRESS: 12 / 10 / 10 / 4
FLY FLAT: 8(not max) + 8 / 8(not max) + 8 / 6(not max) + 6
PUSHUPS: 10 / 10 / 10

The workout looks pretty easy but if done with proper form and at the correct weight, it could be tedious. You don't need to spend hours and hours in the gym anymore. One should stimulate, not annihilate in the gym.

*note : The numbers represent whether how much effort you should put. As always, every set should be done until failure unless stated. The drop in the number of repetitions also indicate that you should keep adding weights.