The Red and Black

February 5th, 2008

8 Weeks to a Big Chest

How DO you get a big chest? One thing’s for certain: your chest won’t balloon after doing multiple sets of bench press. Because if it did, then almost every guy in the gym would have an amazing chest. And he doesn’t.

So how’s it done? For one thing, you need to split up your chest training into two phases: a strength building phase and a mass-building phase. Think about it like this. Instead of just training in the muscle-building repetition range (10-12), you’re better off building a base of strength. That way, you’ll be able to lift more weight for 10-12 reps and achieve even greater muscle gains.

This initial phase shouldn’t be more than 4 weeks. You should focus on compound moves (read: the bench press) and dumbbell movements like the dumbbell bench press. In these initial weeks, focus less on isolation moves like the cable crossover or machine flyes. Instead, try performing three compound free-weight exercises like the Barbell Bench Press (Flat or Incline), Dumbbell Bench Press (Flat if you did Barbell Incline first, and Incline if you did Barbell Flat Bench first) and Weighted Dips.

Perform about 12 sets for chest once a week; since you’re training with heavier repetitions (5-8 repetitions), you’ll need more recovery time. Also, strength-building phases typically are lower volume, since each individual set taxes your muscles more than a typical higher-rep, lighter-weight set. Rest periods should also be longer; aim for about 2 to 3 minutes between sets.

After four intense weeks, it’s time to kick up the volume. Perform about 12-15 sets for chest twice week, for a total of 24-30 sets per week. Pull out all of the stops. Kick up your repetition ranges to 8-10 and 10-12, depending on the exercise (whatever you prefer on a given exercise), and decrease your rest periods to 30 seconds to a 1 minute between sets. Incorporate isolation moves like the Dumbbell Flyes and the Cable Crossovers. But still include you’re major mass builders: a barbell movement, a dumbbell press, and a dip.

While you should consult a nutritionist for specific dietary plans, remember that your diet is paramount to your mass-building success. Do some research on mass-gaining diets that meet you individual requirements (like your weight and body type).

But after 8 weeks, it’ll be worth it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 9:25 pm and is filed under Fitness Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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