Having a well-developed chest is both an aesthetic and athletic treasure that one must always recognize. Developing the chests or the pectoral muscle is often harder than most people believe. Chest development demands exercise variety, intensity and the consistency that will help build mass and strength to the pectoral muscle. Below is a step by step program that you can use come your next chest day.  This routine involves utilizing a low rep-high set rep scheme to help build mass and strength.

Perform the 3 exercises once or twice a week, with a day or two of rest in between to avoid overtraining.

1) The Bench Press

This exercise primarily builds pectoral mass and strength. It targets the middle and the lower chest more when you hit flat and decline bench presses. It is a fundamental exercise for the upper body as it also targets the front deltoids and the triceps.

1. Lie on the bench and lift the bar off the rack with your arms extended at arm’s length. Your arms should be wide enough apart from each other so your forearms point upwards, perpendicular to the floor. Lower the barbell slowly until it almost touches the lower pectoral muscle.
2. Keep your elbows pointed outwards to fully involve the chests. The bar must come to a complete stop at this point of the exercise. Then press the bar back up until your arms are fully locked out, and then repeat.

Take a look at the video below on how to properly bench press:

2) Incline Bench Press

Changing the angle of the exercises varies the stress involved in the pectoral region. Doing the inclined bench press targets the upper pectoral as well as the deltoids and the triceps.

1. Start the exercise by lying on the incline bench and eventually lifting the bar off the rack. At arm’s length above you, lower the weight until the bar almost touches the upper region of your chest.
2. Push the bar back up until your arms are almost fully locked out. Lower the bar again slowly until it almost touches your upper chest, repeat the process over again.
3. Make sure that a training partner spots you since this exercise may cause you to drift the bar too far backward losing control. A spotter helps you get used to this inclined bench exercise.

Check out the video we found below on the Inclined Bench Press:

3) Parallel Bar Dips

The parallel bar dip is a complex exercise that develops the triceps and the whole of the chest muscles but target more the lower area of the chests. This is similar to performing the decline bench press.

1. On an exercise dip station hold yourself at arm’s length above the bars and start by lowering yourself down slowly as far as you can. From the bottom position, push yourself back up to the starting position while tensing your chests muscles. In this move, as you lean forward, your chests muscles get full involvement but performing this exercise with a straight torso in an up and down motion trigger triceps development more.
2. Try crossing your feet behind your buttocks to shift the weight forward to hit the pectoral muscle harder.

Check out the video below on Parallel Bar Dips:

Conclusion

The 3 exercises above for the pectoral muscle involve only the basic exercises that require consistency and intensity to build strength and mass. When performing these exercises, make sure that a training partner is present to assist you especially during your heavy sets to avoid injury and overtraining.