ARMOUR PLATED PECS!
Build your own powerful pecs with this 4-week Pec Thrashing Program!
Here’s an old-school program that’ll build size and thickness, while emphasizing complete, balanced development – try it on for SIZE!
Nothing tugs at the psyche of the fairer sex like a deep, thick and muscular set of powerful pecs. Sure, big guns exert a powerful pull on the female limbic system, but nothing turns the heads of the female species the way a strong, solid chest, stretching a 2XL t-shirt can.
With that being said, what we at MAN Sports aim to do is to support you and your quest to maximize all things powerful, all things MAN, as you spend your time on this rock. If you’re gonna walk, may as well walk big, chest high, right? May as well walk with SWAGGER!
What follows is a surefire exercise program designed to build that shelf-like chest, focusing on complete pec development. This intermediate- to advanced-level training regimen takes us through a pectoral thrashing to leave even the most hardcore iron warriors clutching their blood-swollen chests and gasping for air.
To maximize productivity in a single chest workout, it’s important to attack the pecs from all angles. For complete pectoral development, it’s necessary to keep in mind how these muscles cause movement. The primary function of the chest muscles is to move the upper arm bones anteriorly, or to the front of the body, and to a lesser extent, across the front of the body. The pecs work in a dynamic range of motion that can be encompassed in 3 basic angles. Training the pecs with these 3 angles in mind will target the major components of this muscle group; simply, upper, middle and lower chest. The workout outlined here prioritizes all three areas of the chest to stimulate maximum visual changes in the shortest period of time. Try this program for 4 weeks, and watch both your size and strength improve measurably!
Complete Chest Development – attacking from different angles
Begin with flat bench presses. These are the “meat and potatoes” of chest training, and weight lifting in general. Flat presses target the entire pec region very effectively, but primary focus is on mid-chest thickness. Lying on a flat bench, grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width. As you lower the bar toward the chest, be sure to keep the bar close to or just above the nipple line. Forearms should be perpendicular to the floor, or just slightly wider, when the bar is in the low position. Keep elbows and wrists in line, directly under the bar. Do not shrug shoulders upward while lying in the working position of this exercise.
Next, we’ll move on to incline presses. Inclines target the upper portion of the chest. As with the Flat Bench Press, keep elbows and wrists in line while performing the exercise. Elbows should be directly under the bar. As with bench pressing, grip the bar so that the forearms point straight to the ceiling at the bottom portion of the movement. If the grip is too close, triceps and front deltoids will take over as the primary movers during this exercise.
Follow incline presses with decline flyes. Notice the angle of the plane of movement during each of the exercises. With decline presses (done with a straight bar), the bar travels from the nipple line straight toward the ceiling. Use dumbbells for this exercise but maintain the same plane of movement as with a bar.
Declines target the lower part of the chest and the pec minor. Keeping elbows bent, lower the dumbbells to a parallel position relative to the body. Do not lower weights beyond a comfortable, manageable stretch. Squeeze pecs together, moving dumbbells up toward the ceiling and across the body toward the midline. At the top of the movement, bring dumbbells close to touching, but maintain control and do not bang them together.
Lastly, we’ll do dips with bodyweight. Dips can be thought of as “upper body squats” because they target just about all muscle groups of the upper body.
Find the dip bars in the gym that are slightly wider than your shoulders. Begin the movement with arms extended, supporting your bodyweight. For dips, keep the head up, eyes directly to the front. Do not let your head hang forward. Bend your elbows to lower your body to a comfortable starting point. Pause with control at the bottom of the movement. Bend elbows to about 90 degrees of flexion, with upper arms crossing just below parallel to the floor, until you feel a slight stretch. Drive the body upward by straightening the arms and contracting the pecs.
You’ll find that by leaning forward a bit, the chest will get more work, as opposed to holding your body straight vertical. In our program, this is the finishing movement. Utilize it to put the final nails in the coffin of your chest workout. Rep, rep, rep until you cannot do any more.
3 sets to failure should finish off the toughest of trainers.
The Program – Building the War Chest
Are you ready? We’ll hit these 4 exercises hard and strict. Stay focused and let’s get to it!
Flat bench press:
warm up 1 light weight 20 reps (not to failure)
warm up 2 moderate weight 15 reps (not to failure)
working set 1 75% 1RM goal is 8-10 reps rest 120 seconds
working set 2 75% 1RM goal is 8-10 reps rest 120 seconds
heavy set 1 85% 1RM goal is 4-5 reps rest 120 seconds
heavy set 2 85% 1RM goal is 4-5 reps rest 30 seconds, drop to-
drop set 1 75% 1RM goal is 4-5 reps rest 30 seconds, drop to-
drop set 2 55% 1RM goal is 10 reps or to failure
Incline press:
working set 1 75%1RM goal is 8-10 reps rest 120 seconds
working set 2 80%1RM goal is 8-10 reps rest 120 seconds
heavy set 1 85%1RM goal is 6-8 reps rest 30 seconds, drop to-
drop set 1 70% 1RM goal is 4-6 reps rest 30 seconds, drop to-
drop set 2 60% 1RM goal is 8-10 reps or to failure
Decline flyes:
working set 1 choose a weight to complete 8-10 strict reps rest 90 seconds
heavy work set 1 choose a weight to complete 6-8 strict reps rest 90 seconds
heavy work set 2 choose a weight to complete 6-8strict reps rest 30 seconds
drop set 1 reduce weight by 25%, reps to failure
Dips:
bodyweight to failure rest for 60 seconds
bodyweight to failure rest for 60 seconds
bodyweight to failure
Maximizing Muscle Stimulation – Ramp Up Intensity
There are several variables in any training program that will ramp up how hard your muscles are working and result in greater gains. The intensifying techniques below are utilized in the above program to bring the greatest results in the least amount of time.
Time: This variable directly relates to intensity. In this case, we’ll utilize this variable to increase intensity by controlling rest time between sets. Be sure to keep strict control over your rest time. This workout outlined above has a fairly aggressive pace that challenges the muscle recovery systems, and will result in greater overall stimulation
Work Volume: More work in less time. If you notice, your muscles will endure a significant amount of time under tension during this workout. The longer the overall time a muscle is contracting against a resistance, the greater the stimulation.
Drop sets: This old-school intensifying technique is utilized to allow the muscles to keep on contracting beyond the point of failure. This tried-and-true method will wake up even the deepest muscle fibers!
Experienced lifters give the War Chest program above a try for 4 weeks. To prioritize pecs, schedule this priority-training program every 5th day on your calendar. Be sure to eat big, supplement wisely, and rest. Then, train aggressively, and watch your chest grow – bigger than ever!
Supplementation:
Add in, 1 scoop of BODY OCTANE 20 minutes prior to hitting this one. Throw in 4-6 caps of BLUE PRINT, and stand back. Sincerely, push your body like it’s your last workout, and you’ll experience a pump, and strength deep inside the muscles like you read about. Focus, stay strong, and watch your slabs of pec-meat explode!
Article by Pete Ciccone
Pete posing with a most musclar
