How to build big pecs: the bench press is NOT a ‘magic bullet’

Almost every bodybuilding “expert” on the internet tells you the same thing about advice on “how to build big pecs.” Most of it sounds like this:

“To build bigger muscles, you need to train heavy. You can exercise with more weight while doing bench presses for larger pecs than when doing isolation movements, such as flyes. Therefore, the heavy bench press is an absolute necessity. Exercise essential for building large pectoral muscles “.

That is what they are telling you. However, any close look at what goes on in gyms around the world can reveal a different story; They all have their group of guys doing set after set of bench presses that have little to show for in terms of pectoral development. Also, any close look at the world of weightlifting can give us a clue. Weightlifters can bench press heavy like no one else. However, many of them have pectoral development similar to that of a 12-year-old boy (with a little more hair).

What is the real answer to the question of ‘how to build great pecs’? Here is my advice based on 25 years of experience with exclusively natural bodybuilding:

First … Realize that “heavy” is a “relative term”

When someone gives you overly generalized bodybuilding advice like “train heavy,” it might be time to ask yourself if they’re playing full deck or just assuming you’re not. “Heavy” in what context? “Heavy” compared to what? The term “heavy” is relative if ever there was any.

Let’s start with the topic of context. If you can bench press 200 pounds for six reps and you’re pushing yourself on the sixth rep, that’s a big weight for you to bench press. If you’re doing dumbbell flights instead of the bench press and you can only use a fifty-pound dumbbell in each hand for six demanding reps, well that’s heavy too, in the context of isolating your pectoral muscles. Are you not training “heavy” on the flyes due to the fact that they cannot be done with the weight of the bench press? That’s stupid. Your pectoral muscles are almost fucking working on their own to get those dumbbells through the flying motions. The bench presses simply included more weight that was moved with the help of muscle groups other than the pectorals, that is, the delts and triceps.

Second, let’s talk about “heavy” in a comparative sense. If you weigh 130 pounds, 35-pound dumbbell dumbbell flights can be heavy. For a 230-pound bodybuilder, 80-pound dumbbells can be helpful for a workout, even if it’s “heavy.” The focus of relativity within the context of comparison for successful bodybuilding should only be towards how heavy the weight will be when you have reached your muscle building goals compared to what it is in the present.

So, don’t let a generalized “muscle head” “heavy training” allow you to mistakenly think that YOU are the mental lightweight (pun overload).

‘How to build Big Pecs’: well executed flight movements

It’s surprising that the self-proclaimed bodybuilding “experts” on the internet get away with claiming that the answer to ‘how to build big pecs’ lies in using the bench press as a fundamental exercise. All it takes is a little knowledge of bodybuilding history to know that the bench press is often not the best recipe for bigger pecs. I read a classic article by professional bodybuilder Scott Wilson in 1987 explaining how he never gained appreciable chest size until he gave up the bench press in favor of tight, heavy flyes.

And what about the opinion of the late Vince Gironda, “coach to the stars” and owner of the famous Vince’s Gym? He argued that the regular flat bench press against the chest was almost useless for pectoral development. Vince hypothesized that using a wider grip on the bench presses and bringing the bar towards the neck (directly over the shoulders) is the only way to make the pressure a stimulus for chest development.

Personally, the ‘neck bench press’ always gave me better chest stimulation than the conventional method. However, it is tough on the shoulders, even when using a Smith machine.

For this reason (among others), I recommend going the Scott Wilson path if you have trouble with pectoral growth. Tight, heavy, and well-executed flight exercises can be a way to develop wonderful big pectoral movement if done with attention to detail in both the form and the broader training formula.

Using flying motions to build bigger pecs

If there is an important key to ‘how to build great pecs’ using flight movements, it is to perform the flight movements with proper form. Too often, bodybuilders go from the strict execution of these movements to one that resembles a combination between a flight and a pressure exercise. They do this by twisting the elbow area (even slightly) at the midpoint of the dumbbell flight exercises, where the outer pecs could have used maximum force. This tends to reduce stress in the target area, for the greater physical comfort of the learner and, at the same time, impairs possible breast development.

If you want bigger chest muscles, resist the urge to twist your elbows and have all the movement occur in the front of your shoulders. Just bend your elbows slightly (to prevent the joint from overextending) and keep that flex from increasing as you perform the arcing motion of each rep. Don’t lower your arms below the horizontal plane at the bottom of the movement. Try to “squeeze” your pecs at the top of the movement with each rep. Try to arch your back slightly and push your chest out a little with each positive rep, rather than “sinking” your chest to make the reps with less effort.

If the typical “how to build big pecs” advice (ie, “heavy bench press”) has left you flat, I suggest you try heavy dumbbell flights. When combined with an optimal bodybuilding training / recovery strategy, you are likely to be satisfied with the … bulbous results.

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