The pectorals are one of the parts of the male body that men like to exercise the most. Achieving a perfect body for many goes through exercising the upper part of the body and in it the pectorals have a great weight. However, knowing how to increase the pectorals is not as simple as you may think.
To achieve that desired physical aspect, it is necessary to follow a series of tips and recommendations, which go through carrying out certain training exercises, but also paying special attention to food, which is more important than you may think when it comes to achieving your goals.
A frequent mistake is to invest time in the gym and exercise without taking into account muscle needs and being aware of what they need in order to grow. In any case, if you are interested in knowing how to increase the pectorals you have come to the right place. Here’s what you need to know to achieve your goal.
Types of exercises for the pectoral
When talking about types of exercises for the pectoral, we must differentiate mainly into two types:
- Press: They are polyarticular exercises that involve the shoulder and elbow joint. It is possible to use gym machines, dumbbell, bars or even push-ups.
- Isolators: These are monoarticular exercises in which only the shoulder joint is involved. They are exercises in which the contraction is concentrated in the pectoral. It is possible to use dumbbells, machines or pulleys for this.
Pectoral exercises
If you are looking for how to increase the pectorals you need to know some of the main exercises that you can perform in your training plan to try to reach your goal. Among them we must mention the following:
Bench press
The bench press is one of the star exercises of pectoral. It is possible to do it with dumbbell, bar or machines. The perfect technique for the bench press is that the grip is more than the width of the shoulders, looking at the complete route the forearms are perpendicular to the ground.
If you are stretched in the machine, the forearm points forward all the way. You should start with the tour with the elbows practically extended completely to the point of the line between the hands that is more or less 3-4 fingers between the pectoral.
Openings
This exercise is one of the so-called isolating exercises, so the elbow is kept almost completely stretched throughout the route, without any changes in angle.
These openings begin the movement with the arms away from the line of the body, feeling like there is a previous stretch before beginning the concentric phase of the movement to look for the arms between them. You should go to the front as a hug.
These exercises have another outstanding feature, which is that you enjoy a range of motion with greater amplitude. It is possible to perform them on machines, pulleys and dumbbells, with different angles.
Both the bench press and the openings help when carrying out the stimulation of the top, middle and bottom.
Pushups
Push-ups is a closed kinetic chain movement that helps the activation of the musculature that is responsible for the stabilization of the scapulae. They are based on the hands being supported on the floor more than the width of the shoulders so that the moment of the arms are flexed at ninety degrees the forearm is perpendicular to the ground.
The route goes from almost the extension of the elbows until it leaves three or four fingers between the pectoral and the ground. In those cases, in which you want to increase the difficulty, you can add a jump in the hands.
Considerations on pectoral exercises
When thinking about a training plan to increase the pectorals, a series of considerations must be taken into account:
- An excellent technique should be prioritized according to weight, which contributes to avoiding possible injuries and thus be able to develop the pectoral in the appropriate way.
- To develop the muscles and achieve greater joint amplitude, betting on a full range of motion.
- It is advisable to train the pectoral twice at an initiation and intermediate fitness level, being able to train it three times in the case of an advanced fitness level. For those who start in the world of training, it is advisable that no more than eight sets of pectorals are performed; and intermediate and advanced between 10 and 15 sets in the pectorals.
- Pectoral workouts should be as isolated as possible between them. In this way, a fresher workout is achieved and the muscles are rested. Therefore, it is preferable to do the pectoral training on alternate days.
- If you do more training or many series you have the risk of overtraining. This will make it possible to suffer a risk of injury.
- You should try to find a muscular balance, not training only the pectoral. The days that you do not exercise it you will have to bet on other muscles, especially the dorsal.