With summer practically here and many a hot summer day ahead, perfect for showing off massive pecs as you go shirtless at the beach or pool, I figured now would be a great time for a chest post.

Many a young man has headed to the gym with two things on his mind, girls, and the intention of building a massive chest.

I remember those days!

Ah to be young again, I had no idea what I was doing, but I wouldn’t trade those days for anything, however, if I had a chance to do it again, this is what I would do.

First, I would move the flat bench press to the back of my routine—why, simple, for most people it simply builds massive front delts and triceps—not pecs.

Not to mention all of the stories of people tearing pecs doing flat benches—no thank you—I’ll pass on that.

O.K. so if bench presses (the flat variety) would be relegated to a supporting roll, what would take front and center?

For me the barbell incline press wins the chest building battle hands down—and for a number of reasons.

The number one reason is because it is harder (but not impossible) to cheat on, which means less chance of injury and more work actually being done by the targeted muscle—the upper pecs.

Which leads me to the next reason, the barbell incline press hits the upper pecs—and hits them very well—which is important because most people are lacking in this area because they focus on the flat bench which works mainly the middle and lower pecs.

So when you focus on working hard on the incline press and work up to using some respectable weight on the exercise—trust me people will notice your upper pecs.

SOME POINTS

More people than not focus on the flat bench for the number one reason that it is an easy lift to cheat on, after all there are any number of ways to pull-off a bigger bench one of the most popular being rebounding the bar off your chest.

Not only is this process stupid but it is flat out dangerous, so please do not do it—that is if you value your health and the health of your pecs and shoulders!

Also, the flat bench as stated above works mainly the middle and lower pecs, which does not sound so bad, except that you have to continually work the lower pecs or they begin to sag—not a good look.

Am I against flat benching, no, not if you do the exercise the right way, and do not do it excessively?

As for why I favor the incline press more, well, it goes beyond cosmetic reasons because when you work the upper pecs you help to secure your shoulders and the carry over to the athletic field is a lot greater for the incline press than the flat bench.

CONCLUSION

I did not mean for this post to run so long, so I am going to save my secondary exercise for building massive pecs for later—so please be on the lookout for part two of this post.

Meanwhile get started on building those upper pecs—believe me your chest will thank you.

STAY PUMPED