Just like well developed shoulders, I feel that one reason a well developed set of upper pecs is so impressive is that, well you really do not see too many people that have upper pecs that are well developed.

To me this can be attributed to one thing, the flat bench press.

While it is true that some genetically gifted bodybuilders can develop very balanced (meaning all areas of the chest, from lower to inner to outer to upper to all areas in between) chest development from just doing flat benches, most of us, myself included, see more in the way of middle and lower pec development from doing flat benches.

Of course, some people see very little growth at all in their pecs from benching, with most of the growth coming in the form of well developed triceps and front delts—and while muscle growth is muscle growth, most people want chest growth for their benching efforts, not growth in the aforementioned body parts.

ENTER THE INCLINE PRESS

Do you know what exercise was the number one choice for most people looking to build up their upper bodies’ back-in-the-day? (the 50’s and 60’s)

If you guessed the flat bench press—you must step to the back of the line.

However, if you guessed the over head press with a barbell—go to the front of the class you are correct.

O.K.

You might be thinking, what does the over head press have to do with building a massive chest, after all I thought it was primarily a shoulder exercise.

You are correct, it is, however, just like the over head press fell out of favor, another exercise, that never quite reached a high level of use—ranks as a better over-all upper body—and chest builder than the flat bench.

The exercise I am referring to is the incline press done with a barbell or dumbbells.

Why?

Truthfully it comes down to a number of things: First, unlike the flat bench, the incline press requires stricter form which helps prevent injuries. Second, it works those all important upper pecs, which ranks up there with the most neglected of body parts. Third, the incline press carries over far greater on the athletic field than does the flat bench press.

SOME POINTS

The incline press done with either a barbell or dumbbells is a great way to build your upper chest—however please don’t be overly concerned with how much weight you can lift, especially if you haven’t tried this exercise before.

Always remember, your goal as a bodybuilder is to work your muscles (in this case the upper pecs) hard enough so that they must grow—NOT to see how much weight you can get from point A to point B.

Also, if you have any shoulder discomfort from using a barbell, try giving dumbbells a go.

THE ROUTINE

In the beginning stick with the tried-and-true 5 x 5 program (that’s five sets of five reps per set, for a total of twenty five reps) and really learn or re learn how to do the lift properly.

After you’ve got the form down—then you can worry about changing rep schemes and adding weight.

One point, the incline press requires stricter form that the flat bench, so you might have to swallow your ego a bit and go down in weight more than you’d like—but remember your muscles don’t know how much weight is on the bar.

A TIP

Lower the barbell or dumbbells slowly to your chest and then pause for a couple of seconds before pressing the bar or dumbbells back up.

You want your upper chest taking the brunt of the work, not other muscles.

NUTRITION BASICS

As good as the incline barbell or dumbbell press is for building the upper pecs not much will come from all your hard work if you are not eating correctly.

If you are looking to gain mass—combine the above exercise with other big lifts like squats, dead lifts, and bent over rows, etc.—make sure your are getting one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (so if you weigh one hundred and fifty pounds you would take in one hundred and fifty grams of protein) from sources like, lean beef, chicken, turkey, and eggs.

Up next are plenty of high quality carbs like oatmeal (preferably steel cut oats) brown rice, yams, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Along with this take in good fats from fatty fish like sardines, nuts, seeds and a good quality fish oil supplement.

A WORD ON POST WORKOUT NUTRITION

You see ads all over the magazines touting amazing sounding products.

However, lets cut the baloney, while some of those products are great, tons of quality muscle has been built over the years with nothing but good old fashioned hard work and good quality food.

No secret ingredients, no hype.

So please if you can’t afford those expensive post-workout (or any supplements for that matter) supplements don’t worry about it, just take in a good quality meal like white meat chicken and white rice after your workout (as you don’t want to much fat and fiber in your post workout meal as this will slow absorption) and you will be fine.

CONCLUSION

Honestly, I know if you give the incline barbell or dumbbell press an honest try, not only will you be well on your way to building another part of your X Frame Physique—

You might have to buy new shirts to make room for all of your new chest size!

Until Next Time

NEVER QUIT

There has been a lot of talk on the forums and in one of the major muscle magazines about which diet is better, the low or no carb diet, or dieting with carbs.

For me, personally I have always been a low carb guy.

Why?

Simple.

I gave the carb thing a try and it did not work for me.

And this is the main point of this post—regardless of if you are into low carbs no carbs or carbs—the best thing you can do is try everything and see how it works for you.

Reading about the benefits of low carbs is great, but if you never try it, how can you really know for sure if it works—for you.

Heck, you might feel wonderful on low carbs—but then again you might feel terrible—but you would have never known this fact if you didn’t try it.

Same goes for different methods of training, some people can gain doing singles and while this approach might look goofy or appear to be without merit—the only thing that counts is that this method works for that particular person.

So even though it might go against all you thought you knew about building muscle—lets say the next time you go stale on a routine—you think back to that guy you saw doing singles—and give them a shot.

Hey the worst thing that can happen is that they don’t work for you—no big deal—lesson learned and you move on.

SOME POINTS

One thing most people forget is that the body is always changing, so you know that super mass gaining routine that you did when you were eighteen—well now that you are thirty five it just might not work anymore.

Same goes for your nutrition—you know that all day pig-out fest you’ve been having for years on Tuesday—worked great up until six months ago—again your body could have changed.

A WORD ON LOW CARBS

As long as I brought up the low carb, no carb, and carb debate, I might as well chime in with my two cents.

Honestly, I feel that most people eat way too many carbs—for the reason being that most people’s lifestyles are VERY sedentary.

Even if you lift weights hard for an hour four days per week, the rest of the time you might be sitting at a desk somewhere eight or more hours per day.

There are exceptions of course, the guy who busts-his-but in the gym four days per week and has a physical job eight hours per day will obviously need more carbs (and calories) than the rest of us.

However, for the most part, I think people (after getting the O.K. from their doctor or health care provider) would do better on a lower carb diet.

To me though, there is a limit, the whole no carb or trace carb diet, where the only carbs that are found in the diet are the ones found in nuts and seeds and vegetables—for example—is pushing it WAY too far.

People will only stick to something that they can live with and I don’t think too many people can live with the no carb thing—for very long anyway.

O.K.

That ends my rant on the carb debate.

CONCLUSION

Trying new things can be hard, but if you don’t try you will never know.

So the next time you are at a loss for a new way to train—how about having the courage to try something out-of-the-ordinary.

Who knows, you might just discover a new favorite way to train.

Until Next Time

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

I love bodybuilding as much as anybody—I love the pump—the all-out effort it takes to get that one-last-rep—basically I love bodybuilding.

But.

One thing I do not believe I have ever seen talked about in any magazine or online forum is training for the mind.

I am not talking about mental rehearses of workouts.

What I am talking about is making sure you are well rounded outside of the gym.

Sounds kind of strange, however, it really isn’t.

I know myself; I am always flipping through a muscle magazine or reading a book about bodybuilding.

But what about other topics—I love reading about the Amazon rain forest, for example.

And, I will be totally honest, I check out tons of material, I do not always finish every book that I start—but I like to read and do not mind looking at a vast array of material.

Sure I am partial to books on bodybuilding, training or nutrition—but I realize that there is more to life than a steady diet of bodybuilding magazines.

CONCLUSION

Bodybuilding is more than just a hobby to me—it is a lifestyle—but I realize that I need to keep my brain sharp by reading about a wide variety of topics.

So the next time you are out-and-about, stop in at your local library and take a look around—you may not find something that you like as much as bodybuilding—

But you never know.

Until Next Time

KEEP YOUR MIND SHARP

I must admit that I find it kind of funny when I read the muscle mags today.

Not because they do not give good info, no, because they do in fact, they give tons of great information.

What I find funny is when the current crop of today’s top professional bodybuilders and top amateur bodybuilders talk about using free weights.

It is almost like it is some kind of revelation or something.

That is why I titled this post what I did, because back in the fifties, sixties, and seventies bodybuilders did not have all of the fancy equipment they have now, but that was O.K. because they all knew what worked.

Hard work on the basics, like bent over rows, squats, and dead lifts.

Then we got distracted by the fancy machines and the high carb diets and got away from what always works—hard work on the basics and plenty of protein.

And now it seems that the new breed of bodybuilder is finding out what so many already knew back then—if you want to improve your back—train it hard and heavy (relatively speaking of course) with the basics like chins/pull-ups, dead lifts, and all forms of rowing and it cannot help but improve.

Of course, the same goes for just about any body part.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not against machines because they have their place, however, they should be used as more of a finisher than a main exercise.

I guess it is true what they say—the more things change the more they stay the same.

TRAIN HARD!

I little while back I read a training article about current Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson and in the article he said something very important.

He said that whenever he feels a little twinge when training he takes a week sometimes two weeks off from training and he never has had a major injury.

Please don’t quote me on the above statement as I am doing it from memory so I doubt that is EXACTLY what he said. However it is what he does when he feels a twinge somewhere:

HE TAKES OFF FROM TRAINING!

Yes, I know most of you can’t even think of taking a week off from training (I agree as I can’t imagine it either) let alone two—however think about this for a minute, Mr. Jackson has been a professional bodybuilder for a long time and has steadily moved up the ladder and now he is Mr. O.

So I think he is worth listening to.

Plus, consider the alternative—if you continue to “push through it” and boom you tear something—I think your training will be disrupted for way more than two weeks.

So the next time you just ground out ten hard reps in the squat and something in your right quad just does not feel right—consider ending your workout right then—you might just prevent a minor ding from turning into a major injury.

STAY SMART