Get a hulk-like chest with these simple exercises

Arnold knew how to build a big, muscular, hulk-like chest, and after reading this article you will too!

You wouldn’t believe how many questions I get each and every week about chest exercises!

Everyone wants to build a bigger chest… and many trainees put in the hard work at the gym… but just aren’t seeing the results they REALLY want. So if you’re not satisified with this area of your anatomy  (and for everyone who wants to know “what’s your secret, Caleb?”) I’m going to provide a little useful, yet easily digestible and actionable information with this article. With that said, here are a few of my favorite chest exercises.

Basic Chest muscle info:

First, I’d like to share a little general information for the newbies out there (hello and welcome!)…

Your chest muscles consist of the Pectoralis major and minor – the familiar term “pecs” is short for this. The Pectoralis major attaches to the arms and clavicles; the minor is a thinner, roughly triangular shaped muscle which is beneath the Pectoralis major.

What I’ll do is start with the upper chest exercises and we’ll work our way down from there — sound good playa?

The Exercises for your upper chest:

Two exercises that have solidified their place in the “tool chest of effective upper chest exercises are Flyes and push-ups because they are very effective for building this part of your chest. Without further ado:

1. Inclined Dumbbell Flyes – Start by Lying flat on your back on an incline bench. Take a dumbbell for each hand (if you have a spotter, have them hand those to you). Gripping one in each hand (duh!) and with your palms facing each other… raise the dumbbells up towards each other, meeting over your head. Then you want to squeeze your pecs for a one count (really squeeze em!) while the dumbbells are at their peak. Lower the weights under control and repeat as many times as you can.
2. Declined Push-Ups – Your feet will be elevated by resting on a low bench; otherwise this movement is the exact same exercise as a regular pushup. Keep in mind, that with push-ups, you always want to keep your back as straight as possible. Also, be sure to vary your hand widths for the best possible results.

Exercises for the middle of your chest:

There’s a lot of different exercises for the middle chest, but here’s my favorite because it’s good for bodybuilding newcomers and pros alike.

1. Dips: these are pretty much my favorite exercise for building the mid-chest. I’ll explain using a set of dip bars (even though (any two parallel surfaces off the ground and parallel to it will do as well), raise yourself to straight arm height with knees bent and legs crossed at the ankle below you. Lower yourself with control, leaning slightly forward (you should feel it in your mid-chest) until your chest touches the bar and then return to your starting position. Repeat as many times as you can.

Now the final part of the chest – the lower chest.

This is a variation on the bench press – something which I KNOW you know how to do, but this is even more beneficial to the lower chest.

1. Declined Barbell Bench Press – Essentially, this is like any bench press – grip a little wider than the width of your shoulders, lower slowly and carefully. It’s OK to touch the bar to your chest when doing a bench press in this position – but of course as with any bench press exercise, make sure you have a spotter at all times. Repeat as many times as you can.

There ya have it! Effective exercises you can use to build your very own hulk like chest. Don’t forget, even if you just want to build up your chest, it’s important to exercise your entire body for optimum hormonal response so your chest muscles grow. See my article on how to build a big chest and big arms by working your legs for the reasons why.

Tagged as: build muscle fast, muscle building