Foundational Chest Training Part 2

What you absolutely need to know for building huge pecs.

- Vince DelMonte

When it comes to training pecs, the difference between progress and wasting your time will be in understanding the fundamentals. This second part of this article was written not to be the final word on chest training but to clarify the essentials—and most importantly to separate fact from fiction.

Inner/Outer Pecs

One mistake during exercise selection is the belief that certain movements can emphasize inner or outer pecs. This misguided notion was perpetuated due to the fact that some exercises can give the feeling that certain fibers are under more stress than others. The most rational explanation for this phenomenon is that many exercises, even those that look almost identical on the surface, offer variable resistance profiles. For example, most chest flye machines offer far more resistance near the end of the shortened part of the range of motion (ROM) versus lying dumbbell flyes, which are far heavier during the lengthened (or “bottom”) part of the ROM. This can lead to a much different muscular sensation based on where most of the resistance is located relative to the muscles. In truth, because inner and outer pec fibers run parallel to each other, it is a mechanical impossibility to separate the function of one fiber on the inside to another on the outside.

Incline Versus Decline

Of significant importance to training pecs is ensuring variations of resistance by changing the plane of the load relative to your shoulder joint. This is most commonly accomplished by inclining or declining a bench or changing the line of the resistance using cables in standing or seated variations.