Pectoral Exercises: Advanced Pex Exercise Tips
By Myprotein Writer Apoorv Kumar Upadhyay
For advanced, I mean those guys who have been lifting for more than one year. Now you understand what workout affects what part. And if you didn’t already you should now.
Since you have been working out for 1 year now, you might be able to isolate the weak parts in your pec development. For some it’s the upper pecs and for some it’s the lower pecs. However advanced you are you should still follow the rules and tips below:
1. Warm up
Perform push-ups before and after your workout. Push ups are real chest builder. Personally I feel great stretch on doing exercises post push ups.
2. Start with Exercises of the Weaker Muscles
If a body part is lagging in development , train it first . If asepcific area of the chest is lagging , try to incorporate 2 different exercises – One with barbell , another with dumbbell. Keep a maximum of 6 sets for both the exercises.
3. Try to go to Failure
Count your repetitions only when it start to pain. Failure is a condition in which your muscles have given up and you can’t perform even a single rep after that. Going till failure impacts deep on the muscle development.
4. Reduce your Rest Period
Don’t cool off in between your sets . Minimise rest time. Maximum rest timing should be between 30- 60 seconds.
5. Lift Heavy
Don’t stick to the same weight. Your body gets used to it. Every week keep on adding at least one pound to what you did last week.
6. Incorporate Drop Sets
Drop set is a set in which you keep on decreasing weights after doing few reps. Start with a heavy weight, after 3-4 reps , decrease it by 30% and keep on doing that until you finish 12-15 reps. You would notice that you might not be able to lift even the lightest weight for 3 reps and would be sweating like anything. Incorporate drop set as your last set and use it for the part that’s lagging.
7. Try training the Chest Two Times a Week
Many people might be doing this In their fitness regime. I would advise you to train your chest , if its weak , two times a week , maintaining at least 72 hours of gap .
8. Incorporate a Pre Workout Supplement to Ease Lifting
Take a pre workout for helping you to lift weights.
9. Get a Spotter
Go for assistance in your ending reps if the weight is very heavy. This is also for your safety.
10. Perform with Proper Form
Maintain a strict posture for your workouts. Angles: Keep changing the angles of the bench for hitting every pec part effectively.
11. Eat well, sleep well be happy, keep the supplement stack ready.
SAMPLE WORKOUT FOR INTERMEDIATE LIFTERS
Exercise | Instructions |
Push ups (100 in number )Incline Barbell /bench pressIncline leverage machine pressFlat barbell /dumbbell bench press
Flat Flies
Double bar
Decline barbell /bench press
Bent arm pullover |
5 sets consisting of sets for incline , flat and decline push ups.3 sets (15 , 12, 8 ,8) – Angle the bench to 15 degrees and 30 degrees for 2 sets each respectively.
3 sets (10, 10,10)
4 sets : ( 15,12,10,8)
3 sets ( 15,12,10,8)
3 sets (15,15,15) – Use your body weight : Please warm up your shoulders before doing this . Maintain a strict posture . Squeeze your chest while coming up for maximum effect. Take care that you are working for your chest and triceps and shoulders are secondary muscles.
3 sets(15,12,10)
3 sets ( 20 , 20 ,20) |
Remember
Please shuffle the exercise based on your weak area. I would like to restress that perform exercises for the weak part first and try to incorporate two different exercises with a max of 6 sets in total (3 each) for maximum results.Top Tip
Use barbell and dumbbell on alternate chest days. Monday you might workout with barbell but on Thursday you would like to go with dumbbell and machines.
FURTHER ADVICE FOR ADVANCED LIFTERS
You might be working out for 5+ years now. You would have developed a very muscular physique with your body fat levels going beyond 10 % in peak season.
I have a very small but useful advice for you. Its regarding Plateaus. Most of the bodybuilders experience this . After few years they see very minimal muscle growth . That’s a frustrating situation right .
But that’s the body anatomy. Researches have shown that the maximum amount of muscle growth is in the first year of lifting and it keeps on decreasing over the year.
You might be training like a beast. 2 body parts a day twice a week , eating like a mammoth and you know every small aspect of bodybuilding , how to hit the weak parts of the body .
1:Incorporate changes in your workout
The bench press is not working well for you since 1 month, try replacing it with some machine or dumbbell ? Do it and observe for two weeks for any gains.
2: Increase the intensity
Load the barbell with the heaviest weight and see the difference . You might not be able to perform 3 sets but what if doing only 2 super heavy sets is giving you results?
3:Try Deloading
Deloading is the process of taking a week or 2 off from your workouts . You are not exposing your muscles to any workouts . Muscles will get used to it and when you hit them again , they would show some growth signs.
4: Incorporate Drop Sets and Compound Sets
Try these techniques : Compound set involves working out two exercises for the same muscle group continuously before taking rest.
5: Try making changes in your diet.
6: If possible go for deep tissue message and hot steam bath and other muscle relaxing techniques.
Our articles should be used for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you're concerned, consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or introducing any major changes to your diet.