Answers to common pectoral muscle problems (1): Insufficient thickness

Answers to common pectoral muscle problems (1): Not enough thickness

Thickness is the basic standard for the development of pectoral muscles. A very thin layer of pectoral muscles gives people the impression that they are very weak. We exercise pectoral muscles by increasing their thickness. Many people, especially primary fitness workers, have almost no progress in the chest circumference after a long period of exercise. For the same movement, you may ignore many details.

Things to note when increasing the thickness of pectoral muscles:

(1) Don’t always train according to the weight you are used to

    Once a set of movements exceeds 10-12 times, you should consider increasing the load. The adjustment mechanism of the human body is very special. If a load makes it uncomfortable, it will regulate the nervous system to store more energy so that it can be relatively easy to resolve the next time. In this cycle, the muscles can continue to thicken and become larger.

(2) Increase the amplitude of the movement as much as possible

 The amplitude of the movement plays a crucial role in increasing the thickness of any muscle. The larger the movement amplitude, the greater the degree of stretching and contracting of the muscle fibers, and the stronger the stimulation. The effect is naturally better than the movements with limited amplitude. Therefore, the amplitude of the bench press is as large as possible, and the dumbbell or barbell should be lowered to the lowest possible level.

(3) Do more upper body movements with large loads

such as deadlifts, standing posture presses, etc. While comprehensively improving the upper body circumference, the movements have a good promotion effect on thickening the chest muscles.

(4) Strengthening the strength training of the upper arm

Arm (upper arm), especially the strength of the triceps is a bottleneck that limits the further increase of your bench press strength. Without a large-weight bench press, the thickness of the pectoral muscles will be difficult to improve.

Two main movements for pectoral muscle thickening:

(1) Barbell flat bench press

In addition to the regular 8-12 exercises, high-weight training days should be arranged regularly, and high-weight or even overload should be used to break the body's adaptability. The movements are generally 4-6 times and the limit weight 1-3 times. The total number of groups is 8-10. The limit group is 2-3 groups, and the rest between groups is 1 and a half minutes. Then arrange one or two other movements. For example, incline bench press or flying bird, do 12-15 times, and finally do 1-2 sets of high-frequency (15-20 times). This can take into account the deep muscle fibers, make the muscles highly congested, and form a good effect that complements the heavy-weight training.

(2) Dumbbell bench press

In addition to the normal lifting and landing position, you can also deliberately put the dumbbell near the waist to enlarge the chest and stimulate the lower chest. Start to experience, adapt, and increase the weight accordingly after getting used to it. The lower limit is to do it about 8 times.

More questions about the pectoral muscles:

Common questions about the pectoral muscles (I): Insufficient thickness

Common questions about the pectoral muscles (II): Insufficient upper chest

Common questions about the pectoral muscles (II): Insufficient chest groove is not obvious

Common questions about the pectoral muscles (I): Insufficient chest cavity is not obvious

Common questions about the pectoral muscles (I): Insufficient chest muscle mass

Common questions about the pectoral muscles (VII): Insufficient chest fat falls