Read This Before Your Next Chest Day

I wrote this for all you bro-splitters and heavy chest hitters looking to take your chest gains to the next level. Before you lumber into the gym like a rhino ready to charge the bench station, read this article first.

#chesticles #manslabs #pecsfordays #allthegains

The following two tips are simple but effective. They will help you choose better exercises and make the most out of every set.

Related: 4 Chest Workouts for Mass and Strength

So instead of just making gains this week, change your attitude, refine your training, and make some serious GAINZZZZ.

2 Chest Day Tips

Tip #1 - Use the Chest Day Lift Food Chain

Food chain? Intra-workout protein bars and meal replacement shakes? Nada. We're talking exercise selection here. It's important that you start with the big hitters. Compound movements such as bench press or incline bench press.

Attack your chest right out of the gate with movements that are hard and heavy. It's best to utilize these movements when you are fresh, so your strength levels are pegged and you are capable of using the best possible exercise form.

Most of us do this anyway, right? So after the big lift, what next? Here's what's next...

• Lift #1 - The Big Hitter. Heavy Compound movement such as bench, incline bench, or dumbbell bench.
• Lift #2 - The Little Hitter. A more moderate compound movement such as dumbbell bench press, guillotine press, or challenging movements such as chest dips.
• Lift #3 - The Thrasher. Now that your chest is pretty much toast, it's time for something a little lighter. Think machine chest press here, or push ups for as many reps as possible. These are still compound-style movements, but we have moved away from barbells and dumbbells.
• Lift #4 - The Isolation. Isolation exercise time. Pec dec. Dumbbell flyes. Cable crossovers. Pick your favorite and focus on a good contraction and solid form. Pump up those pectacular chesticulations!
• Lift #5 - The Finisher. Here we will thrash the chest and pump it into oblivion before leaving the gym. Run the stack. Rest-pause training. High rep destruction. There are many ways to finish off your pecs. I will provide an example below.

Tip #2 - Make Every Set Count

Forget set quantity and volume. What good does it to kill your chest with set after set if you're not making each effort count? When you maximize every set, you maximize every workout. when you maximize every workout, you maximize the muscle and strength building process.

How do you make every set count? Here's how...

Push each set for as many reps as possible, stopping that set under only two conditions:

1. You feel like your form is slipping. No sloppy reps. Live to fight another day by reducing your chance of injury.
2. You feel like you might fail on the next rep. No need to push a set to failure and get sloppy. Focus on quality progress, but not at the expense of beating up your body.

Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, "Always go all-out in every set. Don't save yourself for the next set. That's a mistake that a lot of people make. Every rep and every set must be done with intensity because each one is propelling you toward your goals."

Stop saving yourself. By making every set count you won't need high volume training. After about 10 to 12 sets you'll be ready to call it a day because you're doing real work and making real gains.

A Better Chest Day Workout

Now that we have established these important rules and created a foundation, let's look at a few workout options for your next chest day.

• Option #1 - Bench Brawl (Bro Split)
• Option #2 - Incline Beat Down (Bro Split)
• Option #3 - Upper/Lower Chest Destroyer
• Option #4 - Fullbody Chesticle Thrash

Option #1 - Bench Brawl Workout

• Bench Press - 4 sets x 4-6 reps
• Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Push Ups - 2 sets x AMAP reps
• Cable Crossovers - 2 sets x 12-15 reps
• Machine Press Finisher - Light Weight x as many reps as possible in 2 minutes, rest as needed.

Option #2 - Incline Beat Down Workout

• Paused Incline Bench Press - 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Machine Chest Press - 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Chest Dips - 2 sets x 20 reps, weighted if need be
• Incline Dumbbell Flyes - 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Pec Dec Run the Stack - Start with a light weight and work up in plates, performing 8 reps per set. Rest only long enough between sets to change the weight.

Option #3 - Upper/Lower Chest Destroyer Workout

If you are using an upper/lower workout, you will be training chest twice a week. Here are your two workouts.

Workout A

• Bench Press - 4 sets x 4-6 reps
• Push Ups - 2 sets x AMAP

Workout B

• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Cable Crossovers - 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Option #4 - Fullbody Chesticle Thrash Workout

We will be using an HLM approach here. One chest day is heavy, one light, and one moderate.

• Heavy - Bench Press - 4 sets x 4-6 reps
• Light - Cable Crossovers - 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Moderate - Machine Chest Press - 4 sets x 10-12 reps