Back to the Basics: Chest Day
If you are familiar with working out, then you know how important chest day is to most men. Ladies, I see you too! I remember when there was a time when I walked into the gym on a Monday, and I would see every living creature inside working out their chest. Why? For many reasons of course.
A few of those reasons are the thrill of maxing out and being able to please the masses with a shirtless body. Another reason is that it is a staple muscle. It’s like having an identifier to let people know you’re fit so to speak. However, getting to a good physique takes time and a lot of discipline. Optimizing your workouts with beneficial exercises will most likely land you with results.
Whether you are familiar with working out, these exercises are always great to perform for maximum results. So, without further delay, let’s get you started with the ultimate guide for chest day. Let’s start with the zones in the chest.
Zones in the Chest
There are 4 zones in the chest area. You have the upper area, the middle area, and the lower. But wait, there is one more area to add to those three that I believe deserves more respect. The inner chest, or as I like to call it, the valley. The valley area is the crease in the middle of your chest that separates both sides of the chest area.
Exercising these are crucial for reaching your personal records on the flat bench, increasing the visibility of muscle, and having an awesome physique for men and women. Targeting all areas increases the variety of exercises that can be performed as well, making it easier to keep from plateauing on this specific day.
Now that we’ve covered the target areas, let’s talk about the best exercises. This will help guide you in the direction you need to go regarding hitting those target areas. Most of all, you will most like reach your goals by planning your workouts more effectively.
The Upper Chest Area
To build the upper chest you must target what activates those muscles. In most cases, adding an incline to your position will most likely target that area. For example, doing an incline bench press or an incline dumbbell press will target the upper chest. However, if you want to target the upper chest via push-ups, you will do a decline push-up. For optimal results for targeting the upper chest, incorporate the following exercises in your chest day routine:
Incline Bench Press | Incline Dumbbell Press | Incline Close Grip Bench Press | Decline Push-Ups | Incline Close Grip Dumbbell Press
The Mid Chest Area
The mid-chest area is the most traditional area to target. If you know your way around the gym, then I’m sure you have done at least half of the mid-chest exercises. The mid-chest area is most popular due to the highlight of most gym goers who thrive off hitting their personal record on flat bench press (arguably behind deadlifts). However, you are most likely to grow your mid-chest area by doing the following exercises:
Flat Bench Press | Flat Bench Dumbbell Press | Push-Ups | Chest Press Machine
Lower Chest Area
The lower chest area is probably the most unpopular area for most gymgoers. However, real gym goers know that the lower chest area is vital to a nice chest piece. On chest days, many may think that working a flat bench or the incline may provide the sleek line underneath. It is the lower chest muscles that provide the look. To maximize this area, try incorporating the following:
Decline Bench Press | Incline Push-Ups | Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
Decline Bench Press Machine
Inner Chest (The Valley)
This zone of your chest is important to a strong and ascetically pleasing pec area. This zone also happens to be one of my favorite zones to work beside the upper zone. If you want to increase the striations in your pecs, you don’t want to skip this zone. When building this area, you are not only looking to just increase your strength. When working this area, you are focusing muscle-mind connection and balancing your stabilizers. This is important not only for strength purposes but also to help strengthen another area of your chest and shoulders. To optimize your inner chest zone, try incorporating a few of these exercises into your routine:
Flat Bench Dumbbell Fly | Standing Cable Fly | Machine Chest Fly
Incline Bench Dumbbell Fly | Bent Over Cable Fly
Enjoying this article? Checkout:
“Maximize Shoulder Gains: Top Exercises for Building Deltoids”
Conclusion
The chest is such a staple muscle when it comes to fitness. It is a great feat to have sculpted a great chest. However, understanding the 4 zones is key to shaping a great chest. Taking time to focus on the different zone will show proven results next time you decide how to rearrange your chest routine. Keep in mind going forward in your gym exercises, mostly all other body parts also have multiple zones. So now that you have an understanding of the 4 zones, let’s get to work! After all, nothing works unless you do! Bless.
