Building a BIGGER Chest

While the squat is the king of leg exercises, the bench press is the king of chest exercises.

Much like the squat, one reason that the bench press is king is because it is a multi-joint exercise that uses in addition to the chest, the deltoids, the triceps, the lats, and many more muscle groups like the abs and legs even. This allows you to use more weight, which places more overload on the pecs, and that encourages greater muscle growth. Using heavier weight also helps to boost testosterone levels, and as you likely know, test is one of the more critical anabolic hormones that stimulates muscle growth. Using multiple muscle groups has also been shown to lead to greater levels of growth hormone (GH) during the workout. And like test, GH is also a critical anabolic hormone for encouraging muscle growth.

Yet while every guy interested in putting on leg size makes sure to squat, few guys interested in putting on chest size actually bench press. And this is likely why few guys have a decent chest. Why has the bench press become the most underutilized chest exercise out there?

There are a few reasons for this.

The one reason most responsible for this injustice is that many high level bodybuilders, and so-called "experts" have incorrectly claimed that the bench press is a poor exercise for developing the chest. Many feel that the dumbbell bench press is a much better option for stimulating muscle growth. It's uncertain why this is, but what is certain is that research has shown the opposite to be true – that the bench press is one of the best exercises for activating the most muscle fibers in the chest.

In fact, one study from the Weider Research Group found that the bench press stimulated significantly more muscle fibers in the pecs than the dumbbell bench press. And the more muscle fibers you utilize, the greater the overall muscle size you can build a muscle group, such as the pecs. Plus, the bench press is the chest exercise that allows you to use the most weight. In fact, another study performed by the Weider Research Group found that in trained bodybuilders, they were able to barbell bench press an average of at least 15% more than they could bench press with dumbbells. This allows you to place the most overload on your pecs, and more overload translates into more muscle growth over the long run.

Give me more Proof!

Another reason that few guys bench press is similar to the reason above, it involves "experts" and bodybuilders misinforming people about the bench press. In this case, the misinformation being given is that the bench press is a dangerous exercise that causes shoulder injuries. Yes, if you perform the bench press as many bodybuilders think you have to for developing the chest, you will likely injure your shoulders.

This incorrect and dangerous technique involves using a very wide grip on the bar and lowering the bar to the upper chest so that the elbows flair straight out to the sides and the upper arms are completely perpendicular (forming a 90 degree angle) to the torso in the bottom position of the bench press. As discussed in TK (Bob - I'm referring them to the section on bench press form), in the bottom position of the bench press, the upper arms should form about a 45-60 degree angle with the torso. This is not only the best way to bench press for

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