How to pump up your pectoral muscles with a barbell?

Many novice athletes are concerned with the question of how to pump up their pectoral muscles with a barbell as efficiently and quickly as possible. And this is in an age when more and more new simulators and even entire training complexes are appearing, and in theory the old grandfather’s equipment should have simply died out, like ancient dinosaurs.



Why exactly the barbell? Because it is a shortcut, exercises with this apparatus allow you to use significant weights, which leads to rapid gains in strength. And physiologists have long proven: if you want to add “mass”, increase strength. In addition, the barbell press is quite simple technically.

But thoughtless training, not supported by knowledge of theory, rarely leads to anything good. Only knowing exactly what to do can you start studying. I think it is for this purpose that you are reading these lines now. Well, let's get to it then...

How to properly train your chest.

1. Warm up thoroughly, sprinkle your palms with talcum powder or wear gloves to get a tight grip on the bar.
2. Determine your optimal grip by lying on the floor, spread your arms perpendicular to your body, and bend your elbows up at a right angle. This is the grip width you need.
3. Correct starting position: shoulder blades retracted, legs firmly resting on the floor, lower back slightly arched, buttocks do not leave the bench during movement.
4. Use a natural trajectory of movement: lower the weight from top to bottom onto your lower chest until it touches lightly, and without pausing, press the weight up toward your head until your arms are fully straightened.

The main technique for pumping up the pectoral muscles with a barbell is the bench press. It quickly increases muscle strength and stimulates their growth. But it is necessary to include incline presses in the complex to work out the entire volume of muscle fibers. So, an exercise on a bench with a positive inclination of 15-30 degrees perfectly pumps up the upper chest, but for this variation, experts recommend using a grip slightly narrower than usual. And to clearly define the lower chest, use a bench press with a slight negative incline.

Your pectoral muscle training complex should include 5-6 sets of horizontal and 4 sets of incline presses, and it is better to alternate the types of incline presses from workout to workout. The optimal number of repetitions for increasing muscle strength is 6.

Sometimes you can use a technique aimed solely at strength indicators, when the barbell lingers on the chest for a couple of seconds and then is squeezed upward with an explosive, quick movement. Also periodically use the following athletic principles:

1. partial iterations,
2. one and a half iterations,
3. Platun's principle
4. forced repetitions,
5. and negative repetitions.

With the help of all these chips, it will be much easier to pump up the muscle group in question, however, such methods are more suitable for experienced bodybuilders who have already achieved something in iron sports. It is not recommended for green beginners to use all this. They work in a classic style. This is already enough for them. Beginners need to increase their training load gradually so that their muscles and tendons become stronger for lifting heavy weights. And remember the importance of regular exercise, be sure to do 2 workouts on the chest muscles per week, this will allow you to pump up this group in an extremely short time.