Targeting middle of chest

[badcar]

Hi y'all,

I've been doing the standard pec exercises-flat bench, inclines, incline flies, cable crossovers, but want to target the middle chest ( where left meets right as opposed to higher or lower).

Anyone got any tips or favorite exercises for this?

cheers.

[Mrbig]

ther is no such thing az the middle chest all you have is your chest and everyone has different muscle shapes so just lift heavy with good form and your chest will be how it is you cant change the shape of a muscle its called ANATOMY

[Daniil]

ther is no such thing az the middle chest all you have is your chest and everyone has different muscle shapes so just lift heavy with good form and your chest will be how it is you cant change the shape of a muscle its called ANATOMY

Negative.

For hitting the inside chest, do Cable Crossovers. But don't stop where your hands meet — go further, and each rep a different hand should go over another (hope it makes sense).

Also Flys with holding contraction on top for several seconds. And close grip Bench Press as well.

[Quigley]

And close grip Bench Press as well.

Isn't that for the triceps? :?

[Bobsta]

And close grip Bench Press as well.

Isn't that for the triceps? :?

You dont use as a close a grip as you would for tri's, shoulder width grip would be about right, but you have to squeeze the hell outa your pecs up top at full contraction ( realy bunch them up together)

One arm cable flyes where you focus on contraction and you continue the movement until your hand is almost directly in front of your opposite shoulder would be a good one too.

[Optimass]

I'm with Mr Big > Your chest has a shape ... chest is my nemesis bodypart on account of my torso being quite long/wide. Means it is going to take long to get the "Thickness" you are looking for in your chest.

In saying that the best results I have had are from...

flat d/b flies > really pulling the shoulder blades together with a 1-2 second hold at the bottom of the ecentric contraction and then emphasising the concentric conctration at the top. (like Danill - although going further wouldn't give any extra benefit ... I always say "squeeze a pea between your pecs at the top" - so I guess if you have to go further to do that then it's all good)

d/b pullovers > Arnold Styles > must do a slow eccentric and make sure your hips a pressed down below the line of the bench at the bottom of the movement.

Chest focused dips > Like a normal dip but you lift your knees up under your chest which forces you body to pitch forward engaging more chest - as the dipping bars are generally shoulder width this makes for a strong contraction.

and closer grip bench press > occasionally will do these decline - but I'm not really a big fan of declines really as they hit fibres in the same way as flat bench anyway and I do include dips in my scheduling.

[Mrbig]

optimass look at your avatar properly im sorry but thea is no middle chest not even an upper or lower google sum pics of different bbers pecs and you will see what im talking about just get your chest az big az possible

[Optimass]

optimass look at your avatar properly im sorry but thea is no middle chest not even an upper or lower google sum pics of different bbers pecs and you will see what im talking about just get your chest az big az possible

Yeah I wasn't dissagreeing big fella .... was mearly offering what exercises I have found really good for thickness.

[shruglife]

There are different muscles within your Chest that can be activated to a greater degree by doing certain exercises but as for targeting a certain region (i.e. Inner Chest) of a particular muscle I don't believe it's possible. It is possible to place greater emphasis on a particular muscle within a muscle group however i.e. the Clavicular Head (Upper Chest) or Sternal Head (Main Chest) by doing Incline Bench Press or Flat Bench Press. However in certain cases such as the Biceps Brachii the Long Head and the Short Head can't be targeted because the muscles stem from the same attachment site. There is so much contradictory information out there you have to make sure the source you get the info from is reliable.

http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html is a very reliable site, all it's information is backed up by anatomical fact, not opinion.

[Daniil]

Look and Franco Columbu's clear separation of upper and middle pectorals.

If you deny the separation, then per your logic there's no front, side, and rear delts, there are just delts.

[shruglife]

I'm with Mr Big >

In saying that the best results I have had are from...

flat d/b flies > really pulling the shoulder blades together with a 1-2 second hold at the bottom of the ecentric contraction and then emphasising the concentric conctration at the top. (like Danill - although going further wouldn't give any extra benefit ... I always say "squeeze a pea between your pecs at the top" - so I guess if you have to go further to do that then it's all good)

d/b pullovers > Arnold Styles > must do a slow eccentric and make sure your hips a pressed down below the line of the bench at the bottom of the movement.

Chest focused dips > Like a normal dip but you lift your knees up under your chest which forces you body to pitch forward engaging more chest - as the dipping bars are generally shoulder width this makes for a strong contraction.

and closer grip bench press > occasionally will do these decline - but I'm not really a big fan of declines really as they hit fibres in the same way as flat bench anyway and I do include dips in my scheduling.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4658&p=86523&hilit=fascia#p86523 After just reading this thread it is interesting to see you think Flys and Pullovers have given you a lot of chest growth.

As for doing Flat Bench as opposed to Decline Bench, if these to exercises hit the Chest in the same way wouldn't Decline Bench be preferable since it allows you to press more weight and consequently overload the Chest more? I have no opinion I'm simply interested in your rebuttal since you have experience. I myself never really do Decline Bench but if it places your body in a biomechanically more favorable position than Flat Bench, surely it is superior for overloading your Chest given it targets the Chest in the same way as Flat Bench?

[shruglife]

Look and Franco Columbu's clear separation of upper and middle pectorals.

If you deny the separation, then per your logic there's no front, side, and rear delts, there are just delts.

I don't think anyone has said there is no such thing as a Sternal and Clavicular Head to the Pectoralis Major, the thread is titled "Targeting middle of chest"...

[Daniil]

I don't think anyone has said there is no such thing as a Sternal and Clavicular Head to the Pectoralis Major, the thread is titled "Targeting middle of chest"...

thea is no middle chest not even an upper or lower

[shruglife]

I don't think anyone has said there is no such thing as a Sternal and Clavicular Head to the Pectoralis Major, the thread is titled "Targeting middle of chest"...

thea is no middle chest not even an upper or lower

I agree that the Upper and Lower Chest can not be fully isolated from one another but greater emphasis can be placed on the Clavicular Head by doing Incline Bench Press as opposed to Flat/Decline.

[Lazarus]

Even though the pectorial is just one muscle you can target the inner, outer, upper and lower sections development wise. This is necessary for when it comes to weak point training but is also a big part in complete pectorial development. But of course some people are luckier than others genetically and can get impressive results through just the likes of the trusty bench press.

[Mrbig]

Look and Franco Columbu's clear separation of upper and middle pectorals.

If you deny the separation, then per your logic there's no front, side, and rear delts, there are just delts.

what you have pictured is franco who is very lean and wat appears to be seperation between and upper and lower pec but if this were true then weas the middle pec az you say exists the pec major has 3 origins the sternum,clavicle,ribs but only one insertion point the anterior proximal humerus but if you look at an anatomy picture you will see the fibres run in different directions which looks like different parts of the muscle but you cant target a area of a muscle because when put underload all the fibres have to fire and contract so no matter what chest exercise your doing its still working the entire pec but remember that your muscles only respond to load they cant count so the more weight the better so unless your doing 100kg cable crossovers ur wasting ur time. and for the delts yes there only delts but the delts have 3 heads front,middle,rear which again only have one insertion point so if you think you can build your inner middle pec then go ahead and do it but why bother doing a benchpress in the first place

[Bobsta]

Look and Franco Columbu's clear separation of upper and middle pectorals.

If you deny the separation, then per your logic there's no front, side, and rear delts, there are just delts.

what you have pictured is franco who is very lean and wat appears to be seperation between and upper and lower pec but if this were true then weas the middle pec az you say exists the pec major has 3 origins the sternum,clavicle,ribs but only one insertion point the anterior proximal humerus but if you look at an anatomy picture you will see the fibres run in different directions which looks like different parts of the muscle but you cant target a area of a muscle because when put underload all the fibres have to fire and contract so no matter what chest exercise your doing its still working the entire pec but remember that your muscles only respond to load they cant count so the more weight the better so unless your doing 100kg cable crossovers ur wasting ur time. and for the delts yes there only delts but the delts have 3 heads front,middle,rear which again only have one insertion point so if you think you can build your inner middle pec then go ahead and do it but why bother doing a benchpress in the first place

This is exactly why changing the angle of your press would emphesize different part of the pecs regardless of the fact its all one muscle!!

You dont believe me try this: Don't train your chest for a couple of weeks then go do a workout doing nothing but incline dumbell presses and tell me a couple of days later where you feel sore, I bet it will be mostly the upper pec area. If not you didnt do your inclines properly

[Mrbig]

Look and Franco Columbu's clear separation of upper and middle pectorals.

If you deny the separation, then per your logic there's no front, side, and rear delts, there are just delts.

what you have pictured is franco who is very lean and wat appears to be seperation between and upper and lower pec but if this were true then weas the middle pec az you say exists the pec major has 3 origins the sternum,clavicle,ribs but only one insertion point the anterior proximal humerus but if you look at an anatomy picture you will see the fibres run in different directions which looks like different parts of the muscle but you cant target a area of a muscle because when put underload all the fibres have to fire and contract so no matter what chest exercise your doing its still working the entire pec but remember that your muscles only respond to load they cant count so the more weight the better so unless your doing 100kg cable crossovers ur wasting ur time. and for the delts yes there only delts but the delts have 3 heads front,middle,rear which again only have one insertion point so if you think you can build your inner middle pec then go ahead and do it but why bother doing a benchpress in the first place

This is exactly why changing the angle of your press would emphesize different part of the pecs regardless of the fact its all one muscle!!

You dont believe me try this: Don't train your chest for a couple of weeks then go do a workout doing nothing but incline dumbell presses and tell me a couple of days later where you feel sore, I bet it will be mostly the upper pec area. If not you didnt do your inclines properly

read the bold

[Bobsta]

read the bold

[Optimass]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4658&p=86523&hilit=fascia#p86523 After just reading this thread it is interesting to see you think Flys and Pullovers have given you a lot of chest growth.

As for doing Flat Bench as opposed to Decline Bench, if these to exercises hit the Chest in the same way wouldn't Decline Bench be preferable since it allows you to press more weight and consequently overload the Chest more? I have no opinion I'm simply interested in your rebuttal since you have experience. I myself never really do Decline Bench but if it places your body in a biomechanically more favorable position than Flat Bench, surely it is superior for overloading your Chest given it targets the Chest in the same way as Flat Bench?

From the thread ...

The key is using a variety of angles in your program. Do not simply use one stretch! For example for a basic quadriceps stretch, you would kneel down and plant your knees firmly on the ground. Then you would slowly lean back, using your bodyweight as the applied pressure, necessary for expanding the fascia. For maximum separation you would change angles. For the first stretch, have the knees close together. On the second stretch spread them out wider to hit the inner thighs. See the point? Like your exercises, you need to use a variety of stretches. Another example would be the utilization of free weight stretches

My point is that by hitting the muscle at all angles I am going to maximise my gains. I'm going to develop strength as a result of this ... (maybe strength is as equally important to me as size?)

I don't use the decline movement too much - I guess the reason why is body building is closely related to power lifting and therefore the flat being the competitive form, and most comfortable, would be the one you want to bench mark on. Also ROM is limited when you are on a decline > -

it was a trainer that used to work for me that suggested I give them a try to mix it up - a couple years ago. The pump was outstanding - and felt like the lower area of the pec was fully loaded. Now I know the point mr big is making is that it was my whole chest that did the work not just the lower - and he's right.

When I first got into serious training my brother used to get me doing predominantly incline movements. I trained like this for the first 18 months pretty much and believe this is why I have a clear defining seperation line right through the middle of my pec. (I have a pic somewhere from '97 where I'm leaning forward and you can see it very clear - will scan it over the weekend). So I guess IME this supports what BOB is saying re: upper chest.

....................

D/b Pullovers is a bit old school for chest - there was a belief that it caused your chest to lift on top of your rib cage which made you chest look fuller. All I know is that when I do the exercise I feel it right down the centre line between both pecs and I get a huge pump off it. It hits the pec from another angle > must do or you wouldn't feel it where you do.

[shruglife]

Thanks Opti, this whole Fascia stretching concept interests me. You saying Fly and Pullover have helped a lot with your growth seems to support the idea, and gives me a bit of confidence to try it. I've yet to do Pullover so I'll give it a go and if I feel it I might incorporate it.

Also, the idea of hitting the muscle from different angles rather than just doing the exercise that overloads the muscle the most makes sense, cheers.

[Mrbig]

I have tried so many different ways of training chest and your right inclines feel like your really working the pecs because of the big stretch you can get but just because you feel something duznt mean it is best for you but i am just saying that a muscle only responds to a load so the more weight the better but like i said before if you wanna do those so called isolation exercises go for it but maybe there is a different way to do things that most people dont wanna try because so and so said this

[Lazarus]

Surely all those "isolation" exercises must be of value otherwise all those top bodybuilders wouldn`t bother doing them? If you do incline bench presses for instance you transfer more of the effort from the middle region of the pectorals to the upper pectorals and front deltoids. Doing a lot of inclines lead to that "split" between upper and lower chest, just like Franco`s.

[Bobsta]

I have tried so many different ways of training chest and your right inclines feel like your really working the pecs because of the big stretch you can get but just because you feel something duznt mean it is best for you but i am just saying that a muscle only responds to a load so the more weight the better but like i said before if you wanna do those so called isolation exercises go for it but maybe there is a different way to do things that most people dont wanna try because so and so said this

Mrbig, I know exactly where you're coming from, having done sports science and several personal training courses I was taught more or less the same. But after years of weight training I learnt otherwise and that its not as black and white as that.

The human body is quite complex and capable of adapting to specific stimulus.

We might be able to become good power lifters concentrating on just the big lifts and miximum load, but unfortunately just doing Deadlifts, squats and flat bench press is not gonna turn us into great bodybuilders with overall apearance of muscular balance.

[Mrbig]

I have tried so many different ways of training chest and your right inclines feel like your really working the pecs because of the big stretch you can get but just because you feel something duznt mean it is best for you but i am just saying that a muscle only responds to a load so the more weight the better but like i said before if you wanna do those so called isolation exercises go for it but maybe there is a different way to do things that most people dont wanna try because so and so said this

Mrbig, I know exactly where you're coming from, having done sports science and several personal training courses I was taught more or less the same. But after years of weight training I learnt otherwise and that its not as black and white as that.

The human body is quite complex and capable of adapting to specific stimulus.

We might be able to become good power lifters concentrating on just the big lifts and miximum load, but unfortunately just doing Deadlifts, squats and flat bench press is not gonna turn us into great bodybuilders with overall apearance of muscular balance.

I understand what your saying but you know bodybuilders are an elite breed and do alot more than they necessary need to i dont mean just bench,squat deadlift all im trying to say is whatever exercises you choose to do remember that the heavy more compund lifts will give greater results like a barbell row over a cable row which is virtually the same exercise but which one will you use more weight which requires you to recruit more motor units and so on im speaking from personal experience of doing all the isolation exercises and trying to focus on a certain part of the muscle which if that worked why do compound lifts in the first place remember dorian yates