Edited by Roberto Eusebio
On this occasion, talking about the pectoral muscles, exceptionally fascinating muscles, reminds me with pleasure of the emotions I felt when I watched in amazement as I put down Arnold, in particular in the pose of the more muscular I remained enchanted!
I still often find that novice boys insist more than they should with the training of this muscle, which is considered by many to be the most symbolic and virile male muscle. This muscle coats the upper section of the rib cage and plays an antagonistic function with respect to the back muscles.
It is important to remember that the pectoral muscles, the dorsal, the lumbar and the abdominal muscles are also called postural muscles, so it is essential that they are developed proportionally so as not to create imbalances in the skeletal structure; so it is wrong to focus on the work of this muscle and neglect the rest.
The clavicular part originates from the medial half of the anterior margin of the clavicle;
the sternocostal part originates from the sternal fascia and the cartilages of the 2nd - 6th coast;
the abdominal part is inserted in the upper portion of the humerus than the other two.
On the greater tubercle, protuberance of the humerus, the three parts are inserted crossing each other.
The pectoralis major muscle is very strong and strong. It has a quadrangular shape with arm hanging along the body, while it is triangular in shape with a raised arm.
The muscle lowers with strength and speed towards the arm forward, moreover it determines the adduction of the arm (that is approaching to the body with respect to the sagittal plane) and intraruota.
Finally, this muscle cooperates in the action of inspiration, dilating the chest if the limb is fixed.
In fact, it happens to see that the tired athlete points his hands to his hips to immobilize his arms and use these muscles as auxiliary respirators.
Bearing in mind the subdivision between fibers that form the three fundamental parts of the great pectoral, we can distinguish three different modes of execution, respecting precise angles.
If we want to develop the upper part of the great pectoralis, we must stress more the work of the clavicular part; then we will perform basic exercises or complementary exercises keeping the torso tilted at 30 ° / 45 ° / 60 ° max, so that the trajectory of the force towards the torso has this angle, since upper angles would shift the work more dependent on the clavicular deltoid (also called anterior deltoid) and not on the muscle in question.
On the contrary, if we want to develop the abdominal part then the lower fascia of the chest, we will perform the exercise with the declined torso.
Finally, to work the chest in a central way, it will be sufficient to perform the exercise with the torso completely
horizontal or vertical: the important thing is that the trajectory of the force exerted on the muscle therefore the positions of the arms are perpendicular to the torso, for example with a flat bench (bench press) or pectoral machine, chest press (etc ...)
Fig. 1- Roberto Eusebio in training.
Over the years I realized that I got the best benefits and the best congestion by working with dumbbells rather than with machines or barbells.
Analyzing the movement one realizes that this muscle has the function of adductor. This is why bench presses with handlebars to any degree of inclination with respect to the sagittal plane, allow maximum adduction and contraction, while this occurs at a lower level with the barbell, where the position of the hands remains still.
In physics, work is determined by force per displacement, where strength means lifted load and displacement means the maximum range of movement performed during exercise execution. These parameters are directly proportional to the work, so the higher the displacement, the more work I will have on the muscle.
technique, to lift the dumbbells remaining in the discharge of the spine, for example the Chest Press and the Pectoral.
With the handlebars the trajectory of the force that follows the articulation is exactly our natural, that is the one of the articulation itself. For this reason, if the advanced athlete uses high loads the risk of having traumas with the dumbbells is less.
I argue that, despite the dumbbells being exceptional for muscle congestion, they unfortunately have some limitations. In fact, for the development of muscle mass it is necessary to follow strength programs as the muscular hypertrophy is directly
proportional to the force.
Performing force programs with the handlebars would be very difficult when handling them, lifting them and positioning them to perform series with maximum loads.
This is why my chest training almost always starts with the Bench Press, also called bench presses, with all its various inclinations.
I remember that the Bench Press is a multi-articular basic exercise: in fact, it involves both the shoulder and the elbow joint. So to have maximum congestion on the bib we must perform the exercise scrupulously correctly.
There are many who I see, during training in bench presses, make the mistake, in the extension, of lifting the shoulder forward, perhaps thinking that you have more strength to complete the exercise.
In reality they create a kyphotic attitude of the shoulders that does nothing but release the muscle by loading the work on the shoulder and no longer on the chest.
The shoulder is a much smaller muscle than the pectoral, so the result is that they will find it more difficult to improve strength than those who remain with a correct posture.
The correct indications, which I suggest, of how to perform the exercise, will therefore be the following:
• Lie down on the bench to keep the chest out, join the two shoulder blades and hold this position for the duration of the movement.
The important thing is to keep the shoulder well resting on the bench without lifting it for any reason. In this way it is impossible to fully extend the elbow joint and the pectoral congestion is maximum.
• a correct grip is obtained when the humerus is parallel to the plane and forms an angle of 90 ° with the elbow.
• The too-tight handle moves the work on the arms, especially on the triceps.
• The negative phase must always be performed in a slow and controlled way, whatever the workload; while in the concentric or positive phase, using the elastic force accumulated in the negative phase, maximum power is expressed.
I believe these indications are useful for a good basic exercise.
I personally perform four or five series, for five or six repetitions, with one minute and thirty seconds of recovery between one series and another.
Then I go to the handlebars with three or four sets and eight or ten repetitions, reducing the recovery to one minute.
Finally, as a complementary or isolation exercise (ie involving the use of a single joint that is that of the shoulder) I perform three or four sets of bench crosses for ten or twelve repetitions.
Alternate this activity by repeating the exercise on the cables, where the tension on the muscle is constant for the duration of the movement.
A practical example of one of my bib training tables:
| EXERCISE | SERIES | RIP. | REC. |
| RELAXATION ON FLAT BENCH WITH BIL. | 4 | 5/6 | 1.30 ' |
| RELAXATION ON 45 ° BENCH WITH MAN. | 3/4 | 8/10 | 1 ' |
| CROSSES ON BENCH 45 ° | 3/4 | 10/12 | 1 ' |
| PARALLEL (optional) | one to exhaustion | ||
For a good result for muscle hypertrophy it is of fundamental importance to exhaust muscle glycogen (a supply of sugars within the muscle that can be used as energy) as soon as possible, with this routine I assure you of an excellent result and above all it is guaranteed that for at least 4/5 days you will feel your chest working!
