What Would Happen if You Ate Three Eggs a Day?

The ultimate symbol of masculinity is a sculpted, well-defined chest. The masculine body has been depicted in sculpture, paintings, and artwork for ions, with models sporting huge, well-defined pecs. While most guys believe they understand the fundamentals of creating a bigger chest (which they do), they don't comprehend what they're doing incorrectly! Here are the most typical chest training blunders that you might not even be aware of!

Common Mistakes in Chest Training

1. Paying Attention to Weight vs. Form

The amount of weight you can press on a standard chest press can help you figure out your 1RM (1 rep maximum), but it's not a good predictor of your overall chest strength. Lifting a lot of weight while using poor form isn't going to benefit you. Most people who are more concerned with demonstrating how much they can push than with properly performing the exercise will have their shoulders overextended or their range of motion limited.

2. Upper Chest Workout

Let's face it, we all want that thick bulldog bulk of muscle, but you must also train the muscle's weaker "components." From the front of your shoulders, "Extend out" your chest muscles. The muscle segment furthest from the shoulder's point of insertion is the thinnest. You can simply change up your current chest routines by applying progressive loading and modifying the angle of the exercise. For example, an incline chest push strikes the muscle from a different angle, which may help “work” the upper chest (although all the chest muscles are engaged with every movement).

3. Excessive reliance on free weights or machines

Machines that simulate free weights, for example, can be just as effective. Machines can reduce some of the benefits of functional training by restricting range of motion, but they are incredibly effective at isolating and targeting muscle groups. A few months back, we looked at an ACE-sponsored study that discovered the Pec Dec to be one of the top three chest exercises for creating a bigger chest and training the chest muscles in general. Changing things up should be your goal.

4. Excessive training

This should go without saying, but you'd be surprised how many men (and women) go to the gym on a weekly basis and do the same workout. If you're not growing or developing the muscles you want, it's not because you're not working them hard enough; it's because you're not working them well enough. At most, you should work out each muscle group twice a week. When muscles are in rest, they grow and mend themselves, not when they are pumping out reps!