Q: I’m working to bring up my lagging chest development with flat and incline bench presses. But these exercises don’t seem to give me a pump in the pecs, only in my triceps and delts. Should I give up on these and focus on stretching movements like flyes?

A: The two exercises that you’re currently doing are by far the best movements for adding mass onto the chest for the simple reason that no other exercises allow for as much direct pectoral stress over a greater range of motion. So, the problem is not with the exercises themselves. It’s with the mode of execution. When you’re using a compound exercise to target a specific muscle group you have to be totally focused on working that muscle exclusively. The slightest mental slip and you’re prone to falling into the cheat zone, where the power of the upward surge is coming from the triceps, the shoulders, the lats and the hips – not from the chest.

To really work the chest during the bench press, think of the work you want your pecs to perform. They should work antagonistically by expanding out in opposite directions on the descent and then forcefully squeezing against each other on the way back up. Extend your arm in front of you now and focus in on this pec action. As your arms come back move your elbows in an arc. Contract your scapulae behind you and attempt to touch the shoulder blades together. Now, as you prepare to press back to the start position, flare out your shoulder blades as your pecs squeeze in towards each other.

Another consideration with the bench is ensuring that you’re moving through your maximum range of motion. Many people limit their range of motion by having a grip on the bar that is either too wide or too narrow. An extra wide grip will give you good lat stimulation but will not allow your pecs to fully expand. One that is too narrow will allow full contraction at the top of the movement but will prevent you from fully expanding the pecs as the bar is lowered. The ideal grip, then, is just beyond shoulder width.

You should also incorporate non-barbell movements like flyes and push ups (as a final pump out to end your chest work-out) into your chest routine. Perform flyes as follows: as you bring your arms out, squeeze your shoulders and focus on the expansion of the pecs. Then, when you’ve reached the limit of extension, turn your wrists down for that final pec stretch. On the way back up push your shoulders forward and squeeze your arms together. The dumbbells should cross over each other as you go for a maximum pec contraction.

For variation, try substituting the barbell bench press with the flat or incline dumbbell press. This movement actually allows for greater range of motion in the descent as the torso is no longer the limiting factor in the movement. That extra couple of inches can make all the difference. Lower the dumbbells as far as you can towards the outer pecs, at the same contracting your shoulders backward. Begin the upward surge by flaring the lats and squeezing the pecs forcefully together as the dumbbells drive upward.

For added variation – and to really achieve a great pec pump – throw in some pre-exhaustion training every few work-outs. This involves doing a set of flyes and then immediately going to the bench. Time is of the essence here as you’ve got about 15 seconds where your pecs will be fatigued sufficiently to allow maximum stimulation to be created by the secondary movement. This is a great way to overcome the problem of too much tricep and deltoid stimulation during the bench as the pecs will temporarily be the weak link and, therefore, take all of the load.

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