Building Muscle Mass – A Guide To An Amazing Chest December 27, 2010 at 4:08 pm
So do you want a chest like a superhero? Building muscle mass is the answer to having that great physique you’ve always wanted. Don’t worry if you’ve always been the stick skinny boy at the back of your class – if you have the determination, patience and discipline, you also can build chest muscles like that of a superhero.
If you have already begun training, you will need to raise your calorie intake daily. You must consume 3,000 up to 6,000 calories a day – yes, that sounds like a huge amount of calories but the goal here is to put on as much weight quickly so you can translate this into big, bulky muscles when you hit the gym. Do not use this as a license to pig it out on junk food and desserts each day of the week. Your nutritional diet should comprise of high protein and low fat food like chicken, lean meat and fish.
For the group of people looking to building muscle mass, the calories of their nutritional plan should have a ratio of about 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat. It would also be useful to know that a gram of fat is equal to nine calories while one gram of protein and carbohydrates are both equal to four calories. You only have a little window of excess calorie indulgence to have so use it well.
Once you have your diet down, it’s time to concentrate on getting the most from your chest workout regimen. Always start with good stretching and moderate warm up drills to increase your body’s temperature and improve your session for the workout day you have planned. Notice also that swimmers have a wide and well-defined chest area so add swimming into your chest training as often as you can.
One program you can employ if you are a beginner is doing 12 reps and three sets of bench press using 40 lbs weight load, dumbbell flyes and dumbbell pullover of 10 and 20 lbs respectively. After several weeks, include 30 lbs of inclined bench press and 20 lbs of declined bench press of 3 sets of 12 reps. Monitor the development of your strength and personal endurance because you will have to use higher weights gradually while lowering your present reps per set if your aim is to beef up the chest muscles.
Remember that as with any workout program, vary the weights and exercises every three or four weeks so that your body will keep on challenging itself to perform its best. Hitting your chest muscles with different angles is good training so you should mix in flat, incline and decline movements into your routine. Flyes isolate the pectoralis major (pecs) more than most exercises so be sure to keep coming back to this when you plan to alter your workout periodically.
Even if your goal is to build chest muscles, take care that you don’t excessively over train and neglect other muscle groups. History has never had a superhero with a massive chest and skinny legs as far as I know. You will do well in setting aside two to three days working on the other parts of your body.
Focus on building muscle mass, consume a proper diet and perform the exercises in the approved and exact form – you will soon have a strong chest so wide you have to go into doors sideways. And last of all, don’t forget to have fun while you’re at it – working out is always a rewarding experience for those who stay the course. Work hard and see the results before you know it.