If you want to develop huge pecs that are thick and well rounded then you need to start hitting some heavy dips. In this article we will be looking at why dips bring some amazing pectoral growth.

What are dips?

Take a look at the picture on the left and you will get a pretty good idea of what a dip is. Although this guy seems to be doing them backwards; I generally face in towards the back of the dip station.

Basically, to do a dip you need to get two parallel bars that are not much wider than shoulder width apart. You then grab on to these bars and lean forward and “dip” your body down. Once you are as low as you can go you push yourself back up and repeat.

What muscles does the dip target

Every time you do a dip you are going to be hitting your:

• Pectoral muscles
• Triceps
• Deltoid muscles
• Traps
• Abdominals

However, it is the triceps and the pectoral muscles that really get worked. If you get the technique right and add some weight to your waist as you dip you will experience growth like never before.

Why are dips so good for the chest muscles?

When you think about chest exercises you normally think about the bench press, dumbbell press, cable cross overs, incline bench press or machine press. For some reason the dip has not made its way into popular muscle building culture and it is a real shame. However, the fact that we haven’t been using it much means that when we do start to use it our body will take a real shock and you will pack on some muscle very quickly. Continue Reading

Arnold Schwarzenegger has one of the best bodybuilding chests of all time. In the photo above you can see that his chest was truly huge and we can see that he spent a lot of time working on it. You too can have a chest like Arnie.

How to get huge pecs like Arnold Schwarzenegger

In this article I want to look at some basic tips that people can use to increase the size of their chest. I know a lot of people who have problems hitting their chest and as a result their pecs are lagging behind the rest of their muscles.

1. Spend time tensing the pectoral muscles
One simple tip that can work wonders for you is to spend some time tensing your pectoral muscles before you workout the chest. The reason this is important is because it teaches you how to mentally contract the muscles which in turn makes the weight training more effective. Much of the bench press, for example, is mental.

2. Switch to incline
If you have been doing flat bench presses for a long time because that is what everyone did in high school then it is time to change. The incline bench press hits your upper pecs much more and this is the area that most people are lagging in. It is also a better angle for a deep stretch hit more of the muscles without bringing in other supporting muscles. Many people don’t realize this but the flat bench press works out your shoulders almost as much as your pecs.

3. Switch to dumbbells
When I went to the gym for the first time I remember using dumbbells instead of a barbell. I have never gone back. Dumbbells are the weapon you need to make your chest bigger faster. Using a dumbbells means you can stretch your chest much deeper as you are not limited by the bar across your chest. It also is unbalanced and means your chest needs to work harder to keep the dumbbells steady.

4. Do dips first
Weighted dips are an amazing way to pump up your chest. Generally at the gym people do some bench presses, dumbbell presses and machine presses. They completely ignore the dip station. The reason? They are weak. Dips (with weight) are very hard and hit your chest like nothing else. If you want to increase the size of your pectorals then add some weight to your waist and pump out a few sets of dips first in your workout when your muscles are fresh.

5. Give the chest its own day
Generally if you do a split routine you will pair your chest with your triceps. However, if your chest is lagging behind you might want to give it a separate day for a few weeks until it catches up a little. Hit it hard with volume and heavy weight and see whether the added rest and added work makes a difference.

6. Get that technique down
My best mate and I are always on about how important technique is. It doesn’t matter if you can bench press 1000 pounds, if your technique is poor you will be plagued with injuries and poor muscle growth. Make sure you study the technique for each exercise carefully and spend a lot of time working with light weight to get it right.

Soon your chest will look like Arnie’s!

People often come to Real Muscle Online looking for workouts and routines. They want some magic exercise to boost their muscle size. However, these basic tips are far more important. If you take these tips and apply them to any exercise you will get results.

My good mate Jason over at World Fitness Network has posted an interesting post about an article he saw in a bodybuilding magazine.

The article in the magazine talked about “bridging” while doing the bench press. This is where you arch your back while lifting the weight. They passed it off as a great idea saying you will be able to lift more weight and as such improve your muscle growth.

Rubbish.

I hate bodybuilding magazines because they are full of misinformation and hype; they need to fill a whole issue and they don’t care what goes in there.

Check out the post which shows you what bridging looks like and why it is a bad idea.