Ask any male gym-goer in India, and it is likely that he will tell you his favorite workout day is chest day.
Ask any male gym-goer in India, and it is likely that he will tell you his favorite workout day is chest day. Indeed, chest training is a lot of fun, and we all love to wear tight T-shirts. Unfortunately though, a lot of people make some errors on chest day. Let’s take a look at some of the most common ones.
Since it’s one of the vanity muscles, we can understand why you want your chest to grow before any other part. But, please remember that your body has other muscle groups that need equal attention. A good back routine, a good shoulder routine, a good biceps routine and a good triceps routine – all of these should supplement your chest training. And a good leg routine, don’t forget the lower body.
A lot of people take some time to lift the barbell while bench pressing, but bring the weight down too quickly. If you want to take the maximum benefit of your workouts, it’s important that you bring the weight down slowly.
We all get used to things, and our body is no different. If you do the same exercises again and again, your muscles will stop growing. So when you feel that your workout is getting too easy or too mechanical, change the exercises. You can do a gazillion variations of the chest press and push-ups so don’t complain about the lack of options.
Yes, you want to show the other dude in the gym that you’ve got some real strength. But, showing off shouldn’t be your goal. You should focus on hitting your muscles instead, and that’ll only come with proper form. With time, you’ll be able to add that 20 pound plate to your bench press, but doing it right away is a sure-shot invitation for Mr. Injury.
The incline bench press and the decline bench press hits your chest from different angles, and it’s recommended that you incorporate both in your routine. Flat bench presses may feel like the most comfortable way to train chest, but it’s not the most efficient. In fact, if you do decline and incline bench presses for some time, you’ll become comfortable with that too.